According to Google, I'm the second laziest man on the web. I jokingly grabbed the Lazy Man name because I abhor housekeeping. It's a chore which never ends. I hate the feeling that I'm not making an progress. So it got me thinking, What can I do to eliminate or at least reduce the housework? Fortunately, I was able to come up with a few ideas that reduce the housework:
- iRobot Roomba
- The iRobot Roomba has been fantastic. We let it run around once a week. It scoots under tables and chair better than a conventional vacuum. While it's cleaning, I'm free to do another task. If it seems expensive, stick with me for the rest of the article, it doesn't have to be as pricey as it seems.
- iRobot Scooba - This is the equivalent of the iRobot Roomba for hard floors. It works equally well, too. Unfortunately it requires Scooba solution, which on Amazon is $10 a bottle. By ordering in bulk from the iRobot site, it can be bought for around $4 a bottle. A bottle lasts a long time since two ounces of solution can do a whole floor. However, I found that you can use an alternative solution. A little vinegar is all you need. It doesn't smell great right after cleaning, but within an hour the smell is gone.
- Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner - At only $25, this is the cheapest of my automated housekeeping ideas. Simply press the button when you are done showering and the device blasts the walls of the shower and tub. We used to clean the bathroom once a week - now it's closer to once every 6 weeks. Once again the Scrubbing Bubbles Cleaning Solution is a expensive at $4.50 for a 3-week supply. And once again, I'm going to give you a much cheaper method. We looked in our cleaning supplies and found a bottle of Zap. It's concentrated, so it only takes 2 ounces of Zap every two weeks. Refilling the previous cleaner bottle is easier than you might think. The cap twists off and on with a little pressure.
I promised you a solution to the high price of the iRobots. You'll notice that both of them retail over $500. Using the Craigslist trick I mentioned yesterday, we got ours for a combined cost of $180. The value we receive is huge. We've been able to postpone our search for a housekeeper indefinitely. I get to be Lazy and my wife doesn't get mad at me.
This post deals with:
... and focuses on:
Posted by Lazy Man on September 25, 2007
Related Posts
Budgeting For a New House
I Lost My Job
Clean Your Shower All Year in 25 minutes for $21.49
Staying on Track When You Work at Home
Housekeeping and housekeeping…
15 Products that save Time, Money, and Space
Amazon Friday Sale: Snoop Dogg Dog Wear Edition
Two More Technology Purchases
Related Websites
Roundup for week of 19 August 2007: Prestige Edition
How to Fix a Clogged Shower Drain
Leave a Reply
Previous:
Save Money on the Web
Next:
Afternoon Links: GoodBye Business 2.0 Edition
Stumble
Reddit
Digg
Del.icio.us
Tipd
Those vacuums must be sooooo good :) I definitely need to get me one of those too. Thanks for letting me know where to get one for cheap!
I purchased a Roomba Scuba to clean our pool. It’s saved me so much time. I can be “lazy” and just jump in when I want to.
Housecleaning service. My housekeeping chores are now down to washing the dishes and keeping the kitchen clean. Everything else is taken care of. Now THAT’S lazy. Not frugal, certainly - but lazy to the Nth degree. But it’s made my life a lot easier than even a Roomba would.
We were on the very verge of calling a housecleaning service. These one time costs have allowed us to avoid this expense for now.
How long have you been using the iRobot products. I’ve heard they suck, or more appropriately, they don’t. I’d love to hear my friends are wrong. :-)
I’ve just been using them a month or so. I’ve had friends use them for years without a problem though.
Just thought you’d like this one: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21102202/
[...] think about survival mode. What areas can we save money in? We certainly won’t be buying any robot vacuums or FoodSavers. Our food bill will go up as I won’t be eating at free at work anymore. Our car [...]
[...] have mentioned in the past that I use the Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner to automate my housekeeping. Before that invention, I would dread cleaning the shower. It would take me at least 7-10 minutes a [...]