How Much Saved?

This post is inspired by a reader as she asked if I have any other home made cleaning products besides the orange cleaner that I use.

I'll post what I have normally used as well as the minor changes I've made because my body can't handle the pain involved in cleaning without a little help  from 'my friends'.

Wood Floors: Until recently I got down on my bum and cleaned with a rag and hot water.  I tried the cleaning pads the other day (attached to a Swiffer pole) with side effects to Marley.  I had to get down after that and wash the product off the floor anyway.  So to solve the problem I have a steamer.

Sinks, counters, bathroom fixtures, cooktop, and most other surfaces: I use the home made orange cleaner.

Windows and glass surfaces:  Vinegar has been my go to cleaner for these surfaces.  I need to look up the recipe so if anyone wants to use it to clean their glass surfaces it's available.  Fill half a spray bottle with water and the other half with white vinegar to make a glass cleaner.  Because I got a bottle of glass cleaner free a few months ago, I have that on reserve.

Clothes:  Wash ball and dryer balls.  The wash ball goes in the sun after 30 uses to regenerate.  I do use Tide free and clear for the dogs bedding with a touch of bleach I purchase from the dollar store.
I also use tea tree essential oil in the dryer to discourage the collection of mites on all bedding.  You know the ones we can't see that are normally demonstrated with the use of cartoon characters.  I'm not even sure they really exist, but to be on the safe side the essential oil goes on the dryer ball.

The wash ball, dryer balls, and essential oil used to
clean bedding and other clothes.   The oil is placed on one
of the dryer balls.

Stainless steel surfaces.  I use plain warm water and a lot of elbow grease.  If one of the grands leave a full hand print, I clean around it because I love to see those little prints that bring up feelings of love.

Cooktop:  I tell anyone within ear shot that I'm not happy with the ceramic cooktop.  This feeling aside it needs to be kept free of dirt and grease.  First I use the orange cleaner then I sprinkled baking soda and use a damp rag to spread it around in a circular motion - with lots of elbow grease.  Not only do I not prefer to use store bought cleaner, but I refuse to pay 9.00 a bottle for it.  I swear it's only a paste made from baking soda and water anyway.  The cooktop also needs a couple of rinsings to remove any residue left behind from the baking soda.  The final step is a good buffing with a clean clot in a side to side direction.

The ceramic cooktop before cleaning.

Baking soda sprinkled on the cooktop after the orange cleaner has
been used then removed.  Water is added to the soda to create a paste.

The results after the cooktop has been buffed.

The items used to get the resulting shining cooktop.

Walls:  Most of the house is painted with a surface that is not smooth.  The only thing I can use is a magic eraser from the dollar store.  I also use the small paint kit the builder left behind for any touch ups needed.

Wood surfaces:  A small amount of plain water on a rag then buffed up with a clean rag.  I use to use a spray that had fabreeze in it because I liked the scent it left behind.  Then I read the ingredients on a fabreeze label and decided to change my strategy.  I also clean painted wood surfaces this way. but add just a drop of essential oil then rinse with an additional cloth.

Doing the math is my favorite part of this equation.  Let's calculate the annual savings.  The items and their costs come from current pricing on amazon.  I'm going to try to compare environmentally friendly items.


IMAGES REMOVED FOR LEGAL REASONS.  (I JUST FOUND OUT)

I couldn't find an item to clean the stove top.  The price in my local grocery store is very close to 9.00.  Realistically this item is used every week or more.  To be more than fair- because I don't know the size of the container - let's say we use only three per year.  27.00 total

Just these five items will remove 141.69 per year from your wallet.  My orange cleaner cost whatever the peels of citrus costs and about 2 cups of vinegar.  Baking soda costs .50 at the dollar store.  The elbow grease is free.

It's been said we have either time or money.  I've found out I can have both.

Stay safe and let us know if you have any home made products you use that saves you money.  The simple life is the healthiest and stress free life I have ever encountered.  A simple life can be had no matter where you live.  To me it's more a frame of mind than location.

Yoo Toob, The Modern (Interactive) Magazine

Let's talk about magazines.  This is one form of media that I spent half a lifetime coveting.  While bringing up our family spending money on a magazine was a frivolous act, so I bought very few.  Mostly I would grab one from a doctor's office (since we spent so much time in them) and ask if I could have it.

I would read every word that was between the covers with relish, thinking that I was being educated.  In quiet time I would pour over the pictures again and again scoring the images to memory.  I did this for about ten years, thinking that the authors were so wise.  One day reality hit.

That day was the day that I noticed all of the previous 'wisdom' was being pooh poohed and new 'exciting' information was now available.  Information like margarine was so healthy and butter was a no no in any healthy diet.  Opps, we were wrong.  New studies reveal butter is natural and better than the spread we use to tout because margarine is one molecule away from plastic.  ONE molecule!!!!  Good thing that special heart diet my husband was on that didn't allow him the pleasure of butter was so healthy for him.  My love affair with women's magazines began to waiver. 

I turned to decorating magazines for inspiration realizing that the authors of the women's magazines knew nothing more than I did.  The same procedure for acquiring them was in place.  Until a magazine called  LIVING debuted.  I had to gift myself that one.  I loved it for years - too many to count.  Then two years ago I read where the new CEO let go of 500 employees the week before Christmas.  I became so disgusted that I refuse to even read the magazine or purchase anything with the name attached since. 

I realize every company has an individual tax year, but these modifications could have been put on hold and enacted later in the new year.  Living began soliciting me to renew my subscription - the one I had for twenty years.  Sorry, I've lost total interest in a firm that has demonstrated it does not take into consideration the loyalty of it's staffers - appearing, instead,  to covet only  the bottom line.  It's in an instance like this that I have to ask how many millions is enough.

I see this conglomeration has been loosing luster ever since allowing this to happen at Christmas.  We consumers are not as clueless as this company thought.  Even if the company was loosing money, waiting three months would not have made that much difference.  I know this as a fact as the company I worked for did the same thing for years until it was pointed out to the owner how badly it reflected on him.  He changed his ways and began gaining headway in the market place, making less people angry who complained to anyone who would listen to them.

These trademark products are now often on sale and the company is begging people to subscribe to their magazine, something that was not considered appropriate by it a few years back.

Currently the only magazines I purchase are specialty ones that have information in them about a specific subject such as canning, organizing or Christmas décor and projects.  It's rare that I purchase any these days.

My new 'magazine' is yoo toob.  I love yootoob.  I have found a group of ladies that are so talented that Martha should hang her head.  The kicker is these ladies don't spend thousands on their projects.  They glamorize garage sale finds and super discounted items and their homes are gorgeous.  They create their own pillows by using fabric glue and low cost embellishments.  They organize using dollar store bins or TJ Maxx items.  No snobbery going on here.  I admire them because they are uplifting and have a heart for young families and beauty.

I can't remember which one said this, but it stuck with me. She said God created beauty and an organized environment therefore He has shown us that both of these things can bring peace into our hearts and homes.  This is the kind of wisdom that is forever motivational.

So, yoo toob, you have my vote as long as the bottom line is not more important than the people who  brought you to fame.

Stay safe.