Dec 2008
19
This guest article from Kim Danger
Kim Danger is a nationally recognized savings expert and the founder of mommysavers.com. She has teamed up with Uniroyal Tire for the “More Mileage for Your Money” campaign to release free eBooks and videos for the budget-savvy. Her tips can be found at uniroyal.com's moremileageforyourmoney section. Her new eBook is slated for release in January 2009, and it focuses on getting your finances in order for the new year.
It takes a surprising amount of time, energy and money to run a household. With everything there is to do, we can sometimes overlook quick, easy steps that can trim the fat off of our budgets. The following tips are some of my favorites because of how little energy they require. I hope you have as much luck with them as I have!
- You can make your own household cleaners with little to no effort.
- Vinegar mixed with a little bit of vegetable oil does wonders on wooden floors for pennies on the dollar.
- Don’t use paper towels to clean up juice spills, use salt. If you get something that will stain on your carpet, pour out a liberal amount of salt and let it dry. You can then use your vacuum to get the salt up. If it’s grease dripping from your oven you’re trying to clean, pour salt on it, wait for the pile to dry, and wipe it up with a damp rag.
- Get your oven clean by putting 2 Tbsp. of ammonia in a pan of water and letting it sit overnight in your oven. In the morning, take the pan out and wipe down the inside of your oven.
- Stubborn soap scum in tubs and showers can be removed by scrubbing with a dryer sheet.
- You can also make your own antibacterial hand wipes. All you need is:
- 1 roll premium brand paper towels
- 1 3/4 cups of water
- ½ cup vodka
- 2 Tbsp. shampoo
Cut the roll of paper towels in half using an electric knife. Mix all the liquid ingredients together. Put towels in a large mixing bowl, and pour the liquid over the top. Let the mixture soak through for 5-10 minutes and pull out the center core. Wipes will pop up through the middle. Wipes can be stored in a plastic container or a gallon-size plastic bag (plastic coffee cans work well). A word to the wise: Don't try to save money by using cheap paper towels. The towels will disintegrate.
- Cut down on your water bill by using a faucet aerator. This device can be attached to any faucet or shower head to reduce flow by up to 50%--depending on the type you get, you probably won’t notice a reduction of water pressure.
- According to the Department of Energy, you can cut your electric bills by 5-8%...(which is the equivalent of a full month’s bill) by being on the lookout for “vampire energy.” When most high-tech appliances are turned off, they still draw power because they are in standby mode. This is seen mostly with computers and televisions. You can stop unnecessary energy loss by either unplugging your electronics after you turn them off or by running everything through a power strip that can be switched off.
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