Walk down any grocery store aisle designated for cleaning products and you will see an array so vast it’s impossible to know where to begin as try to tackle your spring cleaning. Do you want to degrease? Descale? De…whatevertheotheroneis? It just goes on and on; every single product promising to make your home better. Shinier. Sparklier.
The idea that you can skip this entire aisle and reduce your cleaning products and tools into four items might sound outlandish. How can it be possible to clean an entire house with just four products? If that’s the case, then why do all the other ones exist? The main reason is because the four you need can’t be trademarked. They can’t be profited from. So there’s pretty much no reason for companies to produce them and market them as aggressively as they do their own concoctions; not when you could buy generic versions of the big four for a fraction of the price.
Oh – did that not get mentioned? Yes, these products are nice and cheap – so it’s probably time to tell you what they are:
Star of Every Show: Bicarbonate of Soda (AKA Baking Powder)
Bicarb is the Holy Grail of cleaning products. It can be used for so many purposes that you’ll find yourself panicking when you don’t have a scoop of it on hand and are faced with a room that needs cleaning.
Its uses include (but are definitely not limited to):
- Removing grease and food stains from pans, ovens, whatever – it’s incredibly abrasive, though, so use with caution.
- Surface cleaning, when dissolved in water and used as a solution.
- Deodorizing. Sprinkle some bicarb onto fabric, carpet, or upholstery, leave it for a few hours and then vacuum away – the bicarb will take the bad smell with it.
Acid Speaking: White Vinegar
White vinegar doesn’t taste great so it’s unlikely that you’ll find it in your cupboard, but it’s worth investing in as a cleaning product alone. Check out its uses:
- White vinegar cleans glass and mirrors better than any other product known to man. Ever.
- It’s also antibacterial in nature, so use it in the kitchen for both shine and efficacy.
Clothed Wonder: Microfiber Cloths
If the pros at Saltaire House Cleaning and even Martha Stewart speak well of microfiber, you know that you’re onto a winner. Microfiber is a revolutionary cloth fiber structure that traps and whisks away dirt in a way conventional cloths just can’t. The best thing about it is that you don’t need to use a product with it – plain old water will produce the same effects.
Bleach Bliss: Hydrogen Peroxide
While hydrogen peroxide is best known for hair bleaching, it has many uses around the home. The one that it’s best at is bleaching all of those white items in your home that have a tendency to turn gray, such as:
- Bathroom and kitchen tile grout
- Tiles
- Shower curtains covered in soap scum
Use it heavily diluted and always build up the strength as you go, rather than going full throttle out of the gate. You’ll be amazed at how a little of this product goes a long way.
Ready, get set, save money, and spring clean!
Featured Image By: Congerdesign
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