Get a Clean House and Save Money at the Same Time

It's possible to have a clean and sparkling house and not spend a fortune on all those specialty sprays and cleaners. Many of those fancy cleaning products and chemicals that cost as much as 15 to 20% of one's weekly household budget are nothing more than common everyday chemicals. What everyday chemicals, you may ask?

How about... Baking Soda.

This isn't a great cleaning product but it does do a great job on smells and household odors. Use your old box of baking soda from the refrigerator or back of the cabinet and pour down your drains. A ½ cup in each drain will neutralize the odors in the drain.

You don't have a box of baking soda in the refrigerator? Now would be a good time to put one in, because baking soda will absorb food odors and keep the inside of your refrigerator smelling fresh. At less than a dollar a pound, baking soda is not only great for making but also to help keep your home cleaned and fresh.
Ammonia:
NEVER combine ammonia with chlorine bleach. It can create a toxic fume that can burn your lungs and is very serious. That said, ammonia is a very effective cleaning chemical that used in many of your more popular cleaning products on the market today. Don't let anyone tell you not to use ammonia simply because it's not safe. Like anything else in our society, including water, safe use provides many benefits.

Ammonia makes a great general purpose cleaner. Simply mix 1 part ammonia with three parts water into an empty spray bottle and you have a very effective grease cutting product that rivals the expensive store brands. For even more cleaning ability, add a little automatic dishwashing detergent into the bottle. It works better than ordinary dishwashing soap because it doesn't create all the suds.

With eight children in our household simply keeping the place presentable is enough for me. I'm not a rabid environmentalist or believe that anything natural organic is better simply because it says so on the package. You must admit however, that if all of us would begin to make a few simple changes in our consumer buying habits, the environment would be a little bit better, and we may even be a little healthier.

Chances are your grandmother or great-grandmother, regularly used these basic household chemicals to do the cleaning around the cave. Although apparently none of these products can be expected to remove cave wall paintings, they will do a good job on almost all other cleaning challenges. For more great natural cleaning product recipes simply search the web.

Abigail Franks has 7 children and 7 grandchildren and spends a lot of time cleaning the house. Look here for some quick cleaning tips and information on vacuum cleaners to keep your home fresh and clean quickly and easily.