Homemade cleaning products cost pennies compared to commercially produced products.

But do they really work? You bet! I’m tickled pink to share my 5 very frugal and favorite green cleaning products that really work.

Now, I’m not talking about making your own soap or laundry detergent (though I love making homemade soap!) I’m talking about super simple items that you may already have in your home.

In my opinion these cleansers work so well for the cleaning purposes you see here that I wouldn’t even consider purchasing anything else!

Also note that these green cleaners don’t have the overpowering odors that many ready-made, store purchased cleansers have. If you like a fresh scent such as lavender or basil, a few drops of essential oils can be added to your green cleansers to produce an elegant scent.

Baking Soda

A one-pound box costs less than $1. But, I’m super frugal so I purchase the 12 pound bag at around $7. There are so many green cleaners you can make with baking soda that I couldn’t possibly list them all here. These are my favorites.

1. Baking Soda is a miracle when it comes to stainless kitchen sinks and pots and pans.  Sprinkle baking soda all around your sink and use a scrub brush to revitalize the shine. It removes tough sink stains as well.
2. Use it in the pool to balance the PH levels and to create crystal clean water. 1 pound of baking soda is identical to one pound of pool alkalinity increaser. They are both 100% sodium bicarbonate. So, use the identical amount of backing soda as you would alkalinity increaser.
3. Add ¼ cup to your laundry machine (along with detergent) and 1 tablespoon to your dishwasher (along with detergent) to boost the effectiveness of your detergent.
4. Use baking soda on bathroom tile. Dilute it with a little water or vinegar and scrub.
5. Open a box and set it in a musty area to help absorb odors.
6. Use it to absorb odors from rugs. Sprinkle a little on your rugs and allow it to set. Vacuum thoroughly.
7. Use it as a mild abrasive cleanser to scrub on baked on food.

Rubbing Alcohol

I love this cleaning product! It costs about 50 cents a bottle and works like a charm on greasy stains.

Grease collects in a kitchen, especially above your cook top. Clean your light fixtures and pot racks above the stove with a little rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball. Be careful to test a small inconspicuous area first. Rubbing alcohol can remove some types of paint.

Clean your stovetop components and parts of your toaster oven with rubbing alcohol as well.

Rubbing alcohol can lift some laundry stains such as ink. Test first before blotting a small amount of alcohol on the stain. Finish by scrubbing the stain with soap and water.

Lemon Juice & Salt

Lemon Juice and Salt is perfect for cleaning copper pans. This green cleaning tip is priceless. It works so much better than commercial brands. I use it to clean my copper pots on a monthly basis. Lemons can be a bit costly, but this cleaning solution is far less expensive and less toxic than copper cleaner.

You have to use real lemon juice. The type you purchase in the little plastic lemon doesn’t work (when tested in my kitchen). Squeeze two lemons into a small bowl and add a teaspoon of salt. This is enough to clean one large copper pan.

Use a mildly abrasive sponge to spread the mixture all over the pot and allow it to set for a moment. Let the lemon juice do all the work. Then polish the more stubborn stains. Wash the pots in soap and tepid water. Dry thoroughly.

Lemon juice is also great for bleaching out stubborn stains on plastic cutting boards. Just spread the lemon juice over the stain and allow it to do all the work.

I’ve also used lemon juice to remove food stains such as tomato paste and red wine from dinner napkins. Fill a dish tub with cold water and detergent. Add three or four tablespoons of lemon juice. Allow the napkins to soak in the dish tub over night, then launder as usual.

Don’t throw out those lemon rinds just yet. Toss them down your garbage disposal and grind them. This cleans the disposal blades and releases a fresh lemony scent into your kitchen.

Hydrogen Peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide is a powerful disinfectant that has many household cleaning uses. My favorite uses (and the ones that are tried and true) are listed below.

Hydrogen peroxide is sold in a dark brown bottle. It sells for less than $1 a bottle. It looses its effectiveness when exposed to light. So, if you put it in a spray bottle, place hydrogen peroxide in a dark colored bottle.

Spray on countertop and cutting boards to kill bacteria such as salmonella.

Spray on bathroom tile to help fight mold. Wash and dry your shower or bath tile first, then spray on the hydrogen peroxide and allow it to set.

Hydrogen Peroxide also lifts bloodstains in laundry. For best results soak the area in hydrogen peroxide and a little detergent. Then scrub and place in washer for laundering.

Vinegar

One of the primary uses for vinegar that most people are aware of is as a window cleaner. Just use water and a few capfuls of distilled white vinegar for an easy cleaner.

But, I’ve found several other uses for vinegar that I like.

Use it to revitalize your coffee maker. First, wash out the components of your coffee maker. Next use vinegar instead of water and run your coffee maker. Next, run water through your coffee maker a few times to remove the vinegar smell. It brightens your coffee maker and improves the taste of future brews.

Vinegar mixed with baking soda is also great for removing red wine stains from crystal decanters and glasses. Just mix the two together and allow the mixture to sit in the decanter for a few minutes. Rinse and ‘voila’ your decanter and glasses will sparkle once again!

Vinegar with baking soda is also fantastic for removing soap scum and for cooked-in grease stains. For cleaning the oven and a ceramic stovetop, spray the surface with vinegar first. Put baking soda in a shaker and sprinkle over the entire surface. Let sit if the stain is very stubborn. But be aware, this, like any over cleaner can etch the surface. Check periodically; clean as soon as the grime comes up easily.

Vinegar is also very beneficial in the laundry room. Soak perspiration stains in equal parts vinegar and water to remove the stains and add ½ cup of vinegar to your rinse cycle for brighter laundry.

For a clogged iron, add equal parts water and vinegar to the steam chamber. Turn the iron on and allow it to steam for 5 minutes. Then allow it to cool and empty the chamber. You can also clean the metal plate of your iron with a mixture of vinegar and salt to remove the burnt particles that sometimes accumulate.

Breathe easy next time you clean, knowing your family is safe and that you’ve been frugal and environmentally conscious with your cleaning choices!

This article was written by Jennifer of Best-Grocery-Coupon-Websites.com, where you can get printable coupons, the latest freebie report and more frugal tips.

Now with the economy being what it is, our sacrifices and long-term planning have enabled us to have the same lifestyle we always have had.  We never argue about money and have not had to make any major changes.  I get to go to a job that I love and Tracy gets to stay home and raise our daughters – that is PRICELESS!  Those same people that used to mock us and think we were crazy are now envious of us.

Many people thought that having a lot of money and nice things made you rich.  I think if there is a silver lining to this recession, it is that people are starting to think differently.  They are beginning to place importance on things that are really important to them – their spouse, children, passions – and not just materialistic stuff.  I feel this is a great lesson and hope many will continue to live this way once the economy improves.

Note from Jason: Danny makes a couple of good points here I thought I would highlight:  Even when times were good and we had two incomes coming in, we lived very frugally and paid-off as much debt as we could and boosted our savings.  Economic swings, or outside forces such as financial emergencies aren’t as a big of an impact on a family when following a spending plan each month.  I think the other thing Danny points out is paying off debt.  The debt certainly gets heavier during a recession or in financial emergencies.   The key to long-term financial peace is getting out of debt and having enough left after expenses each month to have a 3-6 month cash safety net.

How has the recession impacted your family?

Here are some tips that have enabled my family to live on a teacher’s salary:

Make your own Halloween costumes

Tracy has made my oldest daughter’s Halloween costumes the past few years. A few years ago, our daughter Ava saw a skeleton costume in a Pottery Barn catalog and wanted that to be her costume. Instead of buying it, Tracy made an identical-looking costume using a T-shirt and felt material. This homemade costume saved us $50.  Tracy did the same thing with a butterfly costume last year.

Get a new cell phone plan

This might not apply to everyone, but we only use our cell phone for emergencies. A few years ago, we had a plan in which we were paying $50 per month and barely using the service. We switched providers and now spend an average of $10 per month.

Use cash

Cash is king these days. Most stores are hurting and are willing to negotiate prices – especially if you are using cash. I recently had a friend who wanted to buy a new TV priced at about $1,000. I told her to walk into the store with $700 in cash and say she really wanted the television, but could spend only the money she had. Well, after some talk, she walked out with the TV for the money she had in her purse. Not all stores will do this, but, with the economy where it is, it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Use your local library

We all know the library is a great place to get books for free, but most don’t realize many libraries also have CDs and DVDs available for checkout. Instead of renting or buying videos for my children, we visit our local library and check them out for free.

Ask for free stuff

This might surprise you, but we have the NFL Sunday Ticket on satellite TV. This is one splurge that is important to us; we have family time together watching football on Sundays. I saw an ad in a local magazine saying new subscribers to this service would receive an added feature worth $99 for free. I called up my satellite company and said I already subscribed, and wanted this free feature, too. Well, after about 15 minutes of being placed on hold and being told I probably wouldn’t be able to receive this free item, I got it. It never hurts to ask.

Save a little every day

Some people buy their coffee on the way to work. This practice can add up easily to more than $100 a month. If you instead make your own coffee at home, you can save up to $25 a week, which adds up to more than $1,000 a year. Another way to save is to bring your lunch to work. On average, you will spend at least $5 eating a fast-food lunch, and more for a sit-down restaurant meal. Instead of eating out every day, bring leftovers from home a couple of days each week. You still get to eat out a majority of the work week, and will save more than $40 each month.

Use Coupons At The Grocery Store

Tracy has gotten serious about this starting with the new year and the results have been great.  So far we have saved almost $1250 in 2010!

These are some of the tactics we use to get the most out of my paycheck. For most people, it’s not how much you make, but how well you plan your spending that leads to financial success. This philosophy has enabled us to live a very wealthy life on a moderate income.

Only buy what you need.  If you buy more than you can use, especially when dealing with fresh, you are just wasting money.  Learn what your family likes and how much they will eat in a normal meal.  Based off of that, you can calculate what you need.

Buy based on the seasons and the sales.  Each week, I would begin by looking to see what was on sale.  Then based on that and the contents of my pantry, I would plan the meals for the week.  So let’s say that lettuce, celery, and green onions are on sale this week.  I would plan a large salad with a bit of meat and cheese for lunch one day.  Another meal might be a salad with pasta and meat sauce.  So I get creative within “my bounds” that I set for myself.

Place priorities on how I purchase.  Certain items such as apples are a must for organic due to the high amounts of pesticide used and ease of penetration.  Whereas bananas are not as high a priority due to its thicker skin and lower rate of penetration.  In my family, we make sure to get our apples, bell peppers, broccoli, celery, kiwi, lettuce, onions, and potatoes grown organic, but we do not worry as much about our bananas, grapes, and pineapples.  If we are able to get them organic, super.  If not, we don’t panic.

Use local.  Take the time to find local growers in your area that offer organic produce and products.  The prices are often lower and your purchase also supports your local economy.  There are many websites available that local growers list their small family farms on to help you facilitate finding them.

Buy in bulk.  If you are willing to buy in bulk, that can also get you a nice discount.  Find a local farmers market that sells by the bushel.  It doesn’t take a lot of work to buy a bushel of peaches in season, let them ripen, peel, slice in half, and freeze or can.  Many fresh fruits and vegetables can be bought in season and stored for later.  My family even enjoys cantaloupe frozen – it tastes like a popsicle!  The same goes for meat.  If you are able to find someone who raises meat in your area, and you buy it around their butchering time, it means they don’t have to store it and a cost savings to you.

Educate yourself.  Understand the differences in organic and all natural.  I might choose to buy my eggs locally where the farmer uses non-gmo feed and no hormones or antibiotics yet isn’t certified organic because those are the key components I am looking for and my cost savings is huge.  And honestly, there is nothing like actually seeing where my food comes from.  Local means that I get to know the farmer and often times his animals.  I know that the chickens are truly cage free, look healthy, and enjoy being outside chasing little bugs.  The cows actually moo and talk with the farmer.  They are an animal not a number.

So while people don’t tend to think of organic and budget in the same sentence together, I think they can be!  It comes down to the fact that the key is life and budgeting are about choices, shopping wisely, and being a wise steward of my health and family.

Frugal family entertainment

At the same time, it’s fun to have some family weekend activities that don’t blow the family budget.

Here are some ideas to get started planning your weekend.  Some require spending, but I think for the most part they’re frugal family weekend activities.

• Go for a family walk around the neighborhood.
• Take the family to the library and check out some books.
• Find a local nature center to explore.
• Give everyone in the family a $2 and go to the local dollar store to see who can find the most creative item with their $2.
• Rent a movie.  We have a monthly Blockbuster membership which allows unlimted rentals and helps save money.  I have a coupon on my deals and freebies page.
• Find a local lake and feed the fish off the dock or take the kids fishing.
• Does your town or city have a local farmer’s market?  These can be fun to walk around and explore.
• Take the kids to a local park to play on the swings, throw a frisbie, ride bikes or fly a kite.
• Does you church have an activity planned?  Check your church website as many of them have weekend activities or small groups that get together.
• Join a walk or race for charity.  Sometimes for a small donation you can join a weekend walk/race for charity.  It requires some spending, but it’s for a good purpose.
• Bowling is fun for the family and most of the time won’t blow your entertainment budget.
• Home Depot (and maybe Lowes) offer children workshops once a month where they get to build something.

Can you think of other ideas?  If so, let us know in the comments.