Tips and Tricks

From Aliisa:

This morning as I cleaned my bathroom and put laundry on to wash, I realized that I needed to share some of the tips and tricks that I use in my everyday life. A couple of years ago my life changed and I realized that we were going to be living off of less than I was used to. So I got online and began to do research in how to save money. I began making my own cleaners and such but I also began learning about all the different uses for Vinegar and Baking Soda and I was amazed at what you could use this stuff for. It not just for baking...but Im sure many of you already knew that. I buy white distilled vinegar in a gallon container for right around $2 and my baking soda, I buy at Sam's Club. I get a 5 pound bag for around $5, or at least that is what it was the last time I bought it. A 5 pound bag usually lasts me about a year.

Tips:

In the kitchen:
1. I use vinegar in my dishwasher instead of jetdry. Its considerably cheaper and it works great. And just to prove to myself how well it worked, I let the vinegar run out and still washed dishes. My dishes were covered in spots, so I filled it back up and ran it again and they were perfect. What a great inexpensive use for vinegar!! (and no my dishes do not come out smelling like vinegar).

2. I have a swiffer wet jet that I love to use; however, I do not enjoy the price of the cleaner I have to buy. Now, instead of buying the cleaner, I just mix 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar in a spray bottle and use that. I simply spray a section of my floor and then go over it with the wet jet and it cleans beautifully. And yes for a bit you will smell vinegar but the smell goes away very quickly.

3. When cleaning my counters, instead of using comet or soft scrub, I now use baking soda. Just sprinkle it on the counter and scrub just as you would with comet. Works just as well and is really cheap to use.

4. I use my spray bottle of water and vinegar to clean my microwave. Just spray it down, turn it on for about 1 minute to warm it up and then wipe clean. It works great.

Laundry

1. Use 1/2 to 1 cup of vinegar in the washer to soften clothings. Fabric softners leave a residue on your washer and on your clothing. Vinegar is a natural fabric softner and doesnt stay on your clothes. I even did a test one time. I washed 2 loads of towels, one with fabric softner and one with vinegar. I then presented the two to my husband and asked him to choose the one that was softer. He chose the vinegar!! That was good enough for me. Also, my clothing never smells like a salad, once they come out of the dryer, they just smell like the laundry soap you used.

Bathroom

1. I use my homemade wipes (recipes in the tips and tricks section) to clean off the counters and outside of toilet.

2. To clean my toilet bowl, I use a scoop to get my baking soda and then sprinkle that all around the bowl. I then use my 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar in a spray bottle to spray all of the baking soda. This causes a chemical reaction that looks alot like the fizzing of peroxide. I then use my toilet brush to clean the toilet as usual. This works great...just as good as any cleanser you can buy on the market!!

3. Cleaning the tub. I do the same for the tub that I did for the toilet. I sprinkle the baking soda all around the edges of the tub. I then spray down the entire tub with vinegar making sure I hit the baking soda too. I then take my scrubby and clean the tub. Rinse and its done. I havent used commercial cleaners in 2 years!!

4. I use the homemade window cleaner (recipe in the tips and tricks) to clean my mirrors in the bathroom. It works just as well as windex!!

For Sanitizing Kitchen and Bathroom

To sanitize everything I make wipes with alcohol. I just wipe down anything that I feel needs to be sanitized.

Please feel free to share any tips or tricks that you have, we would love to hear them!!

For more ways to use vinegar, visit this site:

http://www.versatilevinegar.org/usesandtips.html#2