Economizing Measures ~ Cheap and Green Cleaning Supplies

I got really tired of spending so much money on cleaning supplies. Toilet cleaner,
counter top cleaner, glass cleaner, floor cleaner, etc. 

Then I read about 'green' cleaners. They are not so toxic but still cost plenty.

So I started reading some of my vintage household hint books. We're talking 

1890 to 1930. Some of their cleaners included items like turpentine, but for

the most part household cleaners were made using just a few inexpensive 

items. 

Vinegar and Baking Soda (Sometimes known as bicarbonate of soda). I use 

them for everything. The vinegar has anti-bacterial properties and the 

baking soda provides the scrubbing action. Just add vinegar to plain hot 

water to mop the floor, vinegar and water to clean your windows with news-

print for a sparkling shine, add vinegar to your rinse cycle in the washer to 

not have to buy those dryer sheets, put a little soda followed by vinegar 

down your drains to keep them fresh and clean and let vinegar sit in your 

toilet overnight and no more rust or calcium deposits as vinegar will clean 

coffee pots and any number of items with hard water buildup. Soak a rag 

in vinegar and wrap it around faucets to get rid of those buildups. Fill a 

vase with it and the lines of scum go away. Add it to a pan with stuck on, 

burnt on food and later it will lift away. There are a ton of uses for vinegar, 

just do a google search and you will see what I mean.

Baking soda is a great scrubbing powder for sinks, dirty dishes, toilets, 

etc. Add enough vinegar to make a paste or sprinkle it liberally onto a 

lemon cut in half. You could make lemonade the old fashioned way and 

save those lemon halves for your cleaning day, they whiten and brighten. 

Salt on lemon will also work at removing gunk from pots and pans

And how much cheaper can you get for cleaning supplies???? I got a 

gallon of store brand vinegar for $1.68 and a large box of baking soda for 

$1.23. It will last me a long time.

For specialty items like copper pans, use plain cheap ketchup.  Coat the 

item and let it sit for an hour or so, rinse off and your copper is shiny 

once again.  However this may take some hard work with baking soda 

if you have burnt on stuff on a copper bottomed pan.

One other item that is a must have for me is Dawn dish soap.  Mix it with the 
vinegar and baking soda and you can clean most any tough stains.

And the icing on this cake is that you are not using harmful chemicals 

you can't pronounce! It's a win win situation.