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Cleaning

DIY Soft Scrub with Bleach

 

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Hello again, savvy savers! For this week’s Thrifty Thursday’s, I want to share with you one of the ways I have found to save on cleaning supplies, and that is with my DIY Soft Scrub, with Bleach! As this product is priced around $2.98 locally for me, I find that my making my own, using products purchased online via Amazon and ePantry, I am able to make a batch of cleaner for under $0.25, nearly 85% off retail pricing, using only four simple, household ingredients! 

Here’s how to make it:

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup baking soda 
  • 1/4 cup Castile soap 
  • 2 Tablespoons room temperature water
  • 1/2 Tablespoon bleach
  • Glass jar, with lid

Directions:

  1. Combine the water and baking soda in a non-lidded glass jar; set aside for 1 minutes.
  2. Next, add the soap to the mixture, folding in the soap slowly.
  3. Add the bleach, and set aside for an additional minute.
  4. Store your mixture, in your lidded jar, and use 1 teaspoon for each cleaning, as needed. 
  5. When cleaning, use a white cloth, scrub your surface, and allow mixture to remain on the surface for 60 seconds, for disinfecting purposes, before rinsing with water, and drying with a clean cloth.
  6. Enjoy!

 

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As you can see, the left side of my kitchen sink, with just the smallest amount of this DIY scrub, with a simple white cloth, cleans my kitchen sink to an impressive shine! I also use this mixture in my bathroom sink, bathroom showers, and to clean my grill and smoker at home. This scrub comes in handy during the winter months, when the extra bit of help, by way of the household chlorine bleach, helps to not just clean but disinfect the surfaces most used in my home! If you use something similar in your home, I’d love to hear about it below!

 

Bathroom Spice Rack Nail Polish Organizer!

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Good morning, savvy savers! I hope many of you are off of work this fine Easter Monday, and for those that may not be, that something positive comes of both your mood and your day! With that said, I want to share of the aspects of my master bathroom, that I consider positive! For this weeks, Organizational Ideas post, I want to share how I organize my nail polish collection, and my collection I mean the myriad of bottles that seem to come from the abyss to my bathroom!

I organize my bottles on a hanging spice rack, which I was able to purchase for free, using earned Amazon.com gift cards, from survey sites! This rack, is priced at under $10.00. This method keeps my polishes and lacquers within reach, not sitting in drawers, and easily accessible to myself during weekly spa nights! I love to look at my rack when I go into the bathroom, for as a visual person, colors excite me!

Here’s to organizing!

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February No Spend Month Challenge: Day 11 Recap

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Hello again, savvy savers! So for the Day 11 challenge, I challenged everyone to clean off your homes most prized real estate, your counter-tops.  So, today as my counter-tops were already cleaned off, but I thought I would share some of the ways I keep them cleared off!  

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 A few ways I keep my counter-tops clear:

  • I keep my toaster oven, microwave, tool crock trio, and produce baskets on a small bakers rack.
  • All paper products, wraps, and lunch items are stored in in-cabinet wicker baskets. 
  • Snacks are stored vertically in hanging baskets.
  • I keep a rack above my sink for washing accouterments and my favorite e-Pantry candles! 
  • I keep my small appliances in a bottom cabinet; grill and baking appliances on one shelf, and all others on the bottom shelf. 
  • I place my cutting boards in an upcycled magazine holder, on the side of my pantry.
  • All spices, food, and pantry items stay in the pantry!
  • Extra tools belong on my pullman cart beside my fridge!

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I also created a coffee and tea station on top of my antique buffet table in my dining room. The station holds all of my mugs, cups, and baskets holding my k-cup products in cabinet, to maximize space. I find that having all of my Keurig, tea station, electric kettle in one area not only cuts down on kitchen clutter, but forces my family to better utilize out dining room space; being able to sit and drink tea coffee, and cocoa in a designated area promoted quality family time for us all!

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And before anyone asks, are my cabinets cleared out? You betcha! I just love how much more efficient my home has become in the few weeks my counter tops have been cleared off. Every projects, from pantry cooking, prepping blanching projects, to folding laundry now has an area! And at the end of the day, when I wipe my counter tops off I feel a true sense of relief, not seeing clutter in every direction I turn! I highly recommend clearing of your counters, as it truly is a game changing experience! 

As well today, I was also able to accomplish:

  1. As part of my #Choose30 Daily Challenge, I woke up at 7:25, walked my fur babies, showered, & dressed to my shoes. (Thanks, Flylady!)
  2. Worked on my daily Motivated Moms Planner.
  3. I finished a day’s worth of clerking assignments ahead of schedule!
  4. I cooked from my pantry for each meal.
  5. Read my daily devotional.
  6. I waked two miles.

Today I saved:

  • I eat at home this evening for dinner, saving our family $6.95. 
  • I recycled, upcycled, and composted one bins of deluge, and saved $0.25, the cost of 1 trash bag. 
  • My family drank water today, and saved $0.69, the cost of a 2-liter of soda.
  • I also did not watch cable tv, and saved $3.68 by doing so.
  • I lost a half day’s worth of electricity costs, and saved $3.00! 

So, overall today my family saved: $14.57

This months savings goal remaining: $374.60

Be sure to check back tomorrow for the Day 12 challenge! 

Here’s to saving,

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Challenge Links:

How to Clean & Refresh Micro-Suede!

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Hello again, savvy savers! Today’s Tutorial Tuesday post, is a selfish endeavor for me, as it involves the odious task of safely cleaning micro-suede at home! According to the National Furniture Market 2014 Sales Record, 1:6 sales nationally were micro-suede, and so I would imagine this post can help a lot of you, too! As you can see above, the sectional in our den needed a bit of work, and honestly, I have just not wanted to clean this couch. So, with a little research and trial and error, and a few profanities later, I can come up with the most economical, time-friendly way to clean this household staple! 

Materials Needed:

  • Spray Bottle Nozzle (on hand)
  • Bottle of Rubbing Alcohol (on hand)
  • White Sponge ($0.25, from 4 pack at dollar tree)
  • Soft Bristle Brush (on hand)
  • Credit Card (on hand)
  • Vacuum (on hand)

Total Cost: $0.25

Here’s how to clean it:

  1. Thoroughly vacuum your furniture piece; front sides, under cushions, back panels, and inner-connective parts, if needed.
  2. Place a Spray Nozzle on a bottle of rubbing alcohol.
  3. Spray down your couch with rubbing alcohol; your fabric will need to be damp but not saturated.
  4. Start working from your cushions down, take a white sponge (this will prevent artificial dyes from the sponge from being transferred to your fabric), working in a circular motion, work up stains in the fabric. 
  5. Let the fabric dry approximately 20 minutes.
  6. After this time check your fabric, and if stains still persist, follow steps 1-4 with a clean sponge.
  7. Once the fabric is cleaned, and fully dry, take the edge of a credit card, and scrape the top of the fabric in long, straight lines. 
  8. This will allow the fabric nap to be raised and will allow the original colors of the fabric to emerge.

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So, as you can see… this work wonders! I am super excited about the results, as this cleaning method has only set me back $0.25, the cost of a sponge! How amazing is that! If anyone has other methods for cleaning micro-suede, please leave me a comment below and let me know!

Here’s to better living,

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DIY Organic Grapefruit Counter Top Cleaner!

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Good morning, savvy savers! Happy New Year! So this past week at my home, albeit low-key, have been jammed packed with DIY projects and freezer cooking sessions! With all that cooking, comes a whole lot of cleaning, and for me that means whipping out my commercial for keeping my counter tops cleaned, Method Grapefruit Spray! That spray rocks!

As much as I love the cleaner, I am also looking to further cut my bankbook strings in 2015, so I decided to try a DIY version this year! With that said, for the past few days I have been using apps savings from Snap by Groupon, to save on Scarlet Grapefruits at my local Sam’s Club (shopping scenarios to come in the next few days), and instead of composting the Grapefruit peels, I started the first steps to making Homemade Grapefruit Counter top Cleaner!

With the outrageous cost of commercial glass cleaners, I created an organic, non-toxic, child and pet-safe all purpose cleaner which can be for under $5.00 for a years worth of cleaner! As the average cost of a bottle of store-bought orange cleaner is 3.89, and I use a bottle of spray a month, that’s a savings of $48.68 a year! Here’s how to make this!

 

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Ingredients:

  • 1 Clean, dried mason jar
  • The peels of 3 grapefruits
  • 2 Cups Distilled, white vinegar
  • 10 drops Essential Grapefruit Oil
  • 1 Empty Bottle
  • 1 Funnel
  • 1 Plastic Bowl
  • 1 Sifter

Instructions:

  1. Obtain a clean mason jar, and fill it with 16 ounces, 2 cups, of distilled white vinegar.
  2. Place the peel of three grapefruits in the mason jar with the vinegar.
  3. Add the 10 drops of essential oil to the top of the jar.
  4. Secure the cap and ring on the mason jar.
  5. Store the jar in a cool, dry place for 14 days; I have stored the jars in both my pantry and garage without issues.
  6. On the 15th day, open the jar and strain the contents into a sifter, over a plastic bowl.
  7. Return the solution to the mason jar with a funnel; label your jar as cleaning concentrate.
  8. Open a spray bottle and add 1/4 cup of the solution, 2 ounces, to 5 cups water.
  9. Seal the bottle and shake gently.
  10. Use in conjunction with newspaper to clean most glass surfaces, including counters.

This is an awesome cleaner! I hope you will think so, too!

Enjoy the clean!

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