There is a solution for almost everything today without having to spend a bundle. Often times the miracle are the every day products you already own. Check out the best 50 tips that have inspired me.
1. The Magic 2 Ingredient Carpet Cleaner Solution- Simply mix water and vinegar together in a spray bottle and spray it over the stain and cover it with a damp rag. Depending on how bad the stain is, put your iron on the steam setting and iron the rag for about 30 seconds or more. View pictures at Passion Read Blog
2. Smelly Shoes- Freeze your shoes to eliminate odors. The cold temps will kill bacteria which will help eliminate smell. Throw shoes in a large Ziploc, seal and freeze overnight. By the morning you’ll have fresh smelling shoes. Another quick tip is to use baking soda. When you are finished wearing your shoes for the day, sprinkle some baking soda in the soles and let them sit overnight. In the morning, simply dust off the excess powder and the smells should be absorbed in the powder.
3. Make Your Own NATURAL Dryer Sheets- Use 2-3 dish cloths, and place cloths in a container that seals tightly with a lid. Combine 1 Cup Vinegar, 1 TBSP Baking Soda and 4-5 Drops of Essential Oil in a Measuring Cup. Pour Vinegar & Baking Soda Mixture over the Wash Cloths. Seal the Container and Shake to completely cover the Washcloths. Remove and Let Air Dry. Once Dry toss these in the Dryer with your Clothes. Found on passionforsavings.com
4. Set In Stains For A Year? A Miracle Stain Lifting Solution – Kim from My Life in Pink was given a bunch of hand down outfits for her kids from her best friend. Naturally, they had stains here and there. Kim found a few great leads on pinterest for stain lifting solutions and stumbled upon one that works. The solution? Hydrogen Peroxide, Dawn Dishsoap and Baking Soda. 2 parts peroxide and 1 part Dawn and baking soda. The instructions are to let the solution sit for 1 hour to let it really soak in, and then scrub, and toss in the wash. Every single outfit came clean with zero stains left behind. Check out pictures on Kim’s blog…
5. Cleaning Between Oven Glass- Bet you didn’t know you could go there, did ya? I didn’t! That double paned window on your oven somehow manages to collect grime over time, and it would seem impossible to even attempt to clean it, but it’s easier than you might think! Get The Instructions Here: Ask Anna
6. Natural Carpet Cleaner For Your Vehicles– My Frugal Adventures shows pictures of the interior of her car’s carpet soiled in stains. She gives us a great DIY recipe for home made carpet cleaner. Mix 1 tbp dish soap, 1 tbp white vinegar into a spray bottle. You can also add a little essential oil if you like, I added lemon. Add 2 cups of warm water and shake. Sprinkle the carpet with baking soda, and let this sit for a few minutes or even overnight. Vacuum and spray the solution liberally onto your carpet. Let this sit for a few minutes and then use a sponge or rag to dab at the excess solution. Use a little elbow grease to rub the solution over your stain. Let dry.
7. Forget Dusting Knick-knaks Individually– Collect them in a plastic tub and allow them to bath in soapy water. Rinse and dry them with a hairdryer.
8. Dusty Pleated Lampshades? Blow off the dust with a hairdryer. Use an old, but clean paint brush to get into the pleats.
9. Brown Stains On Stainless Steel? Get rid of it using ammonia. Be sure to rinse well. How about Teflon? Remove stains from non-stick pans by boiling it in two tbspoons of baking soda and a cup of water for 15 minutes. Once it has been rinsed, and dry coat it in vegetable oil.
10. How To Naturally Make Your Grill Non-Stick- Cindy’s nephew-in-law, Tyler shows how a simple onion can be the secret trick to perfectly grilled burgers and chicken.
11. Clean Cast Iron Skillets- Julia, from I Believe I Can Fry, collects antique cast iron and gives her proven method to cleaning cast iron cookware. Her technique is simply this… Coat the cast iron piece (top and bottom) with the oven cleaner, making sure to wear gloves. Place the coated piece in a garbage bag and seal tightly to prevent the oven cleaner from drying out, and place them outside. You will need to wait several days for the oven cleaner to loosen and remove the old seasoning. She suggests checking after 2 days, which you then can wipe off the cleaner and apply a fresh coat and check again after 3 days. The iron will be a silvery-gray color. – She then gives further tips how to neutralize the solution and re-season it. Fantastic post!
12. Clean The Wall Behind This Stove Easier With This Trick- If you have a freshly painted wall behind the stove, consider applying a coat of furniture polish to the wall. The next time you clean, grease splatters can be wiped away with ease.
13. Drink Coffee? Save The Grounds As Ice Melt – Don’t throw your coffee grounds in the garbage. Believe it or not old coffee grounds make the perfect replacement for sidewalk salt. If the pathways around your homes are icy, simply spread some coffee grounds on the areas to melt the ice! Or better yet, use the grounds in your flower beds as garden fertilizer. Coffee grounds have a ton of nutrients in them that will release into the plants over time. Found on raininghotcoupons.com
14. Clean Silver The EASY Way Did I mention easy? Anne from On Sutton Place lined her sink with tin foil. She used heavy duty foil, and filled the sink with hot water, 1/2 c. salt and 1/2 c. baking soda. She stirred it up a bit and added her pretty silver urn. After ONLY 5 minutes she rolled the urn over to check it and you have to see the pictures on her blog. Gosh! How easy is that?
15. Clean Suede Shoes With Sandpaper – Remove scuff spots by rubbing them with very fine sandpaper. To keep suede looking new, steam clean suede by holding shoes over a pan of boiling water. Stroke the suede with a soft brush in one direction. Allow the shoes to dry before wearing them again. Another trick is to clean suede with ground oatmeal. Rub gently in a circular motion into the stain with a clean cloth. Brush out any powder with a wire brush.
16. Stretch New Tight Shoes With Rubbing Alcohol – Saturate a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and rub on the tight area of the inside of shoe, and immediately walk around. Repeat this process until the shoe gives way and feels more comfortable on your feet.
17. How To Remove Permanent Marker On Hardwood Floors– This I have to see! Anna from My Life And Kids shows us how a dab of white toothpaste on the marker, with some scrubbing can take it out of the wood.
18. Keep Your New Jeans Vibrant – Jeans fade fast, but they don’t have to. Soak them for an hour in a mixture of cold salt water (two tbsp of salt per gallon of water) before washing them. Always use the cold wash and rinse cycles for jeans to prevent the dye from escaping from the fabric.
19. Remove Ink From Leather With Baking Soda- Countless times I have seen kids mark up new sofas with pens. The powder from baking soda will absorb the stain. Just re-apply the baking soda until the stain disappears.
20. Stop Scrubbing Stove Burners & Grates- Use Ammonia! Remember basic ammonia? Take about 1/4 cup of ammonia and seal it up with one of the burners in a large ziploc bag. You only need a little amonia in the bag. You are not trying to soak the burner… you just want to seal it up with the ammonia fumes. Leave it outside on a cookie sheet overnight. It is the fumes from the ammonia that dissolves all of the grease and hardened oil. When it’s done sitting, it should wipe clean with a sponge. The V Spot
21. Reshape Old Straw Hats By Soaking The In Salt Water – simply shape your hat, and let it dry. Another way to shape your hat is to iron it under a sheet of wax paper, and your set for this summer.
22. Clean Your Diamonds With Ammonia, Dish Detergent, and Water – Gemologists used to clean diamonds and other gemstones with this formula. Mix in a bowl, one cup of water, one quarter cup of ammonia and a tbsp of dish detergent. Scrub your stones with an old toothbrush. Ammonia will not hurt gold or silver settings. Although do not use this solution for opals, pearls, turquoise or coral, or any other porous stone. Clean pearls rings in a bowl of mild soap and water. Then clean with a soft cloth. Never soak your pearl necklaces in water. Rather dampen a cloth with soapy water and rub your pearls with a soft cloth until they are clean. Keep your pearls looking new by gently rubbing them with olive oil, and wipe them off with a cloth.
23. Shaving Cream Clean Nail Polish Spills? – Oh what a nightmare! “I spilled pink nail polish all over my light colored carpet and scoured the Internet for remedies. Plain old white shaving cream worked like a charm! I couldn’t believe it. First get up what you can with a paper towel. Then spray the shaving cream with a nice foam over the spill. Gently work it in with your fingers and let it sit a few minutes. Then scrub it with a scrub brush. Then clean it up with a rag or paper towel. Repeat the process 3-4 times. Amazing!”
“One day I was painting my toenails in a bright pink color. It turns out that it wasn’t dry and that I had tracked all over my sandy colored carpet! I didn’t notice it for awhile, but I finally saw it from the corner of my eye. I freaked out. I went all over the internet to find a solution. Finally I found something that worked. I took a damp soapy rag and patted the area. Next I took shaving cream and rubbed it into the carpet. Once I had took off the excess cream, I took hairspray and coated the area. I did this about 10-15 times and bam, the stain was gone!”
“So… last night I was doing homework, got distracted and painted my nails. On my bed… afterwards I fell asleep(on accident) I woke up in the middle of the night and threw all my stuff on the floor including the nail polish. I woke up and I could’ve sworn I Tightened the lid on my nail polish… nope!! I found a puddle of about 2 inches long and wide of bright purple nail polish!! I soaked it in Nail polish remover… it worked some… but then 14 hours after doing that… about 20 hours after the actual spill… I got it ALL OUT!!! Wanna know how…???? SHAVING CREAM AND HAIR SPRAY! I could’t believe it when it started working! Now I always know how to get out nail polish…. And I happen to spill a decent amount… just look at my carpet!”
24. Tired Of Your Costume Jewelry Losing The Luster? – Coat inexpensive rings with clear nail polish. It prevents the green ring from forming on your finger.
25.How To Clean Microfiber Furniture– Microfiber is notorious for showing even minor stains. Check out 551 East‘s post showing before and after pictures which are remarkable. They used a white sponge and white bristle brush (to prevent color bleeding) and rubbing alcohol in the spray bottle. Check out her complete instructions how to do this for your own furniture.
26. Make Laundry Day Easier By Having Two Baskets In Your Children’s Closet. Set TWO small laundry baskets in your children’s closets, one for the dark and one for the lighter clothing. When laundry day comes around, it is very easy to collect just the darks and save the lights for another day. For faster sorting, buy mesh laundry bags, which work in each basket. Simply tie the ends, and flip the clothing bags into the washing machine. The clothing will get washed, and all you have to do is then have your kids sort and put away their own clothes, which will already be in the mesh bags.
27. Set Dye In Clothing By Using Vinegar and Salt- Dye each article of clothing separately. Use a half cup of vinegar and a table spoon of salt to a half gallon of water. Soak the fabric for an hour and rinse until the water shows no dye.
28. Stained Driveway Solutions– Instructables shows a product called Pour-N-Restore, the oil stain remover that starts out as a liquid and dries into a powder!
29. Streak Free Windows Lasting Months? All you need is water, vinegar and dish soap- Check out Jessica’s windows at Moms 4 Real.
30. Dirty Iron? Use Salt! Pour salt on your ironing board (Perhaps cover with a pillow case or something to make clean up easier), and then iron the salt with the steam option off. The dirt on your iron will stick to the salt, making for an easy clean! Get The Instructions Here: A Mum ‘n The Oven
31. Preserve Hand Down Clothes In Air Tight Plastic Bags – If you are planning to give your sister in law, or friend some of your children’s clothing that no longer fits them, store clothes in air tight bags. After washing and drying clothes, buy large plastic bags, and squeeze as much air out as possible. This will keep clothing bug proof
32. Remove Wax Build Up On Furniture With Turpentine. Use a soft cloth and a few drops of turpentine, rub hard, and allow to dry, then simply buff the wood with another cloth.
33. Avoid Freezer Burn By Only Putting Cool Foods Into The Freezer – Allow food to cool off before placing it into the freezer. Even slightly warm food will almost always be burned. Let leftovers cool off for an hour or two before packing and freezing them. Air also is a big enemy when packaging foods for the freezer. Remove any air by using a food vacuum sealer, or removing any air in zip lock bags. Food exposed to air, as well as heat play a big factor in freezer burned food.
34. Head Lice? Coconut oil + apple cider vinegar has been proven to naturally treat head lice.
35. Vinegar Removes Hard Water Stains– Soak paper towels in vinegar and placed them on the areas with hard water- The Thrifty Home shows us how easy this is.
36. Fix Scratches On Wood using a mixture of 1/4 cup vinegar and 3/4 cup olive oil- It works! Domestic Bliss Squared
37. Whitening YELLOW Pillows – Did you know that all of that yellowing that happens over time to your pillows is from sweat? You can also make your own “Miracle Laundry Whitening Solution” by setting your washing machine on HOT, adding 1 cup of laundry detergent, 1 cup powdered dishwasher detergent, 1 cup bleach and a 1/2 cup borax- See the results on One Good Thing By Jillee
38. Make a Ribbon Planting Calendar With Seed Packages – All you need is ribbon and some clothespins, and arrange your seed packets by month. By hanging this handy “calendar” in your potting shed or garage (make sure it’s a space that stays relatively cool and shaded), you’ll always see at a glance which seeds you should be sowing next. See the picture at Better Homes and Gardens
40. Feed The Birds In The Summer – Cultivator tines are perfect perches for a host of summer bird treats. Oranges, apples, and a mesh bag filled with sour cherries beckon birds. When the season for fresh fruit passes, dangle suet cakes and protein-packed peanut-butter-filled pinec ones from the curved tines. – See the picture at Better Homes and Gardens
42 Create A Iron Shoe Rack Out Of Plumbing Parts – It helps to create an outline of your space with colored tape on the cement outside. Arrange your parts on the cement before installing them. Next, clean the with house hold vinegar to get rid of the oil. Black iron pieces are cheaper than galvanized ones. Next Spray paint your parts copper,or gold and assemble them. WOW, this closet is hot!! View all the pictures here
43. Stinky Mildew Towels- How do you possibly get rid of that wretched smell, when you have forgotten a load of laundry in the washer for several days? The answer – vinegar! Wash your load of towels on the hot cycle and add 1 cup of vinegar to the load. Do not use detergent or anything (especially bleach – that can be super dangerous!)… just hot water and the vinegar. Let the washer do it’s job. Then, if you still smell a little bit, rewash with just hot water and 1/2 cup of baking soda. I did not need to do this step but if your towels are bad, you might want to. Again, no detergent, just baking soda and hot water. Got it? Classy Clutter
44. An Alternative To Bleach– Here’s the recipe:12 cups water, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1 cup hydrogen peroxide. Mix together. Add 2 cups per wash load or put in spray bottle and use as a household cleaner.Grit.com
45.Garbage Disposal Cleaning Trick- Did you know ice sharpens the blades in your garbage disposal, and lemons are a great cleaning agent? HomeSpot gives you a list of ingredients which you can throw in an ice-cup tray for a quick clean. Apartment Therapy also provides great pictures of this technique.
46. Trash Bags on a Roll- Why not store your trash bags on a roll? All you need is a wooden rod, and 2 curtain holder hooks to hang a set of trash bags. Check out Simply Organized for pictures of this project.
47. Clean Your Shower In Seconds -Spray the shower walls with white vinegar and blue dawn soap water about half hour before cleaning it. Then use a shower scrub to get a sparkling clean shower in a few minutes.
49. Dawn Direct Foam Removes Oil and Grease Stains –“I was fully prepared to pay the $2.00 per shirt at the dry cleaners (much less than buying a new shirt, right?) but the very nice lady at the dry cleaners said, “Oh, you can just use some Dawn Direct Foam on that and it will come right out!”” Just put a little Dawn Direct Foam on each spot, let it sit a few minutes, and then wash as usual! The grease stains disappear like magic! Surviving The Stores Blog
50. Use Double Faced Capet Tape Under Throw Rugs To Prevent Slipping – Simply place the tape in the corners of the rug for those which sit on hardwood floors. To repair rugs with frayed edges, simply snip off the loose ends and dab it with some transparent glue. When the glue dries no body will notice the worn areas.