Maybe you need to turn your finances around and maybe you don’t. Regardless, there is no need to waste hard-earned money when you can save a lot in just several steps. Believe it or not, there are easy ways of saving that people rarely think of.

Do your own housecleaning

If all adult members of your family are employed, this is a bit hard to accomplish - especially if your home is extremely spacious. Having a big yard, garden and a pool only makes it harder and increases the costs of house maintenance. Organize big cleaning sprees during the weekend and ask all family members to participate.

Clean your own carpets and you will save lots of money. Spray your carpets with cleaning product, leave for a couple of hours and then vacuum them. Alternatively, leave them to dry in the backyard. When you are cleaning and dusting, use sponges and microfiber cloths you can wash and reuse – avoid paper towels.

Make healthy and green cleaning products

Chemicals for cleaning floors, bathroom tiles and toilets can be quite expensive. Even worse - most of them are extremely harmful for you and the environment. Instead of using expensive and aggressive cleaning products, be smart and make your own that will be cheaper, healthier and equally efficient.

On the internet you can find dozens of great recipes for homemade cleaning products . Most of them contain cheap ingredients you already have in your house, such as white vinegar, borax, lemon juice and baking soda. Don’t worry about the vinegar’s strong odor – it will disappear as soon as the liquid dries.

Rent your appliances

You surely have appliances that you use rarely and you don’t really need them – we all do. If you need an appliance for a limited amount of time or you can’t afford to make a big purchase, it is good to think about renting them. Shopping at the rent-to-own store is a system that helps you save money and avoid buying things you will need only once or twice.

Decorate the home yourself

If you’re just a bit talented and creative, you can decorate your home by yourself – there’s no need to call an interior designer for help. There is an abundance of high-quality magazines that can give you a heap of interesting ideas.

Magazines about interior design are usually very useful since they are mostly based on DIY tips. Apart from reorganizing your space, you can do some easy maintenance work, such as painting the walls and maintaining the wooden furniture.

Buy inexpensive art

When decorating a home, one must have at least a couple of paintings on the wall and other works of art. Most people see this as a major expense, but this is far from the truth. We advise you to buy art from still unknown, but talented artists. Buying replicas is also a wise option. After that, you just need to purchase an adequate picture frame, or you can even make it yourself. If you have children, you can adorn the walls of their rooms with their own drawings.

Learn how to repair things around the house

Painting the walls is relatively easy to learn. What about other things, such as repairing broken things and appliances? We advise you to seek help from a friend. If you don’t know how to repair an appliance, there has to be someone in your circle of friends who knows how to do it. Ask them to teach you how to repair and maintain some simple appliances and repay them with a favor or cash – it will be cheaper than calling handymen.

Organize a garage sale

We all have lots of items we don’t actually need, and they are usually sitting somewhere in the garage or in the attic, occupying precious space. Give them away, recycle or organize a garage sale to earn some additional money.

Save energy - install ceiling fans

Heating and cooling are a big part of our energy bills. With passive design, good insulation, using energy efficient appliances and air-sealing your home, energy bills can drop significantly. There is another smart thing you can do – install ceiling fans. They are a low-energy way to improve air circulation, saving a large sum of money at the same time. Save energy further by unplugging all electronics that use power even when they are turned off (computers, chargers).

Obviously, these are just some easy tricks that will not significantly change your lifestyle. However, don’t forget it is the way of thinking that needs to be changed first. All that follows is much easier, once you set your mind on it.

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