Save On House Cleaning
We are not going to go into too much detail on this one since everyone knows how to clean a house, or at least they should. It just takes a little effort on your part, but it is effort that is very much worth exerting. If you currently have your home cleaned just once a week, you are likely spending at least 4000 dollars a year for the convenience. Over the course of 30 years, this is nearly 200,000 dollars at even a nominal interest rate. This is just too much money to be leaving on the table.
It is understandable to not want to do housework, but it really is not that difficult if you stay organized and break tasks up. Instead of trying to do it all at once, make a chart that splits up the work over several days. Do a little cleaning here and a little cleaning there and the task of house cleaning is much more manageable.
Stop Paying For Carpet Cleaning
Most homes in this country have some wall to wall carpet, and cleaning it is big money. It costs roughly 40 dollars a room for a basic carpet cleaning and this does not include extras like specialty spot treatments or pet odor removal. That puts the average 5 room house at roughly 200 dollars to clean. Stop paying for this service and take a few hours to do it yourself. Then you can route that 200 dollars a year into savings and over time (30 years), you will have close to 10,000 extra dollars in your retirement account.
Here is how to clean that carpet.
First, be very choosy with the machine that you rent. The less scuffs on the machine, the newer it is and the better it will work. Second, get a professional carpet cleaning solution from an industry store (they do sell to the public). Finally, apply the cleaner with a separate sprayer and only use the machine to rinse with plain water. This will give the cleaner time to work and will allow you to leave less residue. It really is very simple, just take your time and save that money.
Put An End To Air Duct Cleaning
Air duct cleaning can cost anywhere from 200 dollars to well over 1000 dollars, depending on the company you hire and the size of your home. Stop paying for professional air duct cleaning and put all of that money into your savings. It could result in an increase of 5,000 dollars to over 40,000 dollars (with interest) if you have the service performed every other year.
Taking care of air duct cleaning yourself is the simplest thing ever, just don’t do it. Unless there is an issue with your system, it does not need cleaning. Any dust that gets into your system (minimal if you change your filter) simply settles in the ducts. This dust does not get into the air unless it is disturbed, like when someone does duct cleaning.
DIY Your Dryer Vent Cleaning
Unlike air duct cleaning, dryer vent cleaning really is needed, but that does not mean you have to pay for it. At a cost of 60 dollars to 100 dollars a cleaning, it could cost you 120 dollars to 200 dollars a year to keep the air moving in your dryer vent. While not as big of a cost as some other services, it can still add up to over 6000 dollars in lost savings over the course of time. DIY those dryer vents and get the money back in your pocket, or at least your savings.
Cleaning your vents is actually very simple for most dryer ducts. Kits are available on websites like Amazon for as little as 15 dollars. The process is a bit messy, but very straight forward. Insert brush, remove brush and vacuum up lint. It couldn’t be any simpler and it really works.
Clean Your Own Windows
The national average for window cleaning is over 200 dollars and most people have their windows cleaned twice a year. Take that 400 dollar annual spend and put it into savings and you could have well over 20,000 dollars in additional savings for retirement, after accrued interest of course.
But isn’t window cleaning difficult? Not really, and the only tools that you need are a bucket and a window squeegee. Simply clean the window with the sponge side of the squeegee and wipe it clean with the rubber side. For those difficult to reach second story windows, get an inexpensive extendable ladder or simply use a spray cleaner. Spray cleaners really do work, as long as you stay on top of your windows. Plus they are cheap and take just minutes to use.
