On A Budget? Homemade Cleaners Save Hundreds!

I love a good bottle of homemade cleaner, in fact my bottle of Squirt, Squirt (aka Very Vinegar) cleaner is the one yellow bottle I cannot clean without! I wanted to do a quick post before I go tackle some Focus Room Cleaning of my own...on the economics of sticking to homemade cleaners!

I'm going to take a few average prices around here of things I DON'T BOTHER BUYING:

• Specialty cleaners, ie: toilet bowl cleaner or tub and tile cleaner. Total: $10.00 a month
• Expensive all-purpose cleaners - fancy ones can cost $8.00 a bottle of more! And yes, the lovely scents and swoon-inspiring designs of those bottles ARE tempting. (Trust me, even I'm tempted by them!) But, you can create some lovely scents with natural essential oils or even just lemon or lime juice added to your regular cleaners. $8.00 a month
• Automatic shower cleaner + refills = Total: $15.00 a month
• Swiffer refills = $8.00 a month (at least!)
• Maid service! (haha - sort of kidding; sort of not) = at least $50.00 a month
• Assorted other specialty cleaners = $10.00 a month

GRAND TOTAL: Up to $109.00+ a month SAVED by keeping your cleaning products simple

By doing your own cleaning (bye bye, little Missy Maid Service!) and sticking to tried and true natural homemade cleaners, you'll save a bundle. And in this ever-tightening economy, those extra dollars really add up, and really HELP!

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Yes, Slobs CAN Grow A Houseplant or Two - Practically Un-killable Houseplants for Happy Slobs

This is still one of my favorite pages on the Happy Slob Site: Houseplants that Even I Can Grow!. Probably because I have a reputation as a true brown thumb - plants tend to whither up and die when I just look at them, for heaven's sake! But, these suggestions are fantastic...

5 Ways to Naturally Deodorize and Freshen Your Home - New Article Posted

Just for all of my Happy Slob Housecleaning readers, I've just written a new article on how to freshen and deodorize your home -- naturally! Take a look: http://www.happyslob.com/homefresh.html

This is also in response to a few questions about this very subject - how to get your home smelling great naturally. Hope this helps all of you.

5 Surprising Cleaning Products from Your Pantry (and Medicine Cabinet)

5 Surprising Cleaning Products from Your Pantry
By Christina Spence
Please note: Feel free to re-print this article on your own site or blog...but please ensure that the credits listed at the bottom are included. Thanks, and enjoy my latest article!

Fabulous cleaning products don’t need to cost a fortune or be wrapped up in fancy packages to do a great job of cleaning your home. In fact, some of the most effective cleaners are likely hiding in your pantry, just waiting for you to give them a try. Here are five cleaning products that you can use everyday, that are already sitting in your pantry or medicine cabinet.

Baking Soda – I’m known as a bit of a baking soda nut! Why? This powerful little box may not look impressive, but it contains a serious multitasking cleaner. Use it as a powder cleanser, to neutralize odors naturally, and even to wash floors and walls.

Vinegar – This is the other top cleaning powerhouse that every home needs. I tend to buy MASSIVE jugs of this stuff, because I use it like a madwoman. Vinegar is a natural acid, meaning that it does a lot of the tougher cleaning jobs around your home – but at a fraction of the cost of commercial cleaners. Plus, it’s friendlier for you, your family AND the environment. Use it in natural cleaning formulas, to clean out the coffeemaker, to remove hard water stains, and much more. For dozens of way to use this amazing stuff, visit http://www.kitchencraftsnmore.net/vinegar.html

Club soda – This is a surprisingly good glass and mirror cleaner! Either fresh or old unfizzy stuff will work fine. Just pour this into a clean spray bottle and use as you would any glass cleaner. Use a lint-free cloth or paper towel to give stainless steel surfaces a shine with this too.

Shaving cream – Surprise! Shaving cream is a surprisingly effective carpet and clothing stain remover. Just squeeze some out onto the stain (moisten first with a bit of cool water – never warm water, as that will set the stain) and use a scrubber brush to get it down deep into the fibers. Rinse and continue until stain is removed.

Lemon juice – Lemon juice (or other citrus juices such as orange juice) works great as a degreasing agent. Plus, it’s also a pretty darn wonderful disinfectant and stain remover. Dip a cut lemon into some baking soda or salt and use as the best smelling scrubber around – awesome for sinks and tubs. Or, make a paste of table salt and lemon juice and use as a pre treatment for tough laundry stains.

Christina is the Original Happy Slob – the author of: "The Happy Slob’s Guide to Housecleaning." If you hate to clean, drop by http://www.happyslob.com/ today to learn how thousands of slobs around the world are learning fast and easy (and laid back) tips to make cleaning less of a bore, and less of a chore! (And…the Daily Blog is at: http://happyslob.blogspot.com/)