Do you spend a fortune each time you go shopping for cleaners? Do you like how your dishwashing
liquid smells and cleans but you are generally not fond of the price? Don't stress over it. There is a way
that you can avoid overspending on house cleaning. Just check out the tips and tricks that were kindly
provided down below for you.
Make Less Dirt = Clean Less
Many people have mastered the art of cluttering and staining but the hardest part is to keep your home
decluttered. If you make less dirt, you will spend less time cleaning and use fewer products. Which will
keep you from overspending on house cleaning.
How to make less dirt:
1. Leave shoes outside. Dirt and debris constantly cling to your shoes and spread to your floors and
carpets as soon as you walk in.
2. Invest in covers for your furniture, pillows and mattress. That way your furniture pieces will be clean
and beautiful and will require less cleaning.
3. Use baking sheets while you are cooking. This will prevent baked-on food from sticking to the pots,
baking trays or tins. No more scrubbing after meals.
4. Keep cleaning supplies at hand so that you can wipe out any spill or stain as soon as it happens.
Buy Only Products That You Really Need
You have run out of glass cleaner and you head to the store to buy some. But while you are there, a number
of marvelous cleaners whisper in your ear “Take me with you!” Shush the voices in your head and buy just
that bottle of glass cleaner you need. You'll come back to the store later on when you need something else.
But for now, a bottle of glass cleaner is just fine, thank you. Don't hoard cleaning products if you already
have what you need.
Stretch Your Cleaning Products = Save Money
How to stretch your dish soap: When you run out of liquid laundry detergent, keep the bottle. Buy
new laundry detergent.
Transfer half the liquid into the old bottle. Add water into the two bottles and be careful not to make
any bubbles. Shake each bottle gently. So what happened is, you bought a bottle of liquid detergent and
you got another one free. Now that's a real deal.
How to stretch your liquid laundry detergent: Follow the same procedure as the dish soap. Again,
steer clear of making bubbles or your detergent will spill over.
How to stretch your powder laundry detergent: Instead of using a full cap, use a half cap of detergent
for each wash cycle. As you know, more is not always better. Nowadays, laundry detergents are so
concentrated that you need a small amount of powder to wash your clothes. Mind you that front loaders
don't tolerate excess suds anyway.
transfer half the laundry detergent into the old box. Next, add ¼ washing soda and ¼ borax and mix well.
Repeat on the new box of detergent. There you go. Now you have two boxes of powdered laundry detergent.
Make Your Own Cleaners from Scratch
And yet, there is a better way to prevent overspending on house cleaning and that is making your own
cleaning products from scratch. The basic ingredients found in those cleaners (baking soda, borax, lemon
juice and vinegar) cost next to nothing but they do a fine job at killing bacteria, loosening stains and
removing dirt. Google some DIY cleaning recipes and start experimenting. Our advice is, invest in some sturdy
plastic and glass spray bottles, lint-free microfiber cloths and washable rags. You want to steer clear of
disposable cloths and paper towel and anything disposable.
And that's how you can avoid overspending on housekeeping. Wish you luck!
The article is contributed by Kathleen Crane who runs HomeMates Refurbishment