Vinegar Couldn't Be any Sweeter

Two of the very best ways to be frugal are to buy items that have a multitude of uses, and produce everything you can at home. Vinegar has an endless list of uses in the kitchen, as a cleaner, and even in the home and garden, all at a price that is very easy on the budget.

Here I will give a few ways that I use vinegar to clean. First is a citrus cleaner, and the second is a general purpose cleaner that was made famous in the old home economics classes, and third is a window cleaner. All formulas use plain white vinegar. Using vinegar for cleaning has a few pluses, such as it is completely non-toxic and will not poison the kids or the pets, it is excellent for cutting grease, and is very inexpensive

Vinegar Citrus Cleaner

For the vinegar citrus cleaner all you need is a few citrus peels (any will work whether orange, grapefruit, lemon, lemon or lime. Or you can live a little, and mix all the peels.) I usually use the peels from two fruits, whether the same or different. Put the peels into a quart sized jar and fill the jar up with vinegar. Let this soak for three weeks, shaking mixture one to two times per day. After the three weeks are over strain the peels from the vinegar, and store mixture in the same jar you used to make it. Two use put one cup of vinegar mixture in a 24 oz spray bottle, and fill the rest with water.

All-Purpose Cleaner

Mix 1/2 cup ammonia, 1/3 cup vinegar, 2TBSP baking soda, and 1 gallon water. Use either straight from the bucket or put in a spray bottle and use like the store bought stuff.

Vinegar Window Cleaner

Put 1/3 cup vinegar in a spray bottle and fill the remainder with water. Spray on and squeegee, or wipe off with newspaper or a microfiber rag (or paper towels if you just want to spend money and throw something away). And if you want to "supercharge" the window cleaner try adding 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol. This also helps prevent streaking.

This is just the tip of the iceberg concerning uses of vinegar, for example you can soften fabrics in the laundry by adding 1/4 to 1/2 cup baking soda to your wash load, and in the final rinse cycle, add 1/2 cup vinegar. You can use vinegar to disinfect and deodorize pet stains if Fido hasn't figured out not to use the floor yet. And of course many more uses.

I hope this post will save you a little money in the supermarket, when buying cleaners. Just remember to go to the vinegar isle and leave the expensive stuff alone.