How to Clean Your Kitchen on a Budget

One day while cleaning out the cabinet underneath the sink I realized I was wasting way too much money on cleaners. There must have been 20 different bottles of cleaning supplies sitting in my cabinet.

At $3 to $5 a pop, these cleaning supplies were eating my budget up one bottle at a time. That's when the idea occurred to me—I could come up with ways to clean my kitchen that didn't involve store-bought cleaners, save myself the headache of organizing all the supplies, and save a bundle at the same time.

So just how do you clean your kitchen on a budget? There are many things you already have in your home (vinegar and baking soda to name a couple) that you can use to clean your kitchen and even make it sparkle. Ditch the harsh chemicals and let's get ready to clean!

Baking Soda

• Set an open box of baking soda on a shelf in your fridge and it will absorb lots of orders.
• Clean the inside of your fridge and microwave, kitchen sinks, and countertops with a 2 tablespoons baking soda and 1 quart water mixture. Simply combine and scrub away. Who needs harsh chemicals?
• A paste of baking soda and a small amount of water can be used to scrub coffee stains from your cups or even old stained storage containers.
• Using the same paste, scrub the top of your stove top and watch it sparkle! Not sure if your surface is right for cleaning with baking soda? Always test the surface in a small spot just to be safe.

Vinegar

• Clean mirrors and appliance doors and make windows and faucets sparkle with a mixture of 2 cups water, 1/2 cup of vinegar, and 1/4 cup of rubbing alcohol. Pour the ingredients into a spray bottle and mix well.
• Add a couple of drops of vinegar to the dishwasher (or to your dishwashing liquid when handwashing) to help cut grease and leave dishes sparkling.
• To keep your coffee pot clean and working well mix equal parts of white vinegar and water to your reservoir and run through a cycle.
• Keep your floors sparkling clean with 1 tablespoon of vinegar in 1 quart of warm water and scrub as usual. This can be extremely helpful in high traffic kitchens.
• Boil a teaspoon or two of white vinegar in a couple cups of water and cooking odors will disappear. 
• Are your hands a little smelly from cutting onions or fish? Just rub them with a little vinegar to help remove the odor.

Bleach

Although vinegar and baking soda are great cleaners, they're not as effective at sanitizing. To make a homemade sanitizer, mix 1 teaspoon of bleach per 1 quart of water. This can be stored in a labeled spray bottle for a week. It's great to use on your sink, counter tops, cutting boards and stove tops. Surfaces should always be washed first before being sanitized.

Do you have a homemade cleaning product that works well for you? Make sure and leave a comment below with your own great cleaning your kitchen on a budget tips and tricks!

Tip!
Be sure to label all of your homemade cleaners, especially those with bleach. Also, just as you would store-bought cleaners, keep homemade cleaners in a cabinet out of the reach of young children.