There is always going to be some new household product on the market that makes you feel like you need them to keep your house and/or yourself clean. It’s an advertiser’s job to make you think that way and we’ve all been influenced to think we need whatever product is on offer. However, as the years have gone by, I’ve come to realize that much of what I was buying, I could get along without.
So much of what we buy at the grocery store has nothing to do with food. Do we really need so many household and personal care products? Here’s what I won’t buy in order to save money and free up under sink storage space.
After all, if I got along okay before these products came into being, I can continue to do so now and save myself a lot of money in the process. Ergo, there are certain household products I simply refuse to buy. See if you agree with me.
Why I Won’t Buy These Household Products
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A Ton of Different Cleaning Supplies
These days, there are so many specialized cleaners on the market, it makes my head spin.
For years, my go-to cleaning product has been vinegar. It’s a great all-purpose cleaner for many surfaces that also disinfects. I clean my mirrors with a solution of vinegar and water. Windows get super clean using a splash of vinegar in a bucket of hot water. Countertops can be disinfected using vinegar. I don’t mind the smell of vinegar and it dissipates quickly anyway. If you really can’t stand the smell, add a few drops of essential oils to your spray bottle or bucket.
Certain products, such as Dawn dish detergent, can do more than just clean your dishes. I use blue Dawn as a laundry stain remover and their Powerwash® brand, besides being helpful for really greasy messes in the kitchen, also does a bang-up job cleaning the BBQ grill and tile grout in the bathroom.
I also like LA’s Totally Awesome, another excellent product that can be used to clean multiple surfaces. Personally, I like the way it cleans black scuff marks off the cheap tile floor in my rental kitchen with very little effort. I also use it to pretreat pet stains on the carpet.
One-Use Products
If you can only use something once before it gets thrown out, I won’t buy it. This includes disinfectant wipes for surface cleaning, disposable dusters and disposable mop refills. They may be convenient, but over time, the cost really adds up. I’ve been using washable mop refills and microfiber dusters for years. They work great and I’ve saved a ton of cash by not buying the disposable ones.
Convenience is a big issue. People are busy. I get that, but how much longer does it really take to spritz a bit of cleaner on a reusable cloth or on a countertop before wiping a surface?
Besides the money saved by not buying one-use products, it pains me to think of all of those disposable wipes and mop pads ending up in our landfills.
Room Air Fresheners
If you really feel your home is beset by odors, Amazon has a wide selection of odor neutralizers for homes that don’t entail using sprays or plug-ins. Over the long run, this is a much more budget-friendly way to keep your home odor-free. Also, I wonder what kinds of chemicals we’re breathing in from a plug-in air freshener or after spraying the air with aerosol air fresheners.
In Wash Scent Boosters
One day, I was giving my daughter-in-law a hug when she said, “You smell nice!” Was I using one of those laundry scent boosters? Nope! It was just the scent left behind by my regular laundry detergent. For me, in-wash scent boosters are a huge waste of money and totally unnecessary.
The appeal of the scent boosters seems to be that the scent lasts for a long time, however, is it that important that the dog’s blanket stays smelling sweet for weeks? I’m sure your pet doesn’t care. And, at the rate that people change their clothes, does it really matter that a shirt smells good for so long?
Fabric Refresher
This is one that really has me scratching my head. I raised two kids and never once wondered why my bed wetting child’s sheets still smelled like pee after they had been washed. It just never happened. If your regular detergent isn’t doing the job, maybe it’s time to spend the extra money on a better one, instead of buying a totally unnecessary product.
Facial Cleansing Cloths and Makeup Removers
Again, use once and throw away is a waste of money and injurious to the environment. What’s wrong with using our favourite soap and a washcloth to clean our faces? Ditto makeup removers. A couple of years ago, I discovered washable makeup removing cloths at the dollar store. They work great. Both my daughter and daughter-in law have sensitive skin, so this is a great option for them. They both use and like these washable makeup removers, too.
Conclusion
Manufacturers are constantly developing new products to satisfy our need for the latest and greatest, but we need to ask ourselves if they are really necessary to our overall well-being. Could it be that we give far too much credence to what advertisers say we need to keep ourselves and our homes clean? One-use products may have their place when travelling, for example, but for everyday use I personally consider them a waste of my financial resources. What do you think?
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