Thrifty Spring Cleaning Tips from Saving Your Green! (Guest Post)

I am a big fan of Tight Wad in Utah, as I am sure you are too.  She asked me to write this guest post for her.   I was happy to do so, but wondered what I should write.  My blog, Saving Your Green is similar to Tightwad’s in that we both know how to save our scarce monetary resources.  I was going to show you how I make My Homemade Laundry Soap, or one of my yummy recipes but while I was thinking of what to write the sun came out and turned into some really beautiful weather.  You know, like SPRING!  I noticed that the tops of my curtains were not supposed to be a grey color and I had to get to washing all of them.  You know what that meant…

Spring Cleaning!

Everyone (well almost everyone) gets that itch.  You know the itch to clean and polish when the sun starts shining in your windows and you see all the dust and smudges.   Then it happens again once it is FINALLY warm enough to open the windows and let a fresh breeze in.  You know, after breathing the same ole air all winter long you want some fresh air.    The itch you feel when you wash those dirty windows and you notice how dusty the curtains are, so you take them down and wash them too.    Well I have started scratching, and I that got me thinking about how I could save while doing my spring cleaning.  Over at my blog Saving Your Green I like to save time as well as money.  I live in REAL MOM world and so everything I do has to have time value as well as being able to save money. 

Here are a couple quickies that you will be sure to use this spring.  

Towels:

Instead of using expensive paper towels to wash your windows try a few things you may already have around the house. 

·        Old cloth diapers

·        Baby receiving blankets, cut up

·        Micro-fiber dish clothes, these really are useful, if you buy them go to the automotive section of your discount store (they are cheaper than in the kitchen section but the same!)

·        Newspapers!  Use up those Sunday papers!   (Wear gloves!)

·        Old coffee filters for a coffee pot you don’t have any more

·        Squeegees just like the pros!

Washing curtains: some curtains are dry clean only and you cannot wash them.  If your curtains are not dry clean only then still wash them in cold on the gentle cycle to be safe.   As soon as they are done take them out of the washer and shake them out and hang them back on the rods.  They will dry nicely and you probably won’t have to iron them this way.   

Cobwebs: these seem to pop up out of nowhere.  Aside from painting your ceiling sky blue (spiders are not supposed to go there because it looks like the sky,)  an easy way to take care of these is a tool like a “Webster”  which will help you reach them and it grabs them too.  Even if you don’t have a “Webster” then do not use your broom it is a pain to get those babies off and you are going want to use it on your kitchen floor!  Wrap one of those old towels around your broom and secure it with a string.  Then you can still reach them and just toss your old towel in the trash or wash after you are done.

Microwave: I hope you don’t wait until spring arrives to clean your microwave but it can easily get forgotten because the door is always shut and you don’t see the mess.  The easiest way to clean it is to put a cup of water in your microwave and heat it until it steams, and then let it sit in the microwave to steam it up.  Then after a few minutes, use some white vinegar and a dish cloth to clean it.  If you have some stubborn crustiness in there use a little baking soda as your scrubbing agent. 

Rugs and blankets:  if your rugs and blankets are machine washable toss them in your washing machine and give them the Spring cleaning they deserve, but instead of putting them in the dryer put them out on the clothes line in the fresh air.  If you don’t have a clothes line you can drape them over your balcony railing, or over a chair or two outside as a makeshift clothes line.   If you can drag your mattress outside it would love that fresh air too. 

Here are a couple other homemade cleaners that can save you money and keep nasty chemicals out of your home:

My Home Made Laundry Soap CLICK HERE to view that post.

Copper Cleaner- Use a mixture of salt and lemon juice to shine up your copper like new.

Tile and Grout Cleaner-

1/2 cup of baking soda

1/3 cup of ammonia

1/4 cup of white vinegar

7 cups of water

Combine all the ingredients in a labeled spray bottle and shake well to mix. Spray on then wipe off with a damp sponge. Do not use with bleach.

Window Cleaner-

2 cups rubbing alcohol 
1/2 cup vinegar

1 tsp. dish liquid detergent 
add enough water to this mix until you have one gallon

(Try using an old but clean milk jug to mix this just add the ingredients, fill with water and shake to mix.)

I know it sounds funny but it I like doing some spring cleaning, it is like a fresh start.  Once you are all done it is like a clear view of sun shiney days to come.  I like to save time and money however while doing it.  Kind of like the same way I do laundry.  I have a special way of doing my laundry to save time too, CLICK HERE to view that post.  

There are tons of other "Did ya know ya could" use this to clean that tips or "Ways To Save" tips on my blog, Saving Your Green.  I hope you will stop by sometime and check it out!  :)

Thanks for letting me ramble on to your readers Tight Wad in Utah.