Is it Autumn yet?

Well, summer is over in my house. My girls are spending this last week of the hols at their dad's, as he hasn't been able to have much quality time with them over the rest of the six weeks - which is pretty rubbish for me as this is the longest I've ever been apart from them.

The good news is that because the girls are away, and S is working silly shifts (1-10), and the letting agent came for a house inspection on Tuesday - it's really given me the impetus to have a good clean! I have no willpower and so this is the tidiest it's been since we moved in and I hope to keep it this way. The laundry has changed from a mountain to a handful of items, not even enough to run a load!

My frugal tips for cleaning?

• You don't need 101 different cleaning products. At the minute I'm using a 99p apple-scented antibacterial spray from Morrisons. I've just bought a 25p all-purpose cleaner from Tesco with the aim of cleaning the floors with it once I buy a mop - but it can be used for surfaces etc too. I have an Astonish mould and mildew remover from Poundland which works wonders in my bathroom at getting rid of the yucky black marks (my bathroom has no window so it's not surprising if it gets a bit damp in there). I have Toilet Duck, and of course washing up liquid (Tesco brand) & laundry products. I also find baby wipes come in handy for all sorts!
• I buy large boxes/bottles of branded laundry products when they're on offer. They last me months & I've tried using the cheaper brands of powder before but I don't feel they remove our marks - similarly, I don't think the cheaper fabric conditioners scent the clothes for as long. I do use less than the recommended amount. I paid about £7 for our box of Surf when we moved in (May), and it's about halfway through now. I've considered making my own... But I'm not sure it will work out as worth it!
• Vinegar! Every so often I have a vinegar phase. It's so cheap and a fab cleaner for all sorts. Iuse it in a spray to clean surfaces (sometimes sprayed over bicarbonate of soda for tough marks) and sometimes instead of fabric conditioner. I used to use it neat but saw a tip online to use your old citrus peel to infuse the vinegar, so I had a jar stuffed full of orange peels which I then poured vinegar over and left to sit until I needed to refill the spray bottle. The orange scents the vinegar, and the vinegar pickles the peel, meaning that you can pretty much keep it in the jar indefinitely, refilling with vinegar as needed and it won't go off - mine stayed in there over a year. Another option would be adding a small amount of essential oil for the scent of your choice.
• Lovely smells. Scenting my house is a little low-cost luxury for me which makes my house feel that bit cosier. I can't stand scents that smell synthetic, like plug-ins or aerosol air fresheners - they're not for me. What I prefer instead is Febreze, scented candles, incense sticks or oil burners. I bought some Febreze recently from Poundland but rather than buying another when it ran out, I refilled the bottle with a mix of fabric conditioner and water. I like to spray the bedding and carpet with it to freshen up the bedrooms - it's a nice clean scent. Right now in my sitting-room I have a Glade blackberry and fig candle which I bought reduced from Tesco for £2. It has a lovely scent which drifts around the house (the stairs lead up from the sitting-room) - it's a little bit Christmassy but not overwhelmingly so. I LOVE Glade's Christmas scents but I'm not willing to pay £5 for the pleasure just now ;)

I think that's about it on the frugal cleaning front! Welcome to my new readers who are here from Netmums *waves*