Clean Smarter (and Cheaper)

This article reminded me of when I learned about the expensive LemiShine products I used for cleaning. I liked the way LemiShine products worked to clean laundry and dishes in spite of the hard water here where I  live. I did not like the prices. When I bothered to read the ingredient lists on each product, I realized the main one was citric acid.

Buying citric acid powder in bulk is much cheaper than purchasing the various LemiShine (and other brands) cleaning products. The powder can be added to water for spraying and cleaning whatever I want. I can use as little or as much of the powder itself as a laundry booster, dishwasher cleaner, or whatever. The two main ways I use the powder? To clean my coffee pots and the mineral deposits around the faucets. I also sprinkle a little into the toilet bowl once a week to soak and flush away that nasty-looking brown line of hard-water stain. 

What I never considered until recently are all the other products I could replace with some basic (and bulk) ingredients. 

Oxi Clean is my go-to alternative to bleach - especially for cleaning clothing. I now know that the main ingredient in that is Sodium Percarbonate. 

So this is just a quickie post to let you know about these base ingredients in case you want to do your own research. I will be on the prowl for more info so that I can keep saving money - and perhaps being a little healthier - when cleaning. 

Here are some links I am going to be checking out:

• More here About Cleaning Product Ingredients
• 10 Ingredients In Homemade Cleaners
• Homemade Cleaners You Can Make with Ingredients from Your Pantry
• From Healthy Cleaning 101 - Types of Household Cleaning Products

Peace

--Free

New Normal & Shopping Online (Resources)

 So.

Even being a hermit by nature did not prepare me for this "new normal" situation of being locked down. Not only am I shopping online for the usual things I always ordered but now I am having to find resources for extras.

With my health danger level currently set to Defcon2 - or whatever is a step before it gets kinda bad - I am trying to eat better. Whole foods, high-fiber foods, fully-seeded and good-grained foods. Less red meat - bye-bye weekly smoked neckbones, hello fish, chicken, and tofu.

I don't care that Trader Joe's hasn't come online. I have been forced to search out and find other places and products that I can get online.

Now here's the deal: I only have searched these out and not examined them. I'm sharing with you but just know that you will need to do your own homework to discover the details. The list is focused mainly on "healthy"(er) type choices, but there are some general options included.

I will make very minor comments because, well, that's what I do. Here we go:

• Thrive Market. I don't know how I feel about this one. I'm not big on memberships. (If you want a peek without logging in, try this link.)
• Farmbox Direct is another service I probably won't use. I live in the Midwest. I'm good for veggies.
• Natural Food Shop - I am linking to the FAQs because I think that's more helpful.
• I am going to link to the About Us page for Bubble. I found this most interesting, even if I don't need their products. 
• Natural Zing has a narrow inventory but is all about "superfoods" so I think it belongs here.
• I want to love Boxed and I kind of do. It reminds me of a local co-op grocer that would get good stuff sometimes but wasn't the place to go looking for everything. Biggest Plus is that it's like a membership-free warehouse. Of sorts. I'm not immediately impressed by the prices on, say, sparkling water.
• I think vitamins-only when I hear Vitacost so I am linking to their Food section.
• GoPuff is the service I would use if I wanted a bottle of Jack and some smokes at midnight because I can't sleep. That's not what they are limited to, of course, but their delivery area is narrow. Check the very bottom of the linked page to see if your area is covered.
• Amazon Fresh is something I would LOVE to have access to. Alas, my zip code is too hick for them.
• Bob's Red Mill sells mostly in bulk (I can't even afford a handful of his products) but the site has recipes for bread I looked at.
• Grain Place Foods just looked interesting to me.
• Pleasant Hill Grain covers grains, seeds, and even bakeware.

Now, for those of you who missed so many of my other posts,  I will direct you to search back for links to these standard online shopping options:

• Target is on Instacart in most areas or you can use their on-site choice of Shipt.
• Walmart delivers, has curbside, in-store pickup, shipping options, and might even have options specific to your area.
• Instacart is awesome. Even in my small and limited zip code, I have options of Target, Staples, Petco, Hyvee, and Aldis. Choices depend on your deliver-to zip code. My niece in Alaska has Costco as an option. Meanwhile, I can order regular ground delivery from Costco - if I still had my membership.

Check if there are any smaller, local services providing delivery. My best friend and I joked how, back in the day, you could have a taxi pick up cigarettes and bread from the local mart and bring it to you. I kind of wish that was a joke.

Let me know if any of you hear about other places.

To summarize:

Shopping online might be the new normal. Saving while shopping is smart. You can make shopping easier and cheaper. Use the online resource. Use online groceries. Buy in bulk when you can. Get a food sealer or other food-saving process. Health and wellness is more important than ever. 

Peace

--Free