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Saving money for things that are most important to you doesn't happen unless you make it a habit. To make saving money easier, two common household products, baking soda and vinegar, can be used to make inexpensive home cleaning products. The following suggestions are from the electronic newsletter, The Dollar Stretcher. You can subscribe by sending an email request to subscribe@stretcher.com
Rachel Paxton suggests the following uses for
baking soda:
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Make a paste of baking soda and water and use it to remove black
scuff marks from floors and crayon marks from walls. An old toothbrush
will help with scrubbing.
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Coffee and tea stains can be removed from cups by using
full-strength baking powder and a plastic scouring pad.
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A mixture of baking soda and water will clean and deodorize the
inside of your microwave.
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Add 1/3 cup baking soda to your washing machine as a bleach
booster.
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Clean fiberglass showers and tubs with full-strength baking soda
sprinkled on a sponge. Rinse after cleaning.
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Combine 1 cup baking soda, 1 cup borax and 1 cup salt to make a
non-scratch scouring powder.
You can subscribe to Rachel Paxton's "Creative Homemaking Recipe of the Week Club" by sending a blank e-mail message to: FreeRecipes-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Vinegar is another cheap and effective product. Although vinegar can't be advertised as a disinfectant (it isn't registered as a pesticide with the Environmental Protection Agency), tests have shown that it kills 99 percent of bacteria and 82 percent of mold. Keep a spray bottle with undiluted 5 percent vinegar solution to clean your cutting board.
Here is an all-purpose cleaner that uses both baking soda and vinegar from Lisa Van den Boomen, who teaches workshops on making bath and body products and food gifts: Combine ¼ cup baking soda, ¾ cup ammonia and ½ cup vinegar with 1 gallon of warm water. Store in a spray bottle and use in bathrooms, microwave and on countertops.
More cleaning ideas with vinegar:
For more information, contact Lisa at tulip27@hotmail.com.
For more information, contact your local
Colorado State University Extension office. |
