This is no ordinary run 'o the mill hamper - this is a Cheapskates Style Cleaning Hamper - the best gift ever for the practical people on your gift list.

It will come in at under $20.

Cleaning Hamper - $16.10
You will need:
1 plastic bucket - 80c
Laundry soap - $2.00
Washing soda - $4.00
Borax - $4.10
White vinegar $1.20
1 packet microfibre cleaning cloths $4.00
Cleaning Tips Grandma Used
Cheapskates Washing Powder

Print Tip Sheet. Pack all the items into the bucket, wrap with cellophane and tie in a bow with ribbon.

You should find all the items at your local supermarket, but if you have time, you'll do better on prices for the microfibre cloths at $2 shops or even a hardware store.

For the laundry soap, generic or store brand is fine. A box of four cakes is around $2.20, and you'll find it in the laundry aisle, usually towards the bottom of the shelves.

Washing soda (or sodium carbonate) is from the laundry aisle. The common brand name is Lectric Soda, it's in a white packet with red writing on it. You may need to search for it, but it will be there.

Borax is the mystery item on this list. Not all supermarkets keep it on the shelf, both my local Coles and Woolworths do, but you need to search for it. It's in the cleaning aisle, towards the pest control section. At Coles the brand is Bare Essentials, in a white tub with a pink lid. If you can't find it at the supermarket, don't despair. You'll get it at a hardware store, and definitely at Bunnings. 

For the microfibre cloths, if you have the time to zip into your favourite $2 shop, they'll be much cheaper than at the supermarket. If you're pressed for time, check the prices at the supermarket before you toss them in the trolley. Coles sell a pack of three - dusting, glass and kitchen - for $4, Simply Clean. And they're labelled so you know what their use is.

As I was whizzing through the checkout at my local supermarket recently I was astounded to hear the fellow on the checkout telling the lady in front of me that she must have the cleanest house around because she had so many different cleaning products in her trolley.

She had a multi-purpose spray, window cleaner, a gel cleaner, another gel bathroom cleaner, a bleach, a box of washing powder, a spray bottle of ironing aid, a spray can of furniture polish, a shower cleaner and two bottles of toilet cleaners. Brother what a load of money she was about to pour down the drain! I couldn't help myself and joined the conversation when it became a "but I have to have them or I just can't keep the house clean" talk.  I politely pointed out that a bottle of vinegar, a box of bicarb, a jar of borax, a bar of soap and perhaps a little elbow grease would do the same job as all these cleaners for a fraction of the price and damage to the environment.

I was very excited when she decided I was right and she didn't want all those cleaners. I did feel a little sorry for the people behind us as she had them taken off her bill, but I was so proud of her, especially when she said she already had everything she needed to clean the Cheapskates way in her cleaning cupboard.

This experience had me thinking: just how many of us have never tried to clean using cheaper alternatives because we didn't know there were any or we weren't sure how to use them? You can make your own household cleaners easily and best of all cheaply using these tried and true recipes. As well as saving you money, these cleaners will save you time and effort and rid your home of some nasty chemicals too.

If you were to make all the recipes below you would have a cleaning solution for just about every household cleaning problem for the grand total of $6.72! If you were to add the equivalent of these products to your shopping trolley you would add another $44.50 to your grocery bill. By making them yourself you are saving around $37.80!  What an incredible saving!

By keeping some very inexpensive and basic supplies in your cleaning cupboard you can clean your whole house for just a few cents rather than hundreds of dollars.

Bi-carbonate Soda (bi-carb or baking soda) – is a powerful cleaning agent on its own, even more powerful when combined with other materials.

Borax - found in the cleaning aisle, usually next to the Drano. I use Harpers, in a white tub with a red lid. It's usually on the bottom  shelf.

Vinegar – is made from fermented apples, grapes, sugar cane, malt or wine. It is an acid and a mild
disinfectant.

Washing Soda – buy it in the supermarket under the brand name Lectric Soda. It is a good water softener.

Eucalyptus Oil –can be bought at supermarkets, chemists, health food and hardware stores. Use eucalyptus oil to remove sticky residue, as an inhalant and a disinfectant or a cleaner. It is toxic, so keep it away from children and pets. It will also damage plants, so beware when using it in the garden.

Window Cleaner
Cost: $0.10 for 250ml extra strong window cleaner

1/2 tsp washing up detergent
3 tbsp vinegar
2 cups water
1 drop blue food colouring (optional)

Blend well and store in spray bottle.

Scouring Powder
Cost: $1.89 for 600g scouring powder

1 cup bi-carb soda
1 cup borax
1 cup salt

Blend and store in container.

Furniture Polish
This is so easy to make, and it works!
Cost: $1.13 for 375ml furniture polish

1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup lemon juice

Pour oil and lemon juice into a squirt bottle or jar. Stir to combine. To use, dip dust cloth or rag into oil, blot the oil by folding the cloth together, and then dust your furniture. Leaves a beautiful finish!

Washing Powder
Cost: $1.88 for 90 washes

1 bar laundry soap
1 cup washing soda
1/2 cup borax.

Grate soap. Add washing soda and borax. Use 3 teaspoons per load for top loading machine, 2 teaspoons per load for front loader.

Super Effective Weed Spray
Cost: $0.40 for 4 litres weed spray

4 litres white vinegar
1 cup salt
1 tbsp washing up detergent.

Mix well. Spray on weeds to kill them. This is a very effective weed spray so only spray it on the things you want to kill. It is excellent for weeding paths and pavers and along the edges of garden beds.

Shared from Debt Free, Cashed Up and Laughing

The last couple of days have been good blanket washing days - bright, warm sunshine and a gentle breeze, so I've taken advantage and washed all the winter blankets ready to store them for the summer.

I use this wool wash recipe, which is based on the Martha Gardener Wool Mix available at supermarkets. I've used it for 30 years on all our woollens and delicates and anything clothing or manchester that is stored away. It leaves woollens especially soft and clean, and helps to deter bugs like silverfish and moths that like to feast on our woollies.

Ingredients:
4 cups Lux flakes*
4 cups boiling water
1 cup methylated spirits
2 tbsp eucalyptus oil

Method:
Mix together and bottle. To use dissolve mixture in hot water, cool before gently kneading woollens to wash. Rinse well and dry carefully in the shade, preferably flat to retain shape.

*Lux flakes - you can use any pure soap flakes or grate cakes of pure soap to get the flakes. Depending on the size of the cakes of soap you'll need 2 or 3. If you use the zester side of your grater the soap will dissolve easily and quickly. 

​From the Laundry: Manchester Tip Store

To most people an egg shell would be rubbish, tossed in the bin and sent to landfill. Some keen gardeners may compost them or use them as snail repellent. Folk with chooks may grind them and add them to their chook's food as shell grit. But most people just toss them.

I have a little dish that sits on the sink and whenever we use an egg, the shell gets rinsed in cold water and then put into the dish. When I need egg shell for something, it's right there, ready and waiting to be used.

Egg shells are surprisingly useful. Here's a list of 10 ways I use egg shells around our home.

1. Use egg shells to whiten and soften linen. Soak greying linens in boiling water with the juice of a lemon and two or three ground egg shells added. Let them soak overnight, then rinse and hang in the sun to dry. The linens will be white and soft, no nasty chemical whiteners or softeners needed.

2. In the garden to keep snails and slugs off seedlings. Just crush the egg shell and sprinkle it around the tiny plants. Snails and slugs won't travel over the sharp edges so your plants will be safe - from those predators at least.

3. Add them to chook food. Egg shells are a great source of calcium and grit, two things hens need to produce nice health eggs. Wash the egg shells and when you have a few grind them, either in a blender, with a stick blender or with a mortar and pestle and add it to the chook food.

4. Boil the shells in your coffee. At home we have a coffee maker but when we're camping we use an old fashioned stove top percolator. Adding egg shells to the percolator with the coffee grounds takes away the bitterness than can happen when coffee is boiled accidentally.

5. Use them to feed tomato plants. Calcium rich, crushed egg shell is a good source of this mineral for tomato plants. Tomatoes need calcium to prevent blossom end rot, a common tomato problem. Put a couple of egg shells in the hole before you plant your tomato to give it a boost. Then through the growing season grind egg shells, sprinkle them around the base of the tomato and water in.

6. As tiny seedling starters. Rinse out the egg shells, poke a couple of tiny drainage holes in the bottoms and fill with potting mix. Plant your seeds and when they are ready to be transplanted, gently squeeze the egg shell to crack it and then plant it intact in the ground. 

7. Compost them. Nothing more needs to be said.

8. You don't compost? No problem, crush them, sprinkle over the soil and then lightly rake them in. 

9. Turn them into ornaments. Rinse them well and let them dry. Then let your creative streak go to town. Paint them, add glitter and sequins, fill them with cotton wool, add little tiny ornaments, cover them with braid, glue on a ribbon hanger - use your imagination!

10. Add them to the bird feeder. Crush them up and mix in with the bird seed to give the wild birds that visit your garden a treat.

So how do you use egg shells? Share your idea in the comments below

Cheapskater Elizabeth wrote "Keep your home scented and fresh all year round with a beautiful homemade air freshener.

You will need:
6 Drops Eucalyptus Oil
10 Drops Rose Oil
10 Drops Lavender Oil 
A small dish or bowl, about 1 cup capacity

Half fill the dish with boiling water.  Add the oils and stir. The heat from the water will warm the oils and your home will smell absolutely wonderful."

​Ceramic tiles certainly do make cleaning the kitchen easier, but sometimes even they can be hard to clean, especially the splashback behind the stove or cooktop. When the tiles become splattered with grease that is stubborn and hard to wipe off put a pot of water on one of the back burners and bring it to the boil with the lid off. The steam from the pot will soften the grease spots making them easy to wipe off with a clean cloth. Don't waste the water, use it for a hot drink or let it cool and use it on your indoor plants. 

From Debt Free, Cashed Up and Laughing

Place 6 peppermint tea bags in a glass of cold water.

Sit it on a sunny window sill to steep until the tea is very strong - about half an hour. Then squeeze the tea bags into the tea, pour it into a spray bottle and top up with cold water.

​You can now safely spray your cupboard doors, bench tops, sinks, even around the pet bowls for a lovely fresh, clean scent. And without poisoning the family or the animals.

Note: Don't spray on fabric without doing a test for colourfastness and staining first.