Nifty Thrifty Week: Day #2 with Ruth Soukup
Welcome to day two of our Nifty Thrifty week featuring ideas, stories, recipes and GIVEAWAYS from five frugal guests.
(And it all started with my devotion entitled The Boomerang of Blessing. You can click here to read it but be sure to come back!)
Up today is my new friend Ruth from the chock-full-of-ideas website Living Well, Spending Less .
I met Ruth at our recent Proverbs 31 She Speaks Intensive conference and we became fast friends. A shopaholic turned money-saving expert, she has learned over the years that a life well lived is not so much about what we have, but who we are. On her website Ruth shares her adventure of finding the Good Life {on a budget}. Living Well Spending Less includes recipes, couponing & budget advice, DIY projects, and household tips as well as reflections on faith, parenting, and homeschooling. She lives in Florida with her husband Chuck and their two daughters, “Princess” (age 6) and “Trouble” (age 3).
Ruth’s post today is on making homemade cleaners and her generous giveaway is a $50 Amazon card to use to stock up on cleaning supplies.
Now, roll up your sleeves, get ready to clean and meet Ruth:
I can think of many compelling arguments to keep my house tidy. It looks better. I can find things. It helps me be more productive and more hospitable. It lets me be more creative. It makes for a smoother-running household, kids who play better, and a husband who isn’t afraid to come home at night. It even helps me sleep better.
A clean house also saves money. That alone might be reason enough.
Taking care of my home and my things means I am less likely to need to replace something that gets lost or broken. Furthermore, when my house is messy, I want only to escape the clutter. This often means shopping, mindlessly filling a cart with even more stuff I don’t need or finding some other costly way to pass the time.
Re-gaining control of a mess house can be a little overwhelming at first, especially when life never stops moving. It can be hard to know even where to begin. Luckily spring is a great time for new beginnings, and if you are ready for a cleaner house, here are a few tips to get you started.
- Clear the Clutter. For most of us, the problem of a messy house doesn’t come down to too much dirt but too much stuff. We’re drowning in it. To steal a line from Karen, it is time to Let. It. Go. But I’m going to let you in on a little secret: De-cluttering begets more de-cluttering. Once you start, it is SO much easier to keep going! {Get more de-cluttering tips here}
Go Green & Thrifty. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that buying more cleaning supplies will somehow magically make your house cleaner. It won’t. (Believe me, I’ve tried that!) Over the years I’ve discovered that just ten simple household ingredients—vinegar, baking soda, salt, olive oil, liquid dish soap, lemon juice, borax, washing soda, Ivory bar soap, and essential oils—can be combined in ten different ways to clean every single surface in my house. This not only saves time, space, and money, but is better on the environment too. {Get all ten homemade cleaning recipes here}- Clean From Top to Bottom. For a really deep clean, start high—with the ledges, ceiling fans, and light fixtures—then slowly work your way down, ending with the floor and baseboards, cleaning everything in between except the kitchen. Save that for last. {Get a printable top-to-bottom cleaning checklist here}
- Conquer Your Kitchen. Once the rest of your house is clean and (relatively) clutter free, you will be free to focus on the space that haunts us from behind closed cabinet doors. Luckily those closed doors mean we don’t have to do it all at once. Split this task into manageable chunks, one section at a time, over the course of a few days or weeks, and before you know it the kitchen you once feared will be a joy to work in. {Get a printable kitchen cleaning checklist here}
Homemade laundry soap.
There are plenty of times when my own home falls into disarray. Life gets hectic and I can’t keep up. I almost always notice it in my wallet first, and that’s when I know it is time to take a step back and put things back in order. When all is said and done, a clean house just lets me breathe a little easier.
Okay–to be entered in my giveaway here on Karen’s blog, tell me what products do you use to clean your house? Have you ever tried making homemade cleaners? I’d love to hear!
I never really considered myself “green,” but years ago as a new housewife I began using baking soda to clean the oven and I’ve never used anything else since. I’m not even sure why, to tell you the truth! That was 25 years ago – a woman ahead of her time?! But then I heard about the wonders of vinegar and began using that for all kinds of stuff, especially hard water stains. I use water and a good microfiber towel for the mirrors. Lately I’ve begun making my own laundry detergent. When I heard of this I told myself I would never do that because it was too difficult, time-consuming, and I was an “anti-stain fanatic!” However, I changed my attitude when severe financially hard times hit this family of 7 that washes a lot of clothes and I got a super-easy, very effective homemade laundry detergent recipe – suitable for high efficiency washers – that includes Washing Soda, Borax, and Original Blue Dawn. I make 3 gallons at a time for pennies and now I’m a believer!
Holly- How doe your homemade laundry soap do with stains? Thanks!
I use mostly Melaleuca products because they are better for the well-being of my family. I do use Tilex for mold in the grout of my bathroom shower but I try very hard to avoid caustic chemicals. Have tried a couple of homemade things but not sure that they are good for my family and I have to work to find the ingredients. Hopefully, it is not as hard as it seems.
I love Mr. Clean with Fabreeze and use it on my bathrooms a few times a week. It is really strong so I usually water it down to 1 part cleaner, 3 parts water. It still works great and smells great. I know that people love vinegar for cleaning but I just can’t tolerate the smell so I like to stick with a fresh smelling store-bought one. I usually spend about $3 on a refill bottle and it lasts me close to a year. I’ve never tried to make homemade stuff before but only recently changed jobs so I could stay at home during the day and I confess that I am getting more adventurous as we speak. ;)
Thanks for all the good information about making natural cleaners. I have thought about making my own cleaners, but have not taken the time to research recipes. Now I have it at my fingertips! I use pine-sol, scrubbing bubbles, vinegar and Clorox to clean my home. Thx again!
I use shacklee cleaning products! Never tried homemade cleaners but can’t wait to try it!
Thank you for the cleaning tips. I would like to learn more about homemade cleaners.
I make my own laundry soap and fabric softener. I would like to make more, but i need to de-clutter and organize before i add any more bottles of concocted cleaner to the mix :)
I have been using only commercial products but i’ve been seeing so much on these homemade options, i’m anxious to try them and save some money!
Looking forward to trying more homemade cleaners When we had hardwood floors put in we were told – do not use all the different commercial cleaners as if and when the floor needs to be refinished – it will need to be stripped because of the buildup from wax or other ingredients in cleaners. Instead we were told to use 1 gal. water to 1-2 T. of vinegar.
I use Clorox greenworks for most surfaces, but I do make my own laundry detergent and love it! I’d like to start making more cleaning products!
Would love to try homemade cleaners. Thanks!
I’ve been using diluted vinegar to clean up when my cat’s food doesn’t agree with her. It works so much better at getting the orange out of the carpet than the spray that’s supposed to do the job.
I have used the homemade window cleaner before at the advice of my dad. I found it to be effective on the inside of my car windows which is where I have used it the most. Honestly I usually use store bought cleaners because of the convenience but I realize they are not the most economical. Thanks for your tips!
Right now I am using some Shaklee products I won from a substainablity expo. I also make my own laundry soap and us dryer balls.
I use Mr clean and magic eraser. I have never tried to make my own.
I use Formula 409, Barkeeper’s Friend (don’t like the name, but the product is great to remove rust), bleach, vinegar, rubbing alcohol, Lysol cleaner, Spic and Span, Amway’s L.O.C., Dawn, Fantastick, Pledge, Soft Scrub and Windex.
I haven’t tried too many homemade cleaners, but a did make my own carpet cleaner once and a window cleaner solution. A friend gave me a jug of her homemade laundry detergent and the recipe. It was pretty good, but sounded too labor intensive to make.
Right now I use Thieves cleaner but looking for cheaper homemade ones
I use scrubbing bubbles, ajax, clorox lysol , vinegar, soda
I mix equal parts of rubbing alcohol and water in a spray bottle. It shines up anything metal, cleans mirrors and counters. I love it. Can’t wait to read about more homemade cleaners.
I make my own fabric softener and I love it. I might have to try some of these other recipes for cleaning products!
I have not used homemade cleaners, but I’m excited to start trying. We’ve been attempting to eat cleaner so now it will be good to start cleaning cleaner. ;)
I have never made my own cleaners, but do use baking soda to clean stains on my counters. It works VERY well. I did use a “green cleaner” to clean carpet stains, which worked well too. Other than that, I use the commercial cleaners. I SO love a clean uncluttered house. I’m certainly “not there” yet, but am working on it, and NOT giving up!
I recently tried a Pinterest idea soaking orange peels in vinegar for an all purpose cleaner. Man that stuff smelled awesome! Vinegar is an awesome cleaner as it is, the orange only made it even better!
Baking soda is an excellent cleaner, paste for bug bites and toothpaste.
I use newspaper instead of paper towel to clean mirrors, but looking forward to making some homemade products