Day 25: Cleaning Supplies

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Day 25: Cleaning Supplies

How many different cleaning supplies do you have on hand?  How many of them don’t you like?  How many do you actually use?  I recently cleaned out my cleaning supplies, got rid of a ton, and have streamlined what I need and where I store it.

1. Get rid of anything that has a smell that you can’t stand – I had 2 surface cleaners that had such overwhelming scents, but I hadn’t gotten rid of them and they were just collecting dust.
2. If you have multiple open containers of the same produce stored in the same location – combine them to save space.
3. Instead of throwing out partial bottles of cleaners, post them for free on your local Facebook yard sale group or even on your own Facebook page for your friends.  You can also ask if your local food pantry takes cleaning supplies, and if they will take partial containers.

I don’t use many different cleaning supplies any more, but I am very happy with the ones that I have.  We are attempting to eliminate more chemicals from our home, but there are several products my husband and I have yet to give up, and I’m ok with that since its a short list.  I also don’t have a problem with other people using different products.  You use what works best for your family and how you clean.  This is just what works for us.

• Norwex Enviro Cloths
• Norwex Window Cloth
• Shaklee Basic H – mixed in 3 concentrations: degreaser, surface cleaner, & glass cleaner
• Windex 
• Bar Keepers Friend
• Norwex Cleaning Paste
• Norwex Oven & Grill Cleaner
• Norwex Mattress Cleaner
• Palmolive & Dawn dish soap
• laundry detergent – I use a few different ones
• Magic Erasers
• Baking Soda
• White Vinegar
• Borax
• Super Washing Soda
• Castille Soap

I also have a variety of scrubby sponges and brushes, paper towels, and other micro fiber cleaning cloths to make the job a little easier.  With that short list of supplies, I can clean every surface in our home effectively, and without having a million different bottles of cleaners stashed in every cabinet.

I don’t skimp on the quality of my cleaning supplies, and it is one place in our budget where I do spend a little extra money.  Cutting back on the chemicals is important to me, and often the better quality items cost a little more than conventional products.  However, I have noticed that I also use a lot less of them.  For example, the bottle of Shaklee Basic H has lasted me more than 2 years and the Norwex Mattress Cleaner is 4 months old cleaning 4 beds a month, and is still very full.

By cutting back on the number of supplies we use, making some of our cleaning products, and not storing cleaning supplies in each room of our home, we have been able to save a lot of money, free up a few cabinets, and eliminate some unnecessary items from our home while helping others.