Frugal Housework Tips

Here are some great tips for your household chores that you might like to try.

Cereal bags make excellent freezer wrap for meats, and are great for coating chicken and potatoes.

Dice up green peppers, onions, celery and “flash freeze” on a cookie sheet. Store in ziplock bags with the date written on them. If you buy them on sale, then you will have them for when they are too expensive.

Cut your SOS pads, sponges, dryer sheets, cotton balls, cotton pads, Q-Tips, and anything else you can think of, in half. They will last as long and not go to waste. BONUS: By cutting SOS pads in half, you sharpen your scissors!

You can wash your sponges and scrub brushes just like anything else. I bought a hanger hamper from my dollar store (got it from the discount bin for $0.50) and put all my dishcloths, sponges, dish towels and rags inside. When I need to do the laundry, they’re already separated, not stinking up my clothes. They’re easily washed on a small load. Don’t dry the sponges and scrub brushes – they only take a few minutes to dry themselves in the air, and might fall apart in the wash.

Do you have a pan that has stuck on food that is hard to get off? Put a half of a dryer sheet (dollar store brand works great) and fill with water.. the next morning the food will wipe right out.

Sprinkle salt on a dropped egg and it should wipe right up.

Mix a half-and-half mixture of baking soda and water in a spray bottle and use it for cleaning. Make a paste of baking soda and water for cleaning as well! These are less hazardous than chemical cleaning supplies bought for $6 or more at the grocery store.

Clean your microwave by nuking a glass bowlful of water until the water boils. Let it sit for five minutes or so and then wipe out. Far cheaper than the new microwave cleaning cloths.

Plastic dishes that come with a lid can be washed and saved for freezer storage. Think margarine dishes, yogurt dishes, ice cream tubs, cola bottles, soya sauce bottles, etc.

Play around with stuff. You might only need to use half as much sugar, detergent, meat, oil, spices, broth, cleaner, etc. as what is called for. For example, use half a cup of laundry detergent. Your clothes still get washed, don’t they? Is there any dirt clinging to them after they’ve been dried?

Why buy plastic baggies? Save milk bags, cereal bags, bread bags and Styrofoam plates from frozen foods. Wash them out, put them in a Tupperware-like container and store them for later use! (NOTE: Don’t turn bread bags inside out. They’re painted with lead paint and you don’t want that contaminating your food!)

Dry mustard will remove onion odors from your hands or cutting board. Rub in then rinse off.

Put a few grains of rice in your salt shakers to keep it from getting hard.

A creative tip: Take a sponge (half a sponge!) and cut a slice into the center of it. Put the last big of a bar of soap into the sponge – instant soapy sponge!

Time saving tip: While cooking, fill the sink half-way full with very hot soapy water. As you are cooking, wash the dishes and set them in the dryrack. While you are enjoying your meal, the dishes are drying. Leave the soapy water in the sink. It’ll cool while you’re eating and then everyone can wash and dry their dishes. One sinkful of water, one load of dishes.

Pick up a tiny broom and dustpan to clean off your stovetop and counters. A toy set from the children’s section of a dollar store work great! Just dust off the big stuffs before wiping down the counter and stovetop. Saves time! (NOTE: Keep this hidden and away from little hands who might want to play with mommy’s “kitchen broom”.)

More To Come!

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