Speaker 1: Episode forty three, Low Cost d I Y Cleaning Products.
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast, where you'll learn to
Speaker 1: save money, embrace simplicity rights, and liver with your life.
Speaker 1: Here your host Jen and Jill clean it up. I'm
Speaker 1: cleaning real good. Hello everyone, I hope you are ready
Speaker 1: to clean clean up the laughs is what I mean,
Speaker 1: because we have another episode of the Frugal Friends podcast.
Speaker 1: I don't know if I use that correctly, like in context.
Speaker 1: I've never heard that before. Clean like clean up like
Speaker 1: you're cleaning up like the cash or clean up the laughs,
Speaker 1: getting clean up your attitude, Jill or it's gonna be
Speaker 1: bad news or you Well, well that's Jill and that's
Speaker 1: how she has heard it. I'm gen and we are
Speaker 1: not talking about cleaning up your attitude or your act.
Speaker 1: We're talking cleaning products. And we're not just going to
Speaker 1: read you a list of like thirty seven recipes for
Speaker 1: cleaning products, because I was seeing gosh lists with over
Speaker 1: a hundred cleaning recipes. We're going to show you how
Speaker 1: to identify if the recipe you're looking at is legit
Speaker 1: and best practices when you're making d I Y cleaning products,
Speaker 1: and then we'll give you a few examples of some
Speaker 1: good ones and how you can make them not smell
Speaker 1: so vinegary. Yeah, it's perfect timing too, because now that
Speaker 1: you have Marie condoed your life and you are all
Speaker 1: in un tidying up, let's clean it up. Because tidy
Speaker 1: home if there's bacteria and germs everywhere and dust, you
Speaker 1: know that's where it's a lot of it's going to be.
Speaker 1: You're going to clean those surfaces and you're going to
Speaker 1: find a lot of dust. You've picked up your piles
Speaker 1: of clothes off the floor, and you realize you've got
Speaker 1: some gleaning to do. One part of your carpet is
Speaker 1: darker than the other because those clothes have been there
Speaker 1: on the floor for so long. You know what I'm
Speaker 1: talking about you. Before that, though, a word from our sponsors,
Speaker 1: So we've we've got Modern Frugality dot Com here. So
Speaker 1: the Modern Frugality blog and shop has free and low
Speaker 1: cost printables, resources and e books to help you reduce
Speaker 1: your spending, minimize your stuff, and organize your life. Visit
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Speaker 1: freebees and you can get off any purchase with the
Speaker 1: code Frugal Friends one nine, that's Frugal Friends nineteen. Check
Speaker 1: it out off. Yeah, do that before you clean, so
Speaker 1: that you have our space to clean. And today's episode
Speaker 1: is also brought to you by science. The Internet is
Speaker 1: a glorious and dark place with many great revelations that
Speaker 1: have eased the pain of living. It's also filled with
Speaker 1: people looking to be heard, even if what they're saying
Speaker 1: has no merit. Thankfully, we have science. It creates hypotheses,
Speaker 1: verifies claims, debunks myths, and kills unsubstantiated claims. Science. Seek
Speaker 1: it out before you believe everything you read on the internet. WHOA,
Speaker 1: I'm honored to have Science. Seems like the most controversial
Speaker 1: sponsor science, science, but it's our sponsor. And this is
Speaker 1: what we're relying on science today to Yeah, you didn't
Speaker 1: get the mean we need science to be right here.
Speaker 1: We don't need the wrong kind of science. So we
Speaker 1: need the right kind of science when you're cleaning and
Speaker 1: when we're cooking. Science to be safe and clean and
Speaker 1: and so be thankful for it and love it and
Speaker 1: embrace it. And don't believe everything you read on the
Speaker 1: internet anyways, anyway, except for things that we've written on
Speaker 1: the internet. Totally take that blindly because we believe in science.
Speaker 1: I always think about I believe in science. All right.
Speaker 1: So our first headline today is from Good Housekeeping and
Speaker 1: it's called why you should Never mix ammonia and bleach,
Speaker 1: but it is basically six cleaning products you should never combine.
Speaker 1: This was a really good article for me. Not that
Speaker 1: I've ever been in a position where I have mixed
Speaker 1: these things, but it it's good to know that I
Speaker 1: shouldn't ever do this. So I didn't. I didn't really
Speaker 1: know any of these if we're being honest, but kind
Speaker 1: of want to try it though. Now reading this thing
Speaker 1: that says don't ever mix these two things, I'm like,
Speaker 1: but why is it like when they announced on the
Speaker 1: plane that you shouldn't that you need to turn your
Speaker 1: phone off? Like, is that really doing anything? You know?
Speaker 1: Is this one of those articles where they just wanted
Speaker 1: to write a bunch of stuff mixing bleach and rubbing alcohol.
Speaker 1: They're really going to make chloroform? Yeah? Oh, I want
Speaker 1: to find out. Um, let's go down the list and
Speaker 1: then we'll I have a another link to a chemist
Speaker 1: writing these things true, that's true, Yes, And this one's
Speaker 1: written by Good Housekeeping like chief director of Cleaning. I
Speaker 1: don't know what that means, but hope she believes in science.
Speaker 1: The first one is bleach and ammonia, as the title suggests,
Speaker 1: because it produces a taxic, a toxic gas called chloramine.
Speaker 1: And and what does chloramine do? You don't want to
Speaker 1: breathe it in folks, It can give you shortness of
Speaker 1: breath and chest pain. I don't want that. I don't
Speaker 1: need that while I'm cleaning. I'm already under unnecessary stress
Speaker 1: when I'm cleaning. Actually it's kind of therapeutic for me.
Speaker 1: But and you'll and it says it does the same
Speaker 1: thing if you meet mix vinegar with bleach, which is
Speaker 1: number five, but it mentions it along here. So I
Speaker 1: think that one's a more likely thing that people might
Speaker 1: try to do when they're cleaning their house is to
Speaker 1: they're using the all natural vinegar and then they want
Speaker 1: to just get maybe a little extra, so they'll mix
Speaker 1: the vinegar and bleach, and that also causes coramine. Whoa.
Speaker 1: And this is where this thought pattern can come in,
Speaker 1: which they talk about in the article, that people can think, oh,
Speaker 1: if one product is really good and I like it,
Speaker 1: then mixing it with another one that I really like
Speaker 1: is going to be even better. But that thinking is false,
Speaker 1: and us frugal folk know this, right, We know that
Speaker 1: more is not usually better mm hmm yeah, and so
Speaker 1: not everyone will be using just straight up ammonia. But
Speaker 1: remember that most glass and window cleaners contain ammonia, So
Speaker 1: keep those away from your bleach. Don't store them together, don't. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it would be important to know what the ingredients are
Speaker 1: because I have like an all purpose spray that sometimes
Speaker 1: I might like. If the all purpose spray isn't working,
Speaker 1: then I'll go grab the bleach or the vinegar. So
Speaker 1: holy smokes, maybe that's why I feel so funny when
Speaker 1: I clean a shower. Oh my gosh, Um, Jill, I
Speaker 1: think number two really shocked you. Yes it did. Okay,
Speaker 1: So number two says that you shouldn't mix drain cleaner
Speaker 1: with drain cleaner. It can explode, which, for you pyros
Speaker 1: out there, this might be exactly what you want to
Speaker 1: do that you want to try. Said that this is
Speaker 1: the one I thought. Apparently they have some powerful formulas
Speaker 1: that if they aren't quite exactly the same, it's not like, oh,
Speaker 1: I'm running out of this drain cleaner. Just go grab
Speaker 1: whatever else I have and let's dump that down to it.
Speaker 1: It's possible that they could interact in a very negative way. Yes,
Speaker 1: So if you're trying to be frugal and combining two
Speaker 1: things because you are low on both, just don't. And
Speaker 1: this doesn't have brands, but it is depicted by pictures
Speaker 1: of like that big jug looking one and then the
Speaker 1: smaller one that may have like two in one, and
Speaker 1: that may suggest that doing two and one is okay,
Speaker 1: but they're not. Essentially adding a third one to that
Speaker 1: two and one does not make it work better. Yes, yeah, no,
Speaker 1: it can explode in case you missed that the first time.
Speaker 1: And one that you may be really interested in knowing.
Speaker 1: Number three. Basically, the point of this whole article being
Speaker 1: shared with you is baking soda and vinegar. Seriously, in
Speaker 1: half of the d I Y cleaning product recipes you
Speaker 1: will find out there. I don't know why, it's a
Speaker 1: simple Google search will tell you why this is not
Speaker 1: a good idea, Jill, have you tried this before? Oh yeah,
Speaker 1: this is what they all say to do, like mix
Speaker 1: vinegar and baking soda. It's like your number one go
Speaker 1: to d I y cleaning things, so this one's definitely
Speaker 1: a surprise to me, right, No, it was a surprise
Speaker 1: to me when I was doing research for this, and
Speaker 1: it's really simple concept. Baking soda is basic. Actually, most
Speaker 1: of the cleaning like natural cleaning products you will use
Speaker 1: are basic. Vinegar is not not like not like the
Speaker 1: term like your basic. It's not that it's like remember
Speaker 1: your litmus tests back in middle school. That's what we're
Speaker 1: talking about. Yep. It's got that high pH um. The basics,
Speaker 1: the basis have the higher phs, so that those are basic.
Speaker 1: Vinegar is acidic, and so when you put them together, yes,
Speaker 1: you get this beautiful, fizzy, little volcano like chemical reaction.
Speaker 1: But what you are left with after those chemicals react,
Speaker 1: and it is a chemical reaction because this is science,
Speaker 1: and you are left with water, heat, and salt, so
Speaker 1: you are essentially after you mix the two, you're cleaning
Speaker 1: with warm salt water, so which I mean sometimes you
Speaker 1: clean with salt, you know, like on pans, to give
Speaker 1: you something gritty. But but this is a type of salt.
Speaker 1: This isn't the coarse salt that's giving you that grit
Speaker 1: that you're using to clean. This is just war. This
Speaker 1: is diluted salt salt order m hmm, and it's The
Speaker 1: article also says if stored in a closed container, the
Speaker 1: mixture can explode, So try try that out if you
Speaker 1: want to see an explosion. Probably not like a scary
Speaker 1: fiery explosion, just like like volcano explosions, like science projects.
Speaker 1: Thank you science m hm. So I found this other
Speaker 1: article from a chemist at the wire Cutter. Wirecutters are
Speaker 1: really reliable review site owned by the New York Times,
Speaker 1: and this chemist basically goes around and for the wire
Speaker 1: Cutter just kind of debunk smiths and verifies things. But
Speaker 1: she says, acids and base bases cancel each other out.
Speaker 1: So your common household acids are vinegar, which is acetic acid,
Speaker 1: and lemon juice, which is citric acid. So those are
Speaker 1: your two basic acids you can just kind of rely
Speaker 1: on that. And then your bases are the ammonia, the
Speaker 1: baking soda, the borax bleach, And she says, please don't
Speaker 1: make bleach with anything ever ever. So that's just a
Speaker 1: good rule of thumb. If you're like I can't keep
Speaker 1: up with all these things we're talking about, just don't
Speaker 1: men mixed bleach with stuff. Yeah, and then also don't
Speaker 1: mix vinegar with basis. So basically, if you're going to
Speaker 1: use a vinegar cleaner, you want to use it on
Speaker 1: its own. And and so that's a rule of thumb
Speaker 1: when you're looking at recipes vinegar and water. There you go,
Speaker 1: there's your thing. You can use some central oils, maybe
Speaker 1: put some you know, dried herbs in there, but that's
Speaker 1: pretty much. You don't need to make it more complicated
Speaker 1: because it only cancels out the great benefits of vinegar.
Speaker 1: And same with baking soda. Baking soda has great properties
Speaker 1: on its own, but when you mix it with vinegar,
Speaker 1: it kind of cancels those properties out exactly. So I
Speaker 1: love science. Man. Ah yeah, so good. All right. Another
Speaker 1: one hydrogen peroxide and vinegar and hydrogen peroxide is one
Speaker 1: that it gives a fantastic chemical reaction on its own.
Speaker 1: You don't need to mix it with anything. Have you
Speaker 1: ever cleaned with hydrogen peroxide gel? Only wounds? Okay, So
Speaker 1: it does the same thing with wounds as it does
Speaker 1: like if you get blood in something, um, you put
Speaker 1: some hydrogen peroxide on it. It's it's kind of like
Speaker 1: a bleach so that's why you also shouldn't mix it
Speaker 1: with vinegar. And you can put it on there's like
Speaker 1: maybe mold or mildew in the bathroom compored on that
Speaker 1: and it it kills it, just like yeah, just like
Speaker 1: bleach wood, but don't mix it with vinegar. Mixing that
Speaker 1: can cause irritations to your skin, eyes, respiratory system. You
Speaker 1: don't need that. Yes, it it's parakeetic, parasitic acid. Parasitic
Speaker 1: acid science, I don't know, I believe you. Yes. And
Speaker 1: our last one, guess guess what it is. Guess what
Speaker 1: it is? Rubbing alcohol, Yeah, and bleach. You're noticing a
Speaker 1: pattern here, so um, this is the one that makes
Speaker 1: this makes chloroform. If you mix rubbing alcohol bleach together. Um,
Speaker 1: you know that's what kidnappers is. Make it a rule
Speaker 1: in your life. Don't ever mix bleach with anything but
Speaker 1: plain water, like even other cleaning products that contain bleach, like,
Speaker 1: don't do it. It should not be mixed with anything. Yeah.
Speaker 1: So if you see those things mixed together in a
Speaker 1: recipe for a dy cleaner, run for the hills. Except
Speaker 1: for what like laundry bleach. When that when that can
Speaker 1: be added to your laundry along with your detergent. I
Speaker 1: think they're added separately in different cycles. That's what. Yeah,
Speaker 1: there's different sections. That's why it has the sections in
Speaker 1: the washing machine for a reason. Even so, you know what,
Speaker 1: this goes all the way back to what like our
Speaker 1: third or fourth episode, where like our our episode on
Speaker 1: clothing turned mostly into a laundry episode. And then we're
Speaker 1: saying how we didn't know what all the different compartments were.
Speaker 1: Look at us. We're learning together. We're learning and growing together.
Speaker 1: Here you are a few months later. That's why there's
Speaker 1: different compartments because they can't be mixed. Boom, we're together
Speaker 1: during this a ha moment. That was funny with you you.
Speaker 1: It was good to look at your face. It felt safe. Alright.
Speaker 1: So now that you know what to avoid in recipes,
Speaker 1: let's go take a look at the essential ingredients for
Speaker 1: homemade cleaners. Um and this is from Wonder Mom Want
Speaker 1: to Be and uh titled the Essential Ingredients for Homemade Cleaners.
Speaker 1: So for those of us who do want to make
Speaker 1: our own and have the goal of it being non toxic,
Speaker 1: kid friendly, adult friendly, every everybody, pet friendly. You know,
Speaker 1: so you're not breathing in a bunch of carcinogens, not
Speaker 1: only when you're cleaning, but because those things like they
Speaker 1: sit around and you continue to breathe them in or
Speaker 1: touch them, and then you might put your fate, your
Speaker 1: your hands to your mouth, and it's just a whole
Speaker 1: big mess. There's a lot of reasons to d I Y,
Speaker 1: you're you're cleaning products, and here's of essentials. Yeah, you
Speaker 1: just have to do it right. And so I like
Speaker 1: this article because not only does she go over the essentials,
Speaker 1: but she tells you why they're essential. And so when
Speaker 1: you're looking at a recipe and you're looking at the
Speaker 1: ingredients and that you should be able to identify like
Speaker 1: this is in here for this, This is in here
Speaker 1: for this, This should not be in here. Let's move on.
Speaker 1: You can be that person who when somebody's like, I
Speaker 1: just spilled wine on my red my white shirt, red
Speaker 1: wine on my white shirt. What should I do? You
Speaker 1: can know, oh, this will be good for that because
Speaker 1: it does X y Z. You could be that person.
Speaker 1: Just start with wine and wear red shirts and then yeah,
Speaker 1: so whichever problem you want to have, um, you'll be
Speaker 1: able to solve it. So alright, the first one Jill
Speaker 1: kick us off. Alright, folks, we got baking soda top
Speaker 1: on the list. This is ideal for scouring, you know,
Speaker 1: not not scouring like for people at the beach, but
Speaker 1: scouring like like really getting in some of that elbow
Speaker 1: grease circular motion. Yeah, just sprinkling baking soda on a
Speaker 1: countertop with a microfiber cloth, is I mean, there you go. Yeah.
Speaker 1: It's also a deodorizer, but because it absorbs smells, so
Speaker 1: you might see a lot of people with baking soda
Speaker 1: opened in their fridge. That's why. Because it absorbs all
Speaker 1: the like yucky smells, you should still clean your refrigerator,
Speaker 1: but it does help, Yes, clean it with some baking soda. Yeah.
Speaker 1: You can also use this like in cars or on
Speaker 1: carpets if they kind of have an odor to them.
Speaker 1: Let it sit for a while and then just vacuum
Speaker 1: it up. That's a really good trick for getting out
Speaker 1: smells and maybe used cars. You know us, we're frugal,
Speaker 1: we're buying. Yes, alright, So another scouring agent is the
Speaker 1: next one list. It's coarse salt, so not like the
Speaker 1: salt mixture you're making when you mix baking soda in vinegar,
Speaker 1: but an actual coarse salt is a scouring agent. It's
Speaker 1: safe and natural, and it also works well as a softener.
Speaker 1: So I don't know what you're softening. Maybe water, Well,
Speaker 1: we do know that it is good for a water softener,
Speaker 1: but maybe I mean I have poured salt in with
Speaker 1: pants that need a good scrubbing, and then yeah, just
Speaker 1: a little bit of water. I don't know. Sometimes maybe
Speaker 1: you can use a lemon and then do your cast
Speaker 1: iron with some lemon and salt. Yes, another good one.
Speaker 1: Then we've got ourselves. Distilled white vinegar. This is my favorite.
Speaker 1: If you've heard our healthcare episode, you know, drinking apple
Speaker 1: cider vinegar's my jam, so of course cleaning with distilled
Speaker 1: white vinegar is also my jam. I just really think
Speaker 1: very highly of vinegar in a lot of different ways. Anyhow,
Speaker 1: So this one is really great for fighting bacteria. It's
Speaker 1: also super effective against grease, soap, residue, and stains. Yes,
Speaker 1: and important to note again, vinegar is really good on
Speaker 1: its own mixed with some water, so don't combine it
Speaker 1: with baking soda, castile soap, hydrogen peroxide. You probably don't
Speaker 1: want to mix it with many of your other bases
Speaker 1: for the most part um and don't use it on
Speaker 1: marble or granite. Yeah, I was just gonna say that
Speaker 1: this is probably a not so commonly known thing. Marble
Speaker 1: and granite are actually pretty porous. Grant it. You're actually
Speaker 1: supposed to reseal a couple of times a year. Most
Speaker 1: people don't realize that. They think it's a super durable countertop,
Speaker 1: and it is. You know, you can put your hot
Speaker 1: pans right on it, but it's pretty porous and you
Speaker 1: need you need to steal it quite often if you
Speaker 1: want it to last. And marble can stain really easily,
Speaker 1: so they're they're pretty countertops, but they're not durable. So
Speaker 1: side note, if you're building or remodeling right now, go
Speaker 1: for some manmade courts quarts. It's gonna run you about
Speaker 1: the same amount as some mid grade granite, but it's
Speaker 1: just a better option if you want that high end
Speaker 1: look but not have to deal with resealing it every
Speaker 1: couple of every couple of times a year or the stains.
Speaker 1: No one needs costers on their brand new marble counter tops. Nope.
Speaker 1: And you can clean courts with distilled white vinegar yep,
Speaker 1: so fun. That's what we like to hear. Next on
Speaker 1: the list is a hydrogen peroxide super effective at killing bacteria,
Speaker 1: so it's a great substitute for bleach and ammonia. Um,
Speaker 1: but don't mix it with vinegar. Keep those two. Keep
Speaker 1: those bacteria fighting things separately. Just because they're good at
Speaker 1: fighting bacteria on their own doesn't mean they work better together. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's like like people exactly keep them separate. Some people,
Speaker 1: so this next one vodka. Apparently I didn't know this.
Speaker 1: Vodka is terrific for cleaning glass and chrome, and it
Speaker 1: apparently works well for getting rid of mildew you have.
Speaker 1: Core can also substitute this for rubbing alcohol. But apparently
Speaker 1: they think vodka would work too. Although I've got to wonder,
Speaker 1: would I rather have children ingesting vodka residue on the
Speaker 1: counter or like the car synogens. I don't know. I
Speaker 1: don't know which one's like safer for kids. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: don't know either, but probably probably vodka, I will say,
Speaker 1: I guess some ahead some people in the like natural
Speaker 1: cleaning community don't think rubbing alcohol is like natural, so
Speaker 1: they prefer vodka. Oh interesting, Um, yeah, I would probably
Speaker 1: prefer to clean with vodka. Well for a couple of
Speaker 1: reasons that I won't mention all of them. But rubbing
Speaker 1: alcohol like makes me pass out. I have some sort
Speaker 1: of association with rubbing alcohol and very sterile medical environments,
Speaker 1: and that I pass out when I got when I
Speaker 1: got my wisdom teeth out. I guess I smelled rubbing
Speaker 1: alcohol in the chair and I passed out. No one
Speaker 1: had touched me, nothing had happened yet, and the doctors
Speaker 1: had to come in and they were like, I woke up.
Speaker 1: I was like, is it over? Oh my goodness, that
Speaker 1: was so fast, and they're like, no, you just passed out.
Speaker 1: We're putting you back under to actually do the surgery.
Speaker 1: So embarrassing. I know, rubbing alcohol man, so so vodka, man,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna use that, maybe pass out. I probably have
Speaker 1: to say that rubbing alcohol is the more frugal choice.
Speaker 1: But if you already have vodka on hand and a
Speaker 1: lot of it, then clean clean with it. You won't
Speaker 1: pass out by the smell at least all right. And
Speaker 1: then we've got some castile soap, which is very common
Speaker 1: with it's a dr Browners is the most popular type,
Speaker 1: and it's gentle on skin but tough on dirt. And grease,
Speaker 1: and so it makes a good substitute for vinegar. And
Speaker 1: again she's saying, don't mind castile soap with vinegar, you
Speaker 1: can use it as a substitute for it. And a
Speaker 1: lot of people hate the smell of vinegar, so that's
Speaker 1: where good alternative comes in. Yeah. The next one is
Speaker 1: bar soap. So they say that you can grate this,
Speaker 1: grade it up like you would cheese to make some
Speaker 1: homemade laundry detergent, and recipes for dish soap might call
Speaker 1: for some bar soap. And you can also use it
Speaker 1: to pre treat stains on your clothing before you throw
Speaker 1: them into the wash. I didn't know that either. I'm
Speaker 1: not a huge bar soap fan because of the res
Speaker 1: to do that. It leaves in the shower. Same like
Speaker 1: body gels and washes are so much better for the
Speaker 1: look of your tub and shower than bar soap. So
Speaker 1: if you keep getting streaks and residue in your shower
Speaker 1: and you're like, why is this happening, it's probably because
Speaker 1: you're using bar soap. Yeah. Possibly. Uh. And the next
Speaker 1: we've got washing soda, which is different than baking soda.
Speaker 1: It's a natural laundry booster. So it's also used in
Speaker 1: a lot of homemade cleaner recipes. It's good at cutting grease, deodorizing,
Speaker 1: and disinfecting. I would personally never make my own laundry
Speaker 1: detergent UM, but a lot of the accessory things that
Speaker 1: you buy UM you can substitute for, like d I
Speaker 1: Y and and put washing soda in them. I have
Speaker 1: never heard of the term washing soda? What what is that?
Speaker 1: Where do you find it? I would assume on Amazon,
Speaker 1: that's true, they did give you some links in here,
Speaker 1: but I've never heard of this term. It's not something
Speaker 1: I own, and I don't think it's something I'm ever
Speaker 1: gonna buy. So, you know, take it or leave it
Speaker 1: on some of these things on the list. Yeah. So
Speaker 1: the next one is borax. So in a couple of
Speaker 1: these articles it does say beware because borax, while it
Speaker 1: is natural, it's not one safe. So don't just assume like, oh,
Speaker 1: just throw borax on it. It may not be like
Speaker 1: the best, the best thing for you, because it's risky
Speaker 1: if you inhale it or it gets into your eyes,
Speaker 1: or if it's undluded. But it does really help with
Speaker 1: whitening and stain fighting. So actually borax is one of
Speaker 1: the ingredients. When we had talked about d I Y
Speaker 1: dry cleaning, borax is one of the ingredients for that,
Speaker 1: and I do think it's generally used when it comes
Speaker 1: to laundry. So if laundry is something you're d I wining,
Speaker 1: then definitely, yeah, consider this, But don't assume you can
Speaker 1: just like spray it everywhere. I mean, I guess none
Speaker 1: of this stuff you should spray everywhere, but all right.
Speaker 1: And then we've got uh citric acid, which is ideal
Speaker 1: for preventing water spots and cloudiness. UM. You can use
Speaker 1: it to when you're washing dishes, leaves, um, glass and mirrors,
Speaker 1: sparkling handy for cleaning stainless steel UM and works like
Speaker 1: magic on wine stains. So this is another one where
Speaker 1: you could take that Corse salt with a lemon and
Speaker 1: clean your stainless steel and m clean wine stains. So
Speaker 1: that would be really smart. And then we've got olive oil,
Speaker 1: and that's usually in d I Y furniture cleaners because
Speaker 1: it conditions would well. But you want to make sure
Speaker 1: you're using like a cheaper olive oil, because don't that
Speaker 1: could be even pricier than like furniture cleaners. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: then you've got your essential oil, so this is what
Speaker 1: can make it spell nice. And some oils also have
Speaker 1: some antibacterial, antifungal, anti viral properties that you can do
Speaker 1: your own research on. You do not have to join
Speaker 1: an MLM to do this. You can get essential oils
Speaker 1: at Marshals or t j un Clearance. You may not
Speaker 1: be able to eat them, but don't eat them the solutions.
Speaker 1: There's so much science telling you not to eat them. Science.
Speaker 1: Some of the ones that she lists as really good
Speaker 1: in cleaners um lemon, t tree, peppermint, and rosemary. These
Speaker 1: are all anti bacterial i'll have antibacterial properties so perfect.
Speaker 1: Those are the things to be looking out for when
Speaker 1: you want to make your own d I Y cleaners.
Speaker 1: So and don't think we're done, because we're done, because
Speaker 1: that's part of the week. Yeah, we're just taking a break.
Speaker 1: Four the bill. That's right, it's time for the best
Speaker 1: minute of your entire week. Maybe a baby was born
Speaker 1: and his name is Williams. Maybe you paid off your mortgage,
Speaker 1: maybe your car died and you're happy to not have
Speaker 1: to pay that bill anymore. That's bill Buffalo bills, Bill Clinton.
Speaker 1: This is the Bill of the week. Okay, hey you guys,
Speaker 1: I'm talking kind of quiet because I'm at this New
Speaker 1: Year's like mixer for the local Chamber of Commerce, and
Speaker 1: you know, it's a typical networking event. We got to
Speaker 1: meet all these people, and I swear to God, this
Speaker 1: man came up and introduced himself and he's like, hey,
Speaker 1: I'm Bill, and this is a Friday, and I'm like,
Speaker 1: oh my gosh, I need to go and I need
Speaker 1: to call somebody because um, I have a new favoritebout
Speaker 1: of the week. So there you guys, go, Jenn and
Speaker 1: Jill and all of our Google friends. I'm at a
Speaker 1: Bill at a networking event, and he seems nice. I don't.
Speaker 1: I don't think he was as excited to meet me
Speaker 1: as I wasn't meet him. But because of the week,
Speaker 1: Oh my, I wish that we had been there with you.
Speaker 1: But I kind of feel like we aren't there with
Speaker 1: you because you're calling us from this event. I know
Speaker 1: that it maybe a later date, but I mean I
Speaker 1: love that we in some ways have ruined the name
Speaker 1: Bill for any of our listeners, like anyone named Bill
Speaker 1: that they meet. Now, it's just funny. Yeah, that's what
Speaker 1: I Yeah, I love it. I love ruining things for
Speaker 1: people like a true millennial. He was so excited to
Speaker 1: be Bill and to introduce himself and a network, build
Speaker 1: a network, or he's my favorite Bill this week too. Yes,
Speaker 1: thank you for that. Ever meet any Bills and you
Speaker 1: want to sneak away and call us about it, please
Speaker 1: head to Frugal Friends podcast dot com slash Bill and
Speaker 1: quietly let us know about your Bill of the week
Speaker 1: because we want to be in on this with you,
Speaker 1: and especially if you meet like Bill Murray or something
Speaker 1: that would be Oh, I just watched The Duck Memory.
Speaker 1: I don't want to ruin that. If somebody is gonna
Speaker 1: call in about Bill Murray. But there's a documentary because
Speaker 1: there's all these random stories about things, things that Bill
Speaker 1: Murray does that are just like nah, that never happened.
Speaker 1: There's just a collection of these stories about Bill Murray.
Speaker 1: So a whole documentary was made about it. It's on Netflix. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so somebody should watch it and then tell us their
Speaker 1: favorite part, and that's gonna be the Bill of the week.
Speaker 1: I don't know. Whatever, whatever you want to do, if
Speaker 1: you meet Bill Murray, holy smokes. If Bill Murray calls in,
Speaker 1: I think this podcast would explode. That's like vinegar and
Speaker 1: bleach together. If Bill Murray and Frugal Friends Bill Murray
Speaker 1: Bill of the Week segment, My mind would wish you
Speaker 1: could about to explode. We need to like move on.
Speaker 1: She is stressed. It's a good stress. It's an excited stressed. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I wish could see her face. Okay, Lightning Round, Jen,
Speaker 1: you actually called it lightning round in our show in
Speaker 1: our notes. Thank you so much. I feel so validated.
Speaker 1: Every time I'm like calling it lightning round. She's like,
Speaker 1: we don't do a lightning round, like I know, we
Speaker 1: don't just play along. And this time she put it
Speaker 1: in our outline. Yeah, I call I'm gonna I'm gonna
Speaker 1: be with you on this one. Here we go lightning round.
Speaker 1: So let's let's talk about a few good recipes. Because
Speaker 1: we said we weren't going to do a whole episode
Speaker 1: on it, and we didn't. You're welcome. We saved you
Speaker 1: from some explosions, some respiratory issues. You know, you learned
Speaker 1: a few things about me and my aversion to rubbing alcohol.
Speaker 1: Now here's a recipe. So if you want that kind
Speaker 1: of non vinegar all purpose cleaner, because we know how
Speaker 1: good vinegar is, but some people can't take the smell
Speaker 1: of it. So this this website Keeper of the Home
Speaker 1: gives us a great non vinegar all per is cleaner.
Speaker 1: Here's what it is. One tablespoon baking soda, one teaspoon
Speaker 1: castile soap, three to five drops of a tea tree oil,
Speaker 1: and then fill the bottle with water. Spray that all around. Folks,
Speaker 1: you've got yourselves a good smelling all purpose cleaner that
Speaker 1: you did yourself. You know what's in it. You could
Speaker 1: almost lick it, but don't. Oh yeah, don't. It's castle soap. Don't.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, unless you had a dirty mouth and
Speaker 1: you need to you need to wash your mouth out
Speaker 1: with soap. Do you ever have to do that? No?
Speaker 1: Your mom never made you do that. No, because I
Speaker 1: didn't have a dirty mouth. Anyways, she would have if
Speaker 1: you would have had a dirty mouth, but she didn't.
Speaker 1: So yeah, it was a good kid, Thank you, Jill.
Speaker 1: All right, And for those of us who are okay
Speaker 1: with a little vinegar smell, there is the tried and
Speaker 1: true classic vinegar surface cleaner, and this one's particularly from
Speaker 1: Live Simply Dot me, it's just a cup of distilled
Speaker 1: water with a cup of distilled white vinegar, and then
Speaker 1: you can add to that um half a lemon, half
Speaker 1: of the juice from half a lemon, and then like
Speaker 1: fifteen drops of essential oil whatever you want um, or
Speaker 1: you could just throw in a lemon rind and some
Speaker 1: rosemary spreaks and do it that way. I think it's
Speaker 1: important to note with any recipe that these are not
Speaker 1: shelf stable for as long as commercial cleaners, So you
Speaker 1: don't want to let these sit around for like more
Speaker 1: than three weeks, because anytime you have you add water,
Speaker 1: especially if it's tap water, then you invite the growth
Speaker 1: of bacteria and so like not even the vinegar or
Speaker 1: the baking soda or whatever can is perfect in killing
Speaker 1: that off. So it's one reason why using distilled vinegar
Speaker 1: is a good idea if you've got it around, but
Speaker 1: you still don't want to let it uh sit out
Speaker 1: for very long, so make small portions or maybe split it.
Speaker 1: If you are not going to use two cups of
Speaker 1: cleaner in a few weeks, then split it with a friend.
Speaker 1: But you don't want it to just be sitting And
Speaker 1: if you have made some d I y cleaner. That's
Speaker 1: pretty old. Probably best to just toss it, start over,
Speaker 1: start over because chemical reactions and science and stuff, plus
Speaker 1: these items are inexpensive. Mm hm, that's why. That's why
Speaker 1: we frugal folks make our own. Yeah, those are our
Speaker 1: best tips for d I Y cleaning. I hope that
Speaker 1: you will try them. There are a ton of recipes
Speaker 1: on the web, and maybe one day I will just
Speaker 1: compile a list of the good ones. Um, I didn't
Speaker 1: have time to, like just rummage through all of the
Speaker 1: crap ones. Now you can rummage through them yourself because
Speaker 1: you know what to look for perfect. Let's talk about
Speaker 1: our book club, always always willing to do that. So
Speaker 1: it's February right now, so we are currently reading Meet
Speaker 1: the Frugal Woods. This is by Elizabeth Willard Thames Teams.
Speaker 1: I don't know, someday I'll figure that out. Um, but
Speaker 1: she's amazing. So jump in on that. Yes, And if
Speaker 1: you want to jump in and you want to free copy,
Speaker 1: leave us a review on iTunes or Stitcher. Screenshot the
Speaker 1: review before you had submit, and then after you had submit,
Speaker 1: send it to Frugal Friends podcast at gmail dot com
Speaker 1: and we are selecting one winner for every five reviews
Speaker 1: that we get on our inbox, and there is no
Speaker 1: no limit. You could get yourself a free book. Yes,
Speaker 1: who doesn't want that, especially this one? Get yourself this
Speaker 1: free book. This has changed a few things the way
Speaker 1: that I live life. I don't want to say it's
Speaker 1: completely life changing, but it did change a few things
Speaker 1: in my life. And if you want an example of
Speaker 1: a good five star review that you can leave for
Speaker 1: a book winning opportunity, here you go. This one is
Speaker 1: from k Hells and it is titled Fun Podcast for
Speaker 1: Frugal Folks. Thank you Jenn and Jill for taking the
Speaker 1: guesswork out of frugal living. This podcast is both fun
Speaker 1: and jam packed full of helpful tips to get you
Speaker 1: started and keep you motivated on your frugal journey. Living
Speaker 1: paycheck to paycheck and saying no to friends is no fun,
Speaker 1: but these hosts remind me that there is fun to
Speaker 1: be had while living frugally. Yes, Cape Hell's there is.
Speaker 1: We're doing it. I'm sitting in bed right now talking
Speaker 1: about d I Y cleaning products. What else can you
Speaker 1: ask for? Yep ate dinner with a cupon. That is
Speaker 1: fun and being frugal, That's what we're about. Oh that's
Speaker 1: a good one, thanks so much. That was a really
Speaker 1: good one. We want to be your frugal friends. So
Speaker 1: if you want to help more people find out about
Speaker 1: the podcast, seriously leave a review. That's the way people
Speaker 1: do it. And we want them to know what they're
Speaker 1: getting into because we're not like other podcasts, and we
Speaker 1: don't want people that won't like us to listen to
Speaker 1: us and then leave us one star reviews. Who needs that.
Speaker 1: We want friends, not frugal enemies that doesn't do no
Speaker 1: one no good. Yeah, So until then, leave your reviews,
Speaker 1: be frugal and we'll see you next week. See you
Speaker 1: then bye. By Frugal Friends is produced, edited and mixed
Speaker 1: by Eric syria Um. What would a frugal enemy even
Speaker 1: look like? Like? What would what would that mean? If
Speaker 1: you had a frugal enemy that they were somebody just
Speaker 1: trying to do Oh, this is it? Somebody who's all
Speaker 1: up in the buy nothing group trying to get all
Speaker 1: the things that you want, right, somebody that knows you're
Speaker 1: looking for those that you're looking for. It, they don't.
Speaker 1: They just swipe into your post and they're like, oh,
Speaker 1: I'll take that. And also they never contribute to the
Speaker 1: buy nothing group. Yeah, they're always taking. So basically what
Speaker 1: we're talking about is cheap. A frugal enemy is a
Speaker 1: cheap person, because I don't think it'd be possible. They
Speaker 1: don't need anything else, right, but they just keep taking, taking,
Speaker 1: and then buy nothing group. That is it. I don't
Speaker 1: think it's possible that if you're frugal that you wouldn't
Speaker 1: be our friends. I think that I think that what
Speaker 1: would actually be happening is you're not frugal, you're something else,
Speaker 1: probably cheap, and therefore you're a frugal enemy. You're the
Speaker 1: enemy of frugality fru to me, we don't want those reviews. No, no,
Speaker 1: and