Saving money by cleaning with vinegar

 In my quest to find affordable, non-toxic cleaners for my house I came across many people starting to clean with vinegar. For 4 years now I have been doing almost 100% of my household cleaning with only vinegar and baking soda. 

It is so incredibly cheap and very efficient. My allergies have been much better. Commercial  products add a lot of extras that I am very sensitive to and the vinegar and baking soda do not bother me at all.

Around the house I have spray bottles in both bathrooms and the kitchen for all surfaces. It is made up of about 1 part vinegar and 4 parts water. I soak my vinegar in orange peels for about two weeks and it gives it a slight orange smell. When I don't have orange peels or any other citrus fruit available, I add a few drops of essential oils. This helps with the strong odor from the vinegar. The good thing is once the vinegar is dry you can't smell it any longer.

In the bathroom I not only use it on the counters but also the the toilet. I spray down and wipe the seat and rim and throw in about a cup of vinegar in the bowl with about a half cup of baking soda. I let that sit for 15 minutes before scrubbing it. The bath toys all get sprayed or soaked in vinegar and I will spray the shower down with my vinegar spray between deep cleanings.

Vinegar is so versatile that I also use it in the laundry room. As I said I have very sensitive skin as does my 4 year old. There are so many detergents and fabric softeners that irritate my skin. I now make my own laundry detergent and instead of using fabric softener, I put vinegar in the rinse cycle instead. Once it is dry there is no smell except a clean smell. When I need to clean my wash machine, which should be once a month, I pour a little in then to help disinfect my wash machine.

Vinegar is versatile. I don't have bottles of different cleaners laying around. When my little ones get a hold of the bottles because they want to help too, I never worry about them getting it in their eyes, on their hands or putting the spray bottle in their mouth (although it is really gross). I feel safe cleaning for my family. 

Vinegar soaking in orange peels. Reusing some old jars to do so.