Saving money around the house

I don't know about you, but the cost of little things you need around the house really add up. So I have found some little tips that help cuts costs so you can spend that hard earned money on stuff you actually want or even save it! I am going to go room by room and give tips and ideas on how to save money on everything from cleaning supplies to toiletries!

The Kitchen
Dish Soap can actually be bought by the gallon at bulk stores and it works just as well as name brand. 1 gallon of dish soap at Sam's Club is $5.00. Also you can add some borax which you can get a 4 lb box for less than $4.00 to help with the tough pans. Borax can also be used in the dishwasher and works wonderfully.
We go through Dish cloths like they are going out of style. I like to go to Kmart and buy a 25 pack for $5.99. That way if they get gross or stained I don't feel bad about putting them in the rag pile.

The Laundry room
Now I have not tried this but a nurse at my work swears by it and I plan on doing this as soon as my laundry soap starts to run out! It's actually a recipe from the Duggars.

Powdered Laundry Detergent - Top load machine

1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm and hammer super washing soda
½ Cup Borax

-Grate soap or break into pieces and process in a food processor until powdered. Mix all ingredients. For light load, use 1 Tablespoon. For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 Tablespoons. Yields: 3 Cups detergent. (Approx. 40 loads)

Also instead of buying expensive fabric softener, just add a cup of White vinegar which you can buy by the gallon or if you like the smell of fabric softener by the brand you like and add water. It'll still work great if you do two parts water to one part softener.

To keep your whites white, just add a little bit of borax to your load of laundry!

The Bathroom

We go through lots of hand soap so we buy large things of liquid hand soap and just transfer it in to a smaller pump bottle. You can buy a one gallon jug for under $5.00 and it fills those little bottles many times over!

Shampoo and conditioner can be costly so we buy the large economic pump bottle and only use one or two pumps per hair wash, you will save money on the larger containers and because it'll last longer since you are using less.

Now if you are anything like me, you like good smelling lotions and body washes. Unfortunately they can be pricey, so I've learned if you buy a small thing of smelly lotion from somewhere like bath and body works on sale for $1.00 or $2.00 then buy a large thing of unscented lotion from Walmart and mix them you'll have a large thing of scented lotion for less and it's not as strong which my husband likes. The same can go for body wash too!

General cleaning

Steam cleaning is free once the first purchase and works wonders. I recommend the H20 ultra steam mop for all of the floors and hard surfaces. It's 136.00 with shipping from amazon and you can clean just about any surface in your house. You can use it on carpet and furniture to get out stains and smells, on and in the stove to get off all the gunk that can accumulate, and to disinfect everything!

I love fabreze but it can be expensive so we buy a spray bottle and the refill bottle of fabreez. Fill the spray bottle 1/3 fabreze and the rest with water. It still works great and you are saving quite a bit of money!

I know that linen sprays are becoming very popular but have you seen the prices of those, crazy. I found a recipe to make your own.

1 tsp. lavender essential oil

1/4 cup unflavored vodka

3 1/2 cups filtered water

I hope these idea's will help you save money and continue to have a fabulous home! If you have any other tips or idea's just leave a comment!