Money Saving Tips On Laundry Day

Eco-Friendly Ways To Wash Clothes

In my house, we are trying to find eco-friendly ways to wash clothes and clean the house.  Those are two areas that I know can cost a good bit when using traditional cleaning products.  I have started using simple products that you can find in the grocery stores.  When you are a family on a tight budget, you will save money any way you can.  Here are a few tips to save money on laundry day:

1. Use white vinegar for a number of uses.  White vinegar is great for cleaning glass and windows, can soften your laundry and take bad smells out of your laundry.  What is great about using white vinegar is that you can get a big bottle of it for less than a few dollars.
2. Baking soda is great for scrubbing stubborn stains.  If you have a rust stain in the sink or a stain on the counter top, make a paste of baking soda and a little water and that stain is toast.  You can also use baking soda as an odor neutralizer for cat boxes, garbage and gym clothes.  I even sprinkle a little in the kid’s sneakers to take that stinky feet smell out.
3. Put white vinegar and baking soda together.  Not only will you have a cool science experiment to show the kids, you can get stains out of your carpet.  I dropped a replacement bottle of printer ink on my carpet and after using these two ingredients, it was gone!  This will not work on old stains, only fresh.

Alternatives To Using Laundry Detergent

My husband and son have allergies so I have been looking for alternatives to using laundry detergent.  I have found some organic solutions but it is still a detergent, albeit an organic one.  When I heard about SmartKlean it was a bit hard to believe you could wash your clothes with a ball full of anything not soap related.  I thought this definitely warranted a closer inspection.  I received the SmartKlean Laundry Ball ($45.00) and the Stick Stain Remover ($9.80) and I wanted to try it out right away!  I loaded up the wash and threw in the SmartKlean (don’t you love the cool pic with the flowing water?).  When I dried the clothes and began folding them, I did notice the shirt Caitlin wore with spaghetti sauce came clean.  I will admit I was completely surprised.  I looked up why this product was able to work and I will give you the short version, but encourage you to read about it for yourself.  Basically the 4 types of ceramic beads have different jobs, one of which is to add oxygen to the water which then makes the water particles smaller which makes it easier to get to the dirt on the clothes and then lifts it out.  Whew!!  That is a complicated way to say it is awesome and it works!!

One reader will win Giveaway of 1 SmartKlean Laundry Kit $45.00 (1 Laundry Ball + 1 Stain Remover) $9.80

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