5 Ways to Cut Your Household Cleaning Budget

Cutting back on what you spend on household cleaning can make a great difference in the amount of money you spend each month on expenses. Without cutting back on cleaning your apartment, you can cut back on what you spend.

1 – Make Your Own Cleaning Supplies

The cornerstone of any smart household cleaning budget is home-made cleaning supplies-which can be just as, if not more, effective than store-bought cleaners. Best of all, they don’t use harsh chemicals that can lead to sickness and headaches in adults, children and pets. The most effective home-made cleaners include:

• Distilled white vinegar: Vinegar can disinfect most hard surfaces (except stone and marble) and leave the surfaces clean and shiny. You can even use a vinegar/water mix to mop wooden or linoleum floors. The surfaces will have a strong smell until they dry, but you can decrease drying time with proper ventilation or fans.
• Baking soda: Baking soda is a versatile cleaner that can be sprinkled over carpets and fabrics to disinfect and deodorize, stuck in a fridge to keep it smelling fresh, and mixed with water to form a scrub that works to lift stains off of sinks, bathtubs, tiles, toilets and grout. Baking soda mixed with vinegar can also help unclog drains.
• Lemon juice: The acid in lemon juice works as a bleaching alternative. Use lemon juice on most hard surfaces besides marble (test a small area to make sure it doesn’t stain first), let soak and then scrub away a caked-on stain.
• Mild dish soap: Using soap or a mixture of soap and water can take care of light stains and basic disinfecting on multiple surfaces, including both hard surfaces and fabrics.

2 – Reuse Old Fabrics

Reusing means less waste and less wasteful spending. Rather than buying rags specifically for cleaning, use old washcloths or towels cut up into small pieces. Even cut-up old clothes can work as dusters. To make these homemade rags last longer, consider hemming the squares with thread once you cut them out so that the threads don’t continue to unfurl.

3 – Clip Coupons

If you still buy household cleaning supplies from a store-and some, like scrubbing pads, are not easy to make yourself-check online coupon sites and the Sunday newspaper for coupons each week. Clip coupons only for supplies you know you’ll buy and don’t use coupons where you save on two or more of the same item unless you know you’ll use more than one in the near future.

4 – Share

When it comes to more expensive household cleaning tools, such as steam cleaners and carpet cleaners, consider sharing the supplies with a trusted neighbor, friend or family member. Since you won’t need to clean as often with these tools, you can split the cost and time you spend storing the item.

5 – Clean Daily

It may seem odd to save money by cleaning more often, but the less often you have to do major cleanings in your apartment, the less you’ll spend in the long run. Quickly wipe down surfaces after you’ve finished using them and keep clutter out of the way, and you’ll have fewer major messes to tackle.

Trimming your household cleaning budget without sacrificing the cleanliness of your apartment is easier than you’d think. Reuse, clip coupons, and make your own supplies.