I am all about finding unique ways to spend as little money as possible on the everyday things in life. I found 11 home products that will help keep your house in tip-top shape for under $5. Yes, you read correctly. Keeping a clean house is a lot cheaper than you think! Long gone are the days of spending lots of money on pricey cleaners. Check out 11 products that will help your house look better in no time. They even come with a quote from the person who submitted the tip.

Boric Acid | $4.50

"As the weather changes, you may start to notice some tiny critters choosing to move in with you. Ants, fleas and cockroaches are hard to get rid of once they decide they like your house! Instead of reaching for the expensive and quite toxic bug killers that advertise so heavily, try Boric Acid. This inexpensive powder, available at any drug store, can be sprinkled behind the fridge, across the door jams, in the pantry floor with little to no mess or danger to children and pets. Even better, it is virtually non toxic to birds, bees and fish, so no matter where you use it you can be sure that you're only targeting the nasty bugs and not the beautiful flora and fauna!"

 

  Bar Keepers Friend | $5

"Does your water leave your tub stained and dingy, even when you scrub and scrub with a sponge and your usual cleaners? Well, there's a solution! Keep your sponge but switch to Bar Keeper's Friend. You can purchase it in liquid or powder form from many grocery store chains. And, you can put in a lot less effort than you did with your usual cleaners. Barkeeper's Friend will get your tub looking shiny and new again! The next time you tackle cleaning your stainless steel, fiberglass, porcelain, imitation marble, stovetops, countertops, pots and pans, bathroom tile, tubs, and toilets, give it a try. I have and I've never switched back."

Scratchide Touch Up Pen | $4.87

"I was selling my furniture and I noticed scratches on my baby grand piano, bar stools, and coffee table. I needed a quick solution but it was late at night and the stores were closed. The estate sale would be the following morning so I had to think fast. I found a black permanent marker and decided to touch up the piano. It worked like a charm! You couldn't even tell where the scratches were located after I was done. Next, I worked on the coffee table. It was more difficult as there was lacquer on it. However, after I touched up the scratches with a dark brown marker, I used a light touch of clear nail polish over it. The mark completely disappeared. The stools needed a little more work however, a friend of mine recommended a stain pen. He happened to have one in his tool kit and he came over to help fix the stools. It also worked beautifully. The pen is from Scratchide and can be purchased online for under $5.00. It's a great way to fix up all the scratches in your furniture and it's cost efficient too."

Arm & Hammer Baking Soda | $3.79

"In this economy, you have to watch every cent you spend. One of the best ways to save money is to use replace a lot of the cleaning and repair products we use with some cheaper home fixes. I swear by Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. Do you want to get rid of orders lurking in your home? A cheap fix is Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. Just sprinkle some baking soda on your carpets, wait ten minutes and vacuum. Do you have a clogged drain? Pour half a cup of baking soda down your drain. Wait a few minutes and then pour 1/2 of vinegar down the drain. Just remember to close the lid of the drain after you pour the vinegar. Do you wish your laundry would come out brighter but don't want to buy the more expensive detergent? Add a little bit of Arm&Hammer baking soda to your laundry. Arm & Hammer Baking Soda is the wonder product!"

  Minwax Stain Marker | $4.18

"Hardwood floors are a great asset to any home. If they're well taken care of, these floors can increase the value of a home by thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, they're easily scratched and can become dull all too quickly. Would you believe that you can keep your floors looking fresh -- or fix them if the damage has already be done -- for $5 or less? Believe it! There's no hard labor involved, and hardly any time at all. As a preventative measure, attach felt furniture pads to the bottom of every piece of furniture that touching the hardwood. Not only will you rest assured that your floors are protected, your furniture will be easier to move around as you need. These felt pads can be found at any home improvement store, for under $5, and usually come in a variety of shapes and sizes to fit every need. If you've already done the damage -- don't fret. If the scratch or scratches are small enough, you can probably fix it with a wood stain marker, such as one from Minwax. Stain markers come in a variety of shades and colors to match nearly every hardwood color out there. These markers can also be found at hardware stores, or online from sellers like Amazon (linked above), and are usually $5 and under. Keep the markers around to easily fix any other damage that may happen in the future!"

  Caulk | $2.20

"I have found that caulk will fix a lot of my problems around my home. I always use a good clear caulking on my door and window frames. Each year I go around and find where the caulk looks like it is separating and I pull it up and replace it. By doing this every season I have saved myself time from having to do a lot of windows all at one time. It has also saved me money on my electric bill because I am able to fix any drafts that may occur. I have probably saved hundreds of dollars doing the course of the year."

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser | $4.24

"You may not believe much in magical wizards and dragons, but how about a cleaning product? Mr. Clean casts a pretty powerful spell with the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I noticed my white kitchen cabinets were looking pretty dingy thanks to our indoor grill and decided to give the Magic Eraser a try. The results were instant and phenomenal. Nothing beats effective cleaning that can be accomplished quickly. Save yourself some time and effort and put that energy elsewhere by skipping the harsh chemicals and hours of hard scrubbing next time you want to clean baseboards, cabinets, doors, or whatever. A two-pack only costs a few dollars and the erasers last a surprisingly lengthy amount of time. I don't know how they do it, but the eraser just dissolves with use, so it is also fairly low-maintenance with no messy clean-up - another plus!"

Clorox Bleach | $2.72

"Many people spend hundreds of dollars on products to clean the home each year when all it takes is just one good bleaching product like Clorox Bleach to do all the cleaning. Clorox is definitely my secret $5 home fix. Warning: Avoid the store brand or off brands these products don't pack as much punch as Clorox. I pour about a 1/2 cup of Clorox in the toilet let it set for about five minutes and then flush. The toilet is disinfected and sparkling clean. Use Clorox to clean a clogged sink by pouring a cup of Clorox down the drain and running hot water for about a minute afterwards. Make a Clorox bleach spray by pouring a cup of Clorox and a cup of water in a 1 quart bottle with a sprayer. Spray counters, tabletops, stove tops, with the solution and wipe to instantly clean plus disinfect. Clean mold off cement with a cup of Clorox and dash of dish detergent mixed together in a pail of hot water. Pour on mold and let it run through. Rinse with water. Mold disappears instantly! Pour a cup of Clorox in laundry whites to get them clean and smelling really fresh. "

  White Vinegar | $2.19

"For years, I have spent far too much money on household cleaning supplies and too much space storing them all. After some advice from my visiting grandmother, I now use white vinegar to clean and freshen almost every room of my house. For our laundry, I add 1/4 cup of vinegar to the washing machine with soap as a natural fabric softener. (Clothes come out smelling fresh and clean, not like vinegar.) In our kitchen, I fill coffee pots and tea kettles with vinegar and heat on low to remove hard water deposits. In our bathroom, I use vinegar to brighten up faucets, water spouts and shower heads. The vinegar removes hard water deposits and works great on lime scale and rust, too. Nearly all commercial window cleaners contain vinegar. To save money, I mix equal parts vinegar and water, plus the juice of one lemon in a spray bottle and use the solution to clean windows, patio doors, mirrors and kitchen appliances. I am even able to clean my hardwood floors with vinegar. I mix 1/2 cup of vinegar with one gallon of warm water and this keeps our hardwood floors looking great. Vinegar erases stains, freshens old tile and is a super degreasing agent on linoleum and tile flooring. Mix 1/4 cup white vinegar with warm water and mop stains and dirt away."

WD-40 | $3.42

"A simple aerosol can with a smart straw, with a small price tag can provide you with thousands of uses. What started out in 1953 as a water displacement (WD) solvent for rust prevention has turned into a multi-tasking genius product. It removes pesky adhesive labels, gum from hair, and stuck rings from fingers, just to name a few things. It safely removes tar from cars, softens baseball gloves and can tone down the shine of a polyurethane floor when wiped on with a soft cloth. What was once relegated to the garage or tool shed, has risen to the rest of the home and beyond."

Recommended by: Cathleen Shaeffer

Alka-Seltzer | $1.47

"Clogged drains can be just a plumbers' challenge but a nightmare for most of us less equipped to handle it. With some preventative measures you can clear it up long before you are left with an uncontrollable buildup that screams for Liquid Plumber. At the first sign of trouble, dissolve about 4 tablets of Alka-Seltzer, the effervescent antacid, with some boiling water and hope the Fizz Fizz will clear up any minor clogs. If you already have a moderate clog, add a cup of white vinegar down the drain with the tablets and let it stand for about 5-10 minutes before following up with the boiling water. Just make sure to stand back after adding the vinegar as it will interact with the baking soda component in the Alka-Seltzer causing it to foam and in some cases even fume."