3-month supply: Cleaning supplies

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

 

Let's talk about a 3-month supply of CLEANING SUPPLIES!!

 

OK, first of all...why store extra cleaning supplies? If you remember my post from earlier this year titled, "Why I Prepare," you'll have the answers.

 

Here's a summary. With food, hygiene products, cleaning supplies, etc., it is always CONVENIENT to have extras on hand. Even someone who plans ahead might reach for the window cleaner and find that it's almost gone. I don't know about you, but I don't go to the store for ONE product. I try to wait until I absolutely HAVE to go. But because I have extras on hand, most of the time that works out for me.

 

Also, you cannot plan for a natural disaster or economic hardship to come along. If you stock up on cleaners that you use most commonly and have a month of unexpected expenses, you may not have to worry about spending precious resources on a box of laundry soap.

 

A personal example with convenience as well as something unexpected: A while back, our church building was vandalized. There was paint and other things all over the walls in the hallway as well as in many of the rooms. The damage was pretty extensive. Several members of our church were asked or volunteered to go in and do some initial cleaning before the professionals came in to clean, repair and replace. With little kids at home, I wasn't able to help, but a friend who was helping there called and asked if I happened to have any if those cleaning pads that "erase" marks on walls. I had 3 or 4 from a box I had purchased on Amazon, so I was able to contribute those to the clean-up effort. It wasn't inconvenient for me to give my extras away and no one had to run to the store to grab some.

 

In addition, if you watch sales, you can purchase several of one product at a lower cost than going out and buying the product every month.

 

So WHAT kind of products should you store?? Every household will be different, depending on the preferences of those doing the cleaning. Here's my list:

 

Laundry soap*

Stain removers, dryer sheets, and other laundry items

Glass cleaner*

All-purpose cleaner

Toilet bowl cleaner

Disinfectant wipes

Dish soap

Dishwasher detergent

Bleach

Vinegar

Rubbing Alcohol

 

*You may want to make your own cleaners, so you would need to store the products necessary to make them. I will post more about homemade cleaners soon.

 

Once you have determined WHAT you want to store, you can decided HOW MUCH of each items to store. The best way to get started is to simply have ONE extra of each item. From there, you may find that you need more than that for a 3-month time period.

 

Remember, keep it simple! Do what works for you.