Remember those party buckets I found alongside the road a few weeks ago?
Well after painting the {awkward} little cubby in the bathroom I decided to use one of the buckets to hold our laundry supplies.
As I was standing there looking in the bucket I realized the only things we use for our laundry is detergent, bleach and dryer sheets.
I don’t know why it made me pause and think about all the other cleaning supplies we have in our home. And after a minute or so I ran downstairs to check under the kitchen sink to see what was there.
The only items we had were a bottle of comet, a tube of stainless steel wipes and some dishwasher tabs. That was it.
Other than dish/hand soap, these are seriously all the cleaning supplies we have in our home. How does this compare with what you have at your house?
Call me crazy but it seems like our supplies are a little on the minimal side.
But maybe you have even less than I do?
~Mavis
P.S. Is there a specific cleaning product you can’t live without? Curious minds want to know.
Janie says
Laundry detergent, dish soap, bon Ami, scrub pads, vinegar and water.
That’s it.
Brianna says
My laundry supplies are just boring sensitive detergent, bleach, and wool dryer balls.
My household cleaning chemicals found in each bathroom: toilet bowl cleaner, Lysol wipes, spray bottles with distilled water, and e-cloths.
My kitchen/household cleaning supplies: oven cleaner, dishwasher tabs, meyers concentrate for tile, a spray bottle of vinegar-distilled water, and dish soap.
That is it. I got into the e-cloth and natural cleaning years ago since I have a kid with severe allergies. I use a lot of distilled water and e-cloth to clean just about anything. Each bathroom has a set of easy to use cleaning products because my kids all have been shown how to properly clean a bathroom and are expected to clean their own bathrooms.
I am always amazed when I go to an estate sale and all of the cleaning household products they have. When we bought our house, the guy left it all behind (cleaning and yard chemicals) and I had to figure out what to do with it all. It filled the bed of our truck!
Mallory L. says
Curious – what do you used for general purpose cleaning? That’s the only thing that seems “missing” to me? Something for counters, light switches, stove top, etc. Any of those I might use diluted Dawn on, but typically if I only really want to scrub and have the extra moment to make sure there is no soap residue.
You should check out wool dryer balls – ours are 10 years old and going strong. Dryer sheets can leave a buildup on your clothing/towels over time – which affects their absorbency.
We are pretty minimal (the people we bought our house from left a ton of cleaners of various kinds, so I am using them up, but would not repurchase them).
Kitchen – diluted Lysol concentrate for disinfecting; Dawn; dilute vinegar (w/ orange peels) for general cleaning; Bar Keepers Friend; vinegar; dishwasher powder.
Bathrooms – hand soap, toilet bowl cleaner, diluted Lysol Concentrate ( I use this for mopping floors as well, or vinegar).
Laundry – free & clear detergent for kiddo, powdered Tide for everything else, vinegar, small bottle of dawn for stains. Oxy Clean for soaking badly stained kid clothes.
We also keep rubbing alcohol, 98% acetone, Iron Out (we have hard water), and Bleach for when a little extra or targeted cleaning aggression is necessary. I keep squeeze bottles of Dawn in both bathrooms for clothing stain pre-treatment as well. Lots of cleaning cloths.
Mavis Butterfield says
I just use dish soap and water for general purpose cleaning. Dryer balls work great! https://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/diy-wool-dryer-balls/
Mona R McGinnis says
Laundry soap (hypoallergenic; low waste laundry sheets); dryer sheets (1/2 sheet works every bit as good as a whole one & I often reuse them); liquid stain remover
Household: liquid & powder cleanser; liquid soap; dishsoap; vinegar, bleach; steel wool; sanitizer wipes for quick cleanups in the bathrooms
The best cleaner? – elbow grease!
Karen says
White vinegar as a “fabric softener” for towels. It removes the soap buildup in the terry cloth. I use it as a fabric softener, too. White vinegar and baking soda help keep drains cleanable instead of chemical drain cleaners.
Dawn says
I probably have a few more things than you but not much. Laundry spray because I make a mess when I eat or cook. Carpet spray because I have dogs and cats. Oven cleaner because it makes short work of cleaning the top of my stove.
Sue in SoCal says
I found the best pet cleanup product to be hydrogen peroxide. I have 2 dogs and 3 cats so I’m always cleaning up something. Spray or pour it on the spot and let it sit. Usually no scrubbing involved.
Annette says
Wouldn’t this remove color from carpet?
Bonnie in GA says
What do you use for cleaning upholstery and carpet?
Mavis Butterfield says
We have slipcovers for the couch so those can get tossed in the washing machine. We only have 1 sisal rug so that gets beaten with a broom.
Bonnie in GA says
That’s great! Maybe I need to get slip covers for my couch and love seat. I am thinking of getting a ruggable for my living room (?).
Michelle says
I make my own vinegar based all purpose cleaner that I use for almost everything. As far as laundry supplies, mine are the same as yours. The exception being OxiClean. I make a paste for stains, it works super well
Laurie says
I have laundry detergent (use dryer balls), Zout for stains, bon Ami, Dr Bronner’s Sal suds, dishwashing detergent.
What do you use to clean your toilets? I use Sal suds but my husband likes to get a toilet cleaner.
Tisha says
No dryer sheets or stainless wipes for us. We do have Lysol wipes for some rooms for a quick wipe down. Our only other cleaning products would be an aerosolized glass cleaner (vinegar never worked as well for me) and a heavy duty degreaser in the kitchen. We have a few specialty cleaners like paste wax for old wood and silver polish used about once a year.
debbie in alaska says
I use thieves cleaner for all my home cleaning including laundry, counters, floors, etc. I like the smell and I like that it’s non-toxic.
Linda Sand says
We no longer use dryer sheets but we do use Shout Color Block sheets. You can wash mixed colors with those because they soak up any leftover dyes. No pink underwear or blue, used to be white, shirts.
Judith says
Love Bar Keeper’s Friend! ❤️
Rosemary says
Laundry detergent, fabric softener (for clothes), dish detergent (for dishes), dusting spray like Pledge (for furniture), bleach cleaner, CLR and Barkeepers Friend for the dirty cleaning jobs.
Greta Dowell says
The only thing I cannot live without is Dawn dish washing soap – nothing beats it for grease! Dryer balls are next on my list to try!
Alecia Loveless says
I can’t live without the Oxi-Clean Laundry spray. It’s their version of Shout. But it works so much better on stains.
Anne Wiebe says
I really like Barkeeper’s Friend for getting the black stuff off pots etc.
Katherine says
Laundry pods, dishwasher pods, bleach, vinegar, baking soda, bleach wipes, Barkeepers Friend, and Dawn. I use Dawn to clean our tub and shower, works great.
Sue R. says
Is Goo-Gone a cleaning supply? We keep that on hand. Does anything else work as well?
Julie V says
I have way too many cleaning supplies under the sink is full of them… Dishwasher detergent, dish soap, The Pink Stuff, another brand of pink stuff type clay cleaner, scour powder, glass stovetop cleaner, glass cleaner, countertop cleaner, carpet spot remover, cleaning rags, wash cloths, sponges, a scrubber for the glass top stove, cleaning brush, pumice stone, oven cleaner, and a few other cleaning products… silver polish too. And the basement has a whole shelf of backups.
Gayle says
I can’t go without laundry sanitizer and a whitening product. One by Lysol and the other a liquid oxyclean . Keeps towels from smelling weird and white sheets white. Our water is pretty awful and after a couple washings even new sheets take on a brown cast.
Goo gone is a must have.
I don’t use bleach at all.
I started using Zote for stains and hand cleaning. Windex!!! Guess I use a lot of products
andrea d says
Dish soap, dishwasher detergent, laundry detergent, magic erasers, and white vinegar. That’s it.