With prices on the rise these days, we need to save money wherever we can. And if you’re trying to stick to a budget, smart shopping is essential. We all have to buy household staples, but the thing to remember is that they’re not all created equally.
It turns out some products we buy to tidy up at home are a flat-out waste of money, some are unnecessary and others could potentially cause damage to your home or health. These are some common household items you may want to cross off your shopping list:
- Detergent pods - We all have to wash clothes and these little laundry pods are advertised as an easy option, but they’re significantly more expensive than other detergents. And on top of that, some research has shown the pods don’t even clean clothes as well as traditional detergents.
- Dusting and cleaning wipes - Remember at the start of the pandemic when you couldn’t find a disinfecting wipe in stores for months? It was good for Clorox sales, but some cleaning wipes have been found to actually spread viruses around instead. But a cloth rag is great for dusting and with a bottle of disinfectant, you can easily clean any surface at home.
- Oven cleaners - When a product manufacturer recommends against using something, listen up. That’s the case with oven cleaners, which some major appliance companies say not to use because they can actually damage the appliances they’re supposed to clean. Plus, no one wants to be breathing in the fumes from those cleaners anyway.
- Electronic screen cleaners - These specialty cleaners for our tablets, TVs and phones tend to be overpriced, plus they’re really unnecessary. You can get the same result with a microfiber cloth and a little water.
- Paper towels - They make a big dent in your budget as well as the environment, so you could skip paper towels and just use kitchen rags and cloth napkins instead.
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