7 Cleaning Hacks To Help You Clean On A Budget
You know the feeling when you walk into a friend’s home and everything is so fresh-looking and so clean it seems like the whole home was just renovated yesterday. Well, you don’t have to feel ashamed of your own home any more – with these 7 cleaning hacks, James Garner will help you keep your home super clean and stay on top of it too.
You know the feeling when you walk into a friend’s home and everything is so fresh-looking and so clean it seems like the whole home was just renovated yesterday. You immediately feel ashamed of your own living space and promise yourself that this weekend, when you get the chance, you will do your best to clean it from top to bottom.
Then, your mind wanders to the fact that all the repairs that are needed actually cost money, and so do those fancy air fresheners that you can’t stop smelling when you visit your host’s washroom. Then, at the end of your visit, you go home feeling hopeless.
There are people in this world who actually enjoy cleaning their home, and then there’s the rest of us. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy having a clean house, but sometimes I feel like I’m not getting anywhere and the chores are piling up. There are times when you want to come home after a long day and just put your feet up.
But cleaning doesn’t have to be a big deal. In fact, if you put your mind to it and organize well, it can become so effortless and budget-friendly, that your home, too, can look like a picture from a magazine. So let’s give big thanks to the hipster style that is now in fashion, and the following tips on how to clean your home while you’re on a budget!
Choose Natural And Homemade Cleaners And Fresheners
Making your own household cleaning products instead of buying chemical ones is not only budget-friendly but also a healthy and quite satisfying alternative. White vinegar, baking soda, and some fresh lemons can be combined into different recipes to create powerful and natural cleaning products.
These solutions will help you clean surfaces, windows, tiles, your kitchen and your bathroom altogether – just be careful when using vinegar on wood, you might want to dilute it well or replace it with some regular soap.
The same goes with air fresheners. The healthiest and the cheapest option is the one in which you make them yourself. For example, making a simmering pot of fruits, herbs and spices will make your home smell deliciously: all you need to do is put them in water and simmer them on your stove for as long as you like.
Invest In Budget-Friendly Technology
You’re going to need some tools to get you started, like a vacuum cleaner, for example. But appliances don’t have to be expensive, and a budget-friendly vacuum cleaner will do as much of a good job as will an expensive one. Pay attention for good deals or even ask around for some hand-me-downs, and set yourself up with some useful equipment that will help you clean your home.
Recycle
There are plenty of ideas on how to recycle things around your house to make them not only useful for cleaning but also for lots of different purposes. You can use an old spray-bottle indefinitely and put your own cleaning solutions in them – why not even decorate the bottle to make it more interesting? You can use your old T-shirts or pieces of clothing to make cleaning cloths – just cut them up or even sow them together if you want to get creative.
Minimize
The more possessions you have, the more difficult it will be to take care of all of them. If your home is filled with books you never touch, plants you never water, clothes you never wear and even furniture you never use, chances are they are not bringing you any joy and you are not motivated to take care of them or use them.
The fewer things you have lying around the easier it will be to clean them. Get rid of the things you don’t use – donating them will be a good deed and won’t make you feel like you’re wasting them – and it will be so much easier to move around your living space. Then, once each thing is put in a place where it belongs, they will be easier to access, too.
Don’t Do It All At Once, But Don’t Put It Off
Take care of your home. As simple as that sounds, it is true. If you take care of your things and your home and clean it regularly, chances are you won’t have situations in which you feel overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done. That’s why you need to be consistent and remember the phrase, little and often.
The trick to making cleaning easier is doing it in phases. A lot of people tend to schedule cleaning on weekends when they have free time, but end up dreading those few hours because of all the work that needs to be done. That’s why you should always clean up after yourself – just like our parents taught us! Wash the dishes after every meal, take out the trash regularly, put things back where they belong once you’re finished using them.
Make it a habit to clean your kitchen and your bathroom once every day or two – just a quick swipe of the floors and the surfaces will keep it clean. Don’t change your sheets on a set ‘’cleaning’’ day – pick a day in the week when you’re not doing any cleaning to do so. Then you’re left with the floors and the windows, a chore that can be done in a matter of half an hour to an hour, depending on how big your home is.
Learn Simple Tricks
By learning how to unblock your drains, for example, and how to prevent sink blockages, you won’t have to call in a handyman. By pouring hot water into the drains, you will relax the pipes and help the water flow through them. Simple sowing is also a good skill to have in case there is a tear you need to mend, like one on a pillow, or on a curtain.
Make It A Ritual, Not A Routine
Finally, if you don’t roll your eyes each time you think about cleaning, but instead find some fun in it, you will look forward to that time and then discover how creative you can get with thinking up your own ways of a budget-friendly cleaning routine. Because it really can be fun!
You can put on some good music while you do it, think about how moving around the house will do your body good, and also open the windows to let some fresh air in to motivate you. Take the time while you clean to sing and dance to your favourite songs and include other members of the household, too!
Love your home, it should be the place where you feel the safest and the most relaxed, so why not celebrate each of its corners.
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