Household Cleaning Tips from Cheapster Readers

After getting some e-mails from readers about cleaning on the cheap over the last month (and a few tips sent in last week, too!), here's another post dedicated to you and your advice, readers! Cleaning on the cheap:

* Stephanie recommends this article about how to make your own glass cleaner. (I've been doing a variation on this for a while, but without the alcohol. I'll be trying it out next time I mix up some cleaner!)

* Another reader recommends buying concentrated, multi-purpose cleaner, that you can use in both the bathroom and kitchen, and which only requires being mixed with water. She recommends this.

* My dad also brought up the Great Towel Debate within our family. That is, you can re-use towels after showering -- if it doesn't weird you out. (It doesn't weird me out. I re-use towels all the time, and follow my grandpa's advice -- your body had better be clean coming out of the shower, so what's the problem re-using the towel?!) Some people in our family disagree, and like to use a new towel after every shower. This is, of course, a line you have to draw for yourself, but one of the choices is clearly the cheaper one! :)

* Finally, if you are interested in making your own household cleaners of all kinds using just a few simple ingredients, check out this post by the Thirty A Week Blog! (Lots of other great cheap tips to be found in this blog, too, peeps, so be sure to check it out!)

Well, readers, here's to another cheap -- and now clean -- week!
And stay tuned! Next week will be a post dedicated to one of my favorite subjects -- food! (And lots of it!)

Blast From the Past: Depression-Era Penny-Pinching Tips!

Especially when it comes to saving money, our elders are/were in the know! Here are some suggestions from the Depression that helped our ancestors get through the tough times. I've scrabbled them together from across the World Wide Web and adapted them for the modern solo-apartment renter. They can all be put to use today to help stretch your dollar!

Also: Attention readers!! Next week's post will be dedicated to reader tips and wisdom -- all about cheap house cleaning! Do YOU have a tip about keeping things clean (while keeping things cheap) to share? Be sure to let me know, so that your advice can be included in next week's post!

Some Depression-era tips (for a modern apartment dweller):

•  If you drink tea, use your teabag more than once before tossing it out.
•  Use cloth napkins instead of always buying paper ones.
• Instead of using expensive store-bought household cleaners, use vinegar and a baking soda/water mixture for floors, countertops, and windows.
•  If heat is not included in your rent (an extra expense for you), put on a sweater instead of turning up your heater.
•  Also, if heat is an extra expense for you,  be sure to block any drafts under your doors and windows with towels or another homemade "draft blocker" to save energy and money.
•  If your heat IS included in your rent, hang your clothes to dry around your apartment rather than pay to run a dryer.
• Before giving away old clothes to the thrift store, think about what you might be able to do with them. Could a pair of pants with a hole in the knee be made into shorts? Could part of an old sheet be made into a tablecloth?

Special thanks to mommysavers.com and caring.com!