15 Frugal Cleaning Tips to Save Time and Money

1. Burnt frying pan

The black congealed burnt carbon mess on the bottom of a frying pan is hard to get off with dish soap.

Instead, take a teaspoon of cheap washing powder, put it in the bottom of a burnt pan with some boiling hot water, pop the lid on the pan and leave it for 24 hours. You will be able to just wipe the mess right off.

2. Kitchen sponges

To disinfect and freshen up your kitchen sponges, soak them in plain cold water, pop them in a bowl and put them in the microwave for one minute on high just for one minute.

The water will boil and start to steam, killing the bacteria. If you have the time, I also recommend washing your sponges weekly with your tea towels.

3. Stainless steel

If you have a scratched or marked stainless steel surface, wipe it with a cloth with a tiny amount of olive oil on it.

This will also give the stainless steel a little extra waterproofing coat so it stains a lot less next time.

An olive oil buff is the only thing that got bleach spray off my stainless steel splashback.

4. Chopping boards

If you chop onions or garlic on your chopping boards, they might become smelly. The best way to get rid of the smell is rubbing them over with a bit of lemon. It works best with wooden and porous surfaces.

Lemon also acts as a slight bleaching agent.

5. Shower cubicle

There is a great natural cleaning product you can make at home to get rid of the limescale and soap scum inside of your shower cubicle.

Fill a spray bottle with 50% vinegar and 50% water, squirt it all on the inside of the shower, leave it for 20 minutes, and then wipe down with a cloth or a sponge.

Leave the bottle in the shower and use it right after every shower to make it so much easier to clean.

6. Limescale

Vinegar is also fantastic for cleaning limescale out of kettles, coffee makers and of course around your taps. Soaking those areas in vinegar for two minutes will make it so simple to wipe the lime scale right off. Make sure to use the neat vinegar.

7. Fridge

If you like fresh coffee, hold on to your coffee grinds. You can either use them in your garden making compost, or put a small tub the size of an egg cup at the back of your fridge to deodorize it and get rid of the unwanted smells.

8. Iron

Sometimes irons get black marks on the bottoms, which is essentially plastic residue from using too high of a setting on a man-made fabric.

To get a sparkly brand new iron, turn it on, let it heat up, then pull the plug out and rub a paracetamol tablet across the black mark. This will work like a magic eraser, and you can just blow away the dust.

Be careful and wear heat proof gloves.

9. Cooking stains

Cooking stains are easiest to get off right away, but if you have let a stain sit and build up already, gently scraping the stain with a single edged razor blade is a great way to get rid of it.

10. Washing machine

The rubber seal of the washing machine tends to collect mildew and mold over time.

If you do not want it to start ruining your clothes, take care of it by drying the inside of the rubber ring with an old cloth after every use, and leave the door cracked open to let air circulate and properly dry the machine.

In addition, do a vinegar wash with water once a month, to clean out the machine.

11. Smelly drawers

If you use dryer sheets in your tumble dryer, consider reusing them as dusting cloths or adding some perfume on them and popping them in your drawers to freshen them up and keep the fabrics smelling good.

12. Slow cooker

My slow cooker is probably my favorite piece of kitchen equipment. Once a month, I deep clean it by filling it full with 2/3 vinegar and two teaspoons of bicarb soda, waiting for the reaction to happen before I put the lid on, and then putting it on low for an hour.

Once the slow cooker has cooled down, I will pour the vinegar back into my large gallon tub and reuse the vinegar again and again for cleaning.

13. Shower curtains

Did you realize you can actually wash most vinyl and plastic shower curtains in the washing machine?

I have been wiping them down with vinegar and water by hand once a week, but a quick wash in the washing machine is truly a lifesaver. Just hang it on the washing line to dry afterwards, and it will come out looking like new.

14. Cloudy glassware

If you have any glassware or plastic ware that has come out of the dishwasher looking cloudy with the lime scale, vinegar is your best friend yet again.

Take a bowl, pour in your vinegar, soak all your glassware for half an hour, then rinse it off in water and dry. This will get the build-up right out.

15. Priorities

I recommend having a cleaning list organized by priority. Put the cleaning jobs that are important and urgent at the top, and those that can wait at the bottom. Then just do what you can do, starting from the top.

Remember, cleaning is not the most important thing in your life, so do not beat yourself up for not having a flawlessly clean house, and enjoy the time that you set for family, friends, relaxation, leisure and self-care.

Frugal cleaning tips

I hope that this list of natural cleaning supplies and quick cleaning hacks will help you save time and money on your chores.

Do you have any other frugal cleaning tips that you would like to share? Don’t be shy, leave those in the comments!