If there are two natural products that I would recommend every household stock, it’s vinegar and bicarbonate of soda. With these two cheap products you can cook, clean and cure the common cold.

Ok, maybe not quite cure the common cold, but they are very useful and versatile products to have on hand.

A few different vinegars are good to have on hand for cooking like apple cider vinegar, balsamic, rice, and red wine vinegar, to name just a few possibilities (you don’t need to have all of them of course, it will depend on what you like to cook). But plain white vinegar is definitely the workhorse of the vinegar family.

Cleaning with white vinegar means you’re avoiding harsh chemicals in your home. It is environmentally friendly, economical and effective in killing mould and most bacteria. Why buy dozens of products when one inexpensive one does the job?

uses for vinegar

1. Make your own salad dressing. I prefer to make my own dressing instead of buying because I know what goes in and I can customise it to taste exactly how I like.

2. Morning tonic. Apple cider vinegar is purported to have many health benefits including weight loss and an aid in reducing blood pressure and cholesterol. But besides that, it tastes good (at least I like it). I drink a very small dash in water every morning with breakfast.

3. All purpose cleaner. Vinegar is useful for cleaning just about everything in the house. A mild anti-bacterial, vinegar not only cuts through grease, it mildly disinfects. Here is the recipe for the all purpose cleaner that I have been making and using for well over six years now.

4. Window cleaner. Equal parts of vinegar and water make a great window cleaner, or you could just use the all purpose cleaner above.

5. Toilet cleaner. Straight vinegar is effective for cleaning the toilet. You can read more about our natural toilet cleaning routine here.

6. Use vinegar to clean out a drain.

7. Clean an oven door by spraying on vinegar, leaving it for a little while, then wiping off.

8. To remove smells from plastic containers, add a dash of vinegar and top up with water. Leave to soak overnight. I’ve found this to be quite effective; another effective alternative is to use bicarb soda.

9. Vinegar makes an effective mould killer.

10. Fabric softener. Add one cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle of towels to help soften and deodorise them. I tend to just pour a little into the fabric softener holder in the washing machine, adding a little eucalyptus oil as well for freshness.

11. Colour brightener / whites whitener. Adding one cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle of your colours wash will help keep colours bright or a cup added to your whites load will help whiten whites.

12. Add to the rinse cycle of nappies to help neutralise PH and help prevent nappy rash. Again, I add it to the fabric softener compartment.

13. Soak nappies in vinegar and water rather than nappy soaker. This works really well, but it can go a bit yuck if you leave the nappies soaking for one day too many (especially in hot weather).

14. Soak dishcloths, flannels, bibs etc. in a vinegar and water solution (as with the nappies).

15. Use vinegar to clean up pet wee and discourage pets from weeing there again. As a cat owner, I’ve found vinegar to be very effective in cleaning up kitty wee, particularly getting rid of the atrocious smell.

16. Vinegar is good for cleaning carpet stains.

17. Stop insect bites from itching with vinegar. Tea tree oil or methylated spirits also work a treat.

18. Vinegar can help sooth sunburn.

19. Use as a hair rinse. I must admit that vinegar hair rinse made my hair go a little on the oily side. Others, however, swear by it.

20. Soothe a sore throat with a mixture of apple cider vinegar, water and honey.

21. Soak your feet in white distilled vinegar to stop athlete’s foot.

There are many, many other uses for vinegar, you can find some more ideas here, but the ones listed above are those that I have personally tried myself.

So before reaching for the chemical alternatives, if you don’t already, try some vinegar (and some bicarb), and see if that does the trick. In many instances, I’ve found the two to be much more effective than any purchased commercial product.

How do you use vinegar around the home?

Have you read these articles?:

1. tip tuesday – vinegar for soap scum
2. Uses for Bicarb Soda
3. cleaning the toilet – naturally

It was only days after getting new (cream, what was I thinking) carpet, when it was stained with chocolate cake and blood (separate incidents).

The most effective cleaner I found was plain old soap and water. A bit of a scrub with an old toothbrush and the stain was gone.

I also happened across this video at the same time on removing carpet stains with an iron. I haven’t tried this method yet, but I thought I would share it.

My only caveat is that the video uses ammonia, I would use vinegar instead.

If you have nylon carpet, you may want to do a patch test first or have the iron down low to ensure you don’t burn the carpet. And remember, protein stains (think grease, food, makeup, chocolate, blood…) will set with heat – wash protein stains with soap and cold water.

Have you read these articles?:

1. tip tuesday – bicarb for stains
2. tip tuesday–washing machine maintenance
3. tip tuesday–clean your drains chemical free

Mould growth – not only is it unsightly, it can be bad for your health. Mould can reduce the quality of indoor air and can aggravate asthma and hay fever as well as increase the risk of respiratory illness, especially in children.

Mould is typically caused by bacteria that loves to grow in hot, humid environments. Our bathrooms, therefore, provide an ideal environment for mould to establish some real estate and start a family.

Prevent the next generation of mould colonising your bathroom with these tips.

Preventing mould in the bathroom

The best cure is prevention, as they say. These tips will help keep your bathroom mould free.

• Take shorter, cooler showers. Not only do you save money on hot water, the less build up of steam, the quicker a bathroom dries, helping to prevent mould.
• If your bathroom has a window, keep it open to allow air circulation both during and after showering.
• Use a ceiling exhaust fan whilst showering to vent the humid air out of the bathroom. Keep the exhaust on for a while after your shower to help dehumidify the bathroom (don’t tell DH I said that, I’m always nagging him to turn off the bathroom fan).
• Hang your towels outside to dry in the sun rather than leaving them to stay damp all day in the bathroom. If you shower at night, consider hanging towels out over an airer to dry.
• Check your bathroom for leaks and fix dripping taps.
• Make sure the shower recess dries each day. Use a squeegee to give it a quick, 5 second wipe over to help it dry.
• Clean the bathroom regularly to prevent mould build up.
• Next time you paint the bathroom, consider using a paint or primer that has an anti-mould agent in it to help prevent mould from recurring.

Getting rid of mould in the bathroom

While there are a lot of products on the market designed for ridding the bathroom of mould, I’ve found good old vinegar and a bit of elbow grease to be the best way to eliminate mould. Apparently the experts agree.

According to an Australian Environmental Mycology Laboratory, the best way to clean mould from surfaces is to vacuum the affected area with a HEPA vacuum to remove spores, then wash with a vinegar (80%) / water (20%) solution. Check out their cleaning advice page for specific details. As a side note, they also suggest using bi-carb soda to remove stubborn stains . Just another reason to avoid the chemical cleaners and stick to the cheap and natural stuff.

Despite being a commonly suggested remedy, bleach does not kill mould. Here’s what the experts say:

Specifically, bleach has a high pH which makes it ineffective to kill mould.  The mould detects the bleach as a chemical attack and defends itself with exo-enzymes and a good defending membrane.  The exo-enzymes makes the chlorine compounds in the bleach inert which then the fungi uses it as a food source.  So when we put bleach on mould we are actually feeding it.  Visually it looks like the mould is disappearing because bleach “bleaches” which means it strips the melanin compounds out of the hyphal membrane (just like the melanin in our skin when we get a sun tan). Three weeks later the fungi hyphae recovers the melanin content and the mould becomes visible again so it was actually never gone. [source]

If mould has gotten under silicone sealant in shower recesses, then you will need to remove the sealant, clean the area well with vinegar, allow to dry and then reseal with new sealant specific for use in wet areas.

It can be easy to ignore a spot of mould when there are so many other things to do. But ignoring it can turn a small job into a big problem, which in turn can have adverse affects on your health. And the answer is actually simpler and cheaper than buying and using expensive and toxic chemical cleaners (along with all the necessary protective gear) – plain white vinegar comes to the rescue once again.

Have you read these articles?:

1. frugal (and natural) cleaning
2. using knitted dishcloths

Our regular household routine has been disrupted a number of times over the last few months due to illness and then our little sewage leak in the lounge room fiasco. While these disruptions were unavoidable (and, I’d like to add, not all disruptions to routine are bad), it did end up costing us money we wouldn’t normally have spent.

It wasn’t until this point that I realised routines not only help you get things done, a routine can save you money.

While we can’t always avoid disruptions to routine (and sometimes we break routine because we want to – a break from the same old, same old is vital for happiness), we can avoid routine busters breaking the budget or leaving us feeling guilty over unplanned spending.

Here’s how our disruptions to routine increased our spending lately:

• I haven’t been menu planning or even grocery shopping every fortnight, which has meant several last minute dashes to the shop in the evening for something easy (and usually more costly) for dinner.
• It is usually DH who makes these trips to the store. You’re probably nodding in understanding at why this blows the budget but if I’ve lost you: DH comes home with cookies/ chocolate/ ice cream/ chips and a whole heap of other things I don’t normally buy. And junk food adds up pretty quickly.
• When I menu plan I don’t have to think (always a good thing). I just defrost what it says on the plan. Without a menu plan, defrosting and dinner preparation has often been neglected and we end up settling for takeaway as a last minute, oops forgot about dinner, option.
• Walking into a messy kitchen at the end of the day is also pretty demotivating and often results in takeaway. We used to have a really good washing up routine – it needs re-establishing.
• The ironing pile rivals Kilimanjaro. A shortage of pressed shirts sees DH ironing in the morning rather than making lunch, which equals…more takeaway.
• Our regular evening routine involves rinsing and soaking the little fella’s bibs. When the sewage leaked our focus was (necessarily) on cleaning that up. Several days later I came across a couple of mouldy bibs that hadn’t been soaked. They were beyond salvageable – we are talking mould that had evolved into a city-state and had elected a prime minister. They had to be thrown away.
• On the same note, the nappies didn’t get washed either, so we resorted to using disposables for a couple of days.
• Finally, and I can’t work this one out, the TV is on the other side of the room while we wait for new carpet, and for some reason *someone* now forgets to turn it off at the wall at night. An established habit has been disrupted by a simple change in furniture position.

What’s the takeaway?

I’m a fan of routines when it comes to household management. Stuff that needs to get done, gets done with minimum thought and hassle and in the shortest amount of time. Life is easier when you have even just a loose structure to your day.

However, don’t think I’m advocating schedule slavery here, disruptions to the routine are pretty good too! I relish holidays and lazy weekends. New babies are a huge disruption to routine and I’m looking forward to that too. It’s good to be able to just let go.

But how do you save money when the routine flies out the window, for whatever reason?

First, you need to have an established routine in the first place. Constant chaos costs you cash.

Secondly, it’s a good idea to prepare for predicable routines busters. A new baby is a good example here: stocking the freezer with homemade meals, for instance, ready to defrost means you don’t have to worry about cooking but you’re still saving money.

Next, put some ice cream money aside. For the days when you think ‘ah, let’s just go out for dinner and forget the dishes for a night’ .You’ve got ready guilt-free cash to splurge with.

Finally, some of our recent routine busters were due to an emergency, so I had no qualms dipping into our emergency fund for pizza. After spending hours mopping stinky floors, there was no way I was going to cook dinner.

Routines are good. That’s the conclusion here. Not only do they help get the boring stuff done, they save you money as well.

Have you read these articles?:

1. 10 ways to save money today
2. why facebook can save you money
3. fyi: vacuuming and dusting routine

We have been using knitted dishcloths for quite some time now but despite this, I keep knitting more. I find them quick and easy to make, I can knit a row or two while the little fella is preoccupied or while watching a movie with the hubby and the repetitive nature of knitting is meditative.

The first time I ever heard of knitted dishcloths I thought ‘why would anyone want to knit dishcloths?’ Even taking into account the environmental benefit of ditching disposables and reusing the same cloths over and over, surely, I thought, it would be easier to just recycle rags.

Then I got my first dishcloth in an internet swap and promptly fell in love. The knitted texture makes the cloths great for cleaning. So if, like me, you’re wondering why you would bother, try one out. You may be surprised like I was.

And if you are wanting to learn how to knit, then these make an excellent first project. It doesn’t matter if your knitting looks like the dog’s breakfast (and many of my older ones look just like that), you are only cleaning with them anyway.

The coloured cloths above are made from a cotton / acrylic mix yarn. I know, shock horror, I’m using acrylic, but the label said cotton and with a cranky bub, I didn’t bother reading the fine print. As a bonus, acrylic dries much quicker than cotton, so I’m quite pleased with the added acrylic. And if you’re wondering, I use this pattern, found in the dishcloth pattern round-up.

I colour code my cloths for different cleaning jobs: the yellow cloths are for cleaning in the bathroom, the orange cloths are for cleaning the kitchen and the green cloths are for washing the dishes. This is to ensure that no cloth that has wiped the toilet seat gets used on the dinner plates. I have enough now to use a new one each day, plus a few extra if the laundry is delayed.

To clean the cloths, I put them in a bucket of water with nappy soaker in it each night, along with the bibs and face washes we use for the little fella each day plus any other rags used. Every few weeks I will put them in a bucket of water with a little bleach instead to give them a thorough sanitise and get any manky smell out, which can sometimes linger.

When I wash the towels, I rinse the dishcloths, bibs, face washes, rags, tea towels etc. and add them to the load (I never wash them as a separate load) and then hang them to dry.

To keep your dishcloths fresh through the day, rinse them thoroughly in cold water after use and hang them on your drainer, over your tap or over your curtain rod to dry. Bacteria thrive in warm, moist conditions so rinsing the cloths and drying them helps prevent bacteria growth (this is a tip my grandmother taught me years ago).

If you’re wondering how to teach the rest of the family not to leave the dishcloth in an wet, crumby pile in the sink, then I can’t help. We haven’t managed that in our household yet either .

This is our system for using knitted dishcloths. The dishcloths get a regular clean without too much hassle or effort and I enjoy having something creative to do with my hands when I want to relax although I think I’m going to move onto baby knits, so keep an eye out for a round-up.

Do you use knitted dishcloths? What are your tips for using dishcloths?

Have you read these articles?:

1. Knitted Dishcloths
2. Roundup: knitted dishcloth patterns

Kids have an infinite capacity to entertain themselves. The only question is: ‘is it mummy-sanctioned entertainment?’ Drawing on the walls is certainly not mummy-sanctioned, although I admit that I often have urges to draw on the walls myself. It’s a lot of white space just begging for a doodle or two, although all that white space can be quickly covered by an energetic toddler while mummy finished the dishes.

My budding young artist drew all over the walls in our garage-cum-playroom and all over the newly painted concrete. This method works on both painted surfaces.

All you need is a regular old pencil eraser to rub the crayon out. It takes a bit of rubbing and at first it smears everywhere and it seems like you’re making everything oh so much worse, but keep going and you will end up with a little pile of coloured eraser shedding and a clean surface.

If the crayon stains, dampen a cloth with a little plain vinegar (or water), sprinkle bi-carb onto the cloth and then rub the stain until it’s gone. Bi-carb is an awesome stain remover, the real workhorse in your cleaning arsenal.

Have you read these articles?:

1. tip tuesday – bicarb for stains
2. tip tuesday–easy, healthy toddler snack
3. tip tuesday – quick tidy strategy

This tip comes from Julie from the U.S.

The best ever drain cleaner/deodorizer is SO CHEAP! I use 1/2 cup of baking soda (bicarb) and 1 cup of the cheapest vinegar the stores have. Put the bicarb in first, then slowly pour the vinegar over it. THE KIDS LOVE THIS…. a mini frothy ‘volcano’ erupts as the two combine. Let this sit in the drain for at least 45 minutes to one hour. Then pour lots of boiling water down the drain.

Soap scum, hair, any food (if in the kitchen) etc. goes away fast. And it is good smelling for about 1 month.

Re-do when you have to.

Thanks for the great tip, Julie. Another great use for those super cleaners of the home: bicarb and vinegar! If you have a frugal tip you would like to share, feel free to drop me a line.

Have you read these articles?:

1. tip tuesday – fixing smelly floor drains
2. tip tuesday–make your own cleaner using rubbing alcohol
3. tip tuesday – bicarb for stains

As I’ve been decluttering lately, I’ve also been re-organising and tidying. This week, the laundry got a bit of a make over.

I had a whole packet of ‘cup hooks’ that ended up being too small to hang cups on, and so have been putting them to good use around the rest of the house.

A picture tells a thousand words, so here are some pictures of our laundry (and yes, I’ve even hung empty buckets from the ceiling).

The container above the washing machine is a peg bucket is for indoor pegs and is made out of an old cordial bottle cut down to size and with a hole punched in it so that it can hang on the hook.

A bulldog clip holds the rubber cloves.

When we first moved in there was no shelf. I don’t know how the previous occupants coped with no storage space whatsoever.

Have you read these articles?:

1. tip tuesday – fixing smelly floor drains
2. tip tuesday – quick tidy strategy
3. tip tuesday–desk drawer organisers

To keep your washing machine clean and soap-scum free, run a wash cycle with one cup full of plain old vinegar added and no clothes or washing detergent. Your washing machine will come up fresh and soap-scum free.

This is particularly useful if you make your own washing detergent from soap. A little added to fabric softener compartment will clean that part out too and ensure there’s some vinegar in the final rinse cycle.

Also, don’t forget to clean out the lint filter after every couple of washes. This is something I often forget to do. I can’t believe how much scungy lint gets caught in the filter (and gets on the clothes if I’ve forgotten to clean it).

Have you read these articles?:

1. homemade laundry detergent
2. tip tuesday–clean your drains chemical free
3. frugal (and natural) cleaning

These tip comes from Julie, a Frugal and Thriving reader from the US.

“At our medical doctor’s office, I noticed they spray and clean counters, handles etc using 1/2 water and 1/2 rubbing alcohol. This also works for mirrors and windows very well.”

Other uses for rubbing alcohol include cleaning CDs and DVDs, mozzie bites, sanitising things like the phone, remove sticky labels, make an ice pack, nail polish remover, ink stain remover.

Rubbing alcohol is a common household product in the US, but I’m not sure about its availability in Australia. You need to buy a brand that is at least 90% isopropyl alcohol. You local chemist and possibly the hardware store (and electronic store) is the best place to look.

Julie also suggests using washcloths for dish rags (easier than knitting your own), that way you can sanitise, wash and reuse them over and over.

Julie, thanks for your tips, I know there were lots more, but I seem to have deleted your second email in my over-zealous attempt at clearing out my inbox.

Have you read these articles?:

1. tip tuesday– remove crayon from painted surfaces
2. tip tuesday–clean your drains chemical free
3. tip tuesday–taking a plate