Saturday Share: 9 Thrifty Cleaning Tips

I'm late posting today because we drove to our house in the country to pick up some boxes of kitchen items stored there. I never realized how much "stuff" I'd accumulated until we moved in July. I guess everyone has that epiphany when moving.

 After loading the car with boxes, we drove home to Houston.

Now that I've unpacked those boxes (and still didn't find my layer cake pans!), I'm sharing some easy tips on how to save money during the holidays. That's something we're all thinking about I'm sure.

These tips may be something you want to incorporate in the New Year so you can save on cleaning and maintenance. So get a gallon bottle of distilled white vinegar so you'll be ready to get started.

Caution: Do NOT use vinegar on anything that is brass or has brass trim. Vinegar will turn brass black.

10 Thrifty Tips: Cleaning and Maintenance

1. Clean your dishwasher to make it look new and last longer.

Have you ever noticed how grungy the inside of a dishwasher is? Look at the door hinges. Is there gunky build up there? White vinegar is cheap at $2-3.00 a gallon, depending on whether you buy generic or brand name.

To clean your dishwasher, pour 1 cup of white vinegar into the bottom of your dishwasher when it's empty. Then run the dishwasher through a normal cycle. Do this once a month.

2. Clean your shower spray head.

If you notice the shower spray head isn't spraying uniformly from each hole, you don't need to replace it. You just need to remove the calcium deposits clogging the little holes. You don't even need to remove it to clean it.

Take a ZipLok bag that's large enough to fit over the spray head. Pour vinegar into it and cover the spray head with the bag. Either tape the bag in place or use big rubber bands to secure it. Let the vinegar work on the spray head for at least an hour. Remove the bag. Run the shower with hot water. If all the little holes aren't open, tape the bag back in place for another hour. Do this when you notice the calcium build-up is clogging the holes again. 

3. Make your own bathroom cleaning solution.

Rather than use a commercial product like Tilex, make a solution in a clean bucket with:

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup ammonia

1/4 cup Borax 

1 gallon of water. 

Caution about Borax. Even though this is a natural ingredient, it can be toxic. Take the same kind of precautions you'd use with a dangerous chemical. Don't breathe in this mixture's fumes. Run the vent fan when using and wear rubber gloves.

Dip a sponge or a scrub brush into the solution. Scrub the tile, countertops, and fixtures. Rinse well with warm water. Air dry.

In case you don't have a bucket for cleaning, you can order one that will last for years.

I had to do that after Darling Hubby used my mop bucket that I've had for years to mix up tile grout. Ruined the bucket!

I found another Rubbermaid Roughneck Bucket on Amazon. The design is great for dipping a rectangular sponge mop into it. The usual round buckets don't work as well. Plus it's got a pour spout.

I hated to see that it had increased in price since I'd bought my old one, but I bought it anyway. I know it will last many years.

4. Clean your plumbing drains.

The best way to make sure your drains don't clog up is to regularly clean them this easy way. Clean the drains this non-toxic way. It's effective and a lot less damaging to your pipes than those commercial harsh chemical drain cleaners.

First, pour 1/2 cup of baking soda into the drain. Second, pour in 1 cup of white vinegar. The two combined together will bubble and foam up. (Remember doing this in elementary school science to make a volcano?) When the bubbling and foaming stops, run the hot water for 3-5  minutes to flush the drain. Then turn on the cold water to the drain.

5. Clean a wooden cutting board.

Unlike plastic cutting boards, you can't put a wooden cutting board in the dishwasher to clean and sterilize it. Instead, use white vinegar. It's naturally anti-viral, antiseptic properties make it perfect for this use.

Simply take a plastic spray bottle filled with undiluted white vinegar and spray the cutting board thoroughly. Let the vinegar stay on the cutting board for a few minutes—5 minutes tops. Immediately wipe it off with a damp cloth. Then let it air dry before putting it away.

If you don't have spray bottles, you can get them just about anywhere. Amazon has quite an assortment.

5. Clean a wooden cutting board.

Unlike plastic cutting boards, you can't put a wooden cutting board in the dishwasher to clean and sterilize it. Instead, use white vinegar. It's naturally anti-viral, antiseptic properties make it perfect for this use.

Simply take a plastic spray bottle filled with undiluted white vinegar and spray the cutting board thoroughly. Let the vinegar stay on the cutting board for a few minutes—5 minutes tops. Immediately wipe it off with a damp cloth. Then let it air dry before putting it away.

If you don't have spray bottles, you can get them just about anywhere. Amazon has quite an assortment.

6. Clean your microwave the easy way.

All you need is a clean sponge, a microwave-proof bowl, and some white vinegar. I'm on the petite side, and my microwave is mounted over the stove. I used to have to stand on a kitchen step stool to clean it.

Now I just fill a bowl with equal parts white vinegar and hot tap water. Put it in the microwave and set the time for 2-3 minutes, or however long it takes for the water to boil. Leave it in the microwave for 5-10 minutes so the steam from it will soften up any spills. Remove the bowl. Use a sponge or even a paper towel to wipe the inside down. The result? Sparkling clean inside.

7. Make fresh cut flowers last longer.

When you get cut flowers, a packet of floral preservative probably comes with it. When that's used up, you can use a mixture of white vinegar to keep them fresh. It's easy. Just mix equal parts of white vinegar and white sugar to fresh water.

For an average-size flower vase, 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 2 tablespoons of sugar is about right. The sugar is food for the flowers. The vinegar lowers the pH level in the water and prevents bacteria.

8. Clean your stainless steel appliances.

Forget all those expensive stainless steel cleansers and polishers. All you need is white vinegar in a spray bottle and a microfiber cloth. Spray the surface down and then wipe with a microfiber cloth.

If your stainless steel fridge is the shiny kind rather than a matte finish, take a tiny bit of mineral oil on another cloth and polish with that.

9. Refresh your towels.

Sometimes laundry detergent, dryer sheets, and even mineral deposits from water can make towels smell not quite clean enough. Simply run them through a washing cycle using 1 cup of white vinegar instead of detergent. That will make them smell wonderful and improve the tactile feel also.

Takeaway Truth

I hope you'll try these thrifty tips. They really will save you quite a bit of money. Leave a comment if you one of the tips and tell me how it worked for you.