This week's Frugal Fridays tip is about making your own "free" mop re-fills in place of the costly disposable ones you can purchase.

When Joshua and I got married, one of our wedding gifts was a Chlorox Ready Mop set. That was something I never would have purchased for myself (especially since the kit cost about $25 back then; now Wal-mart has them for about $15). However, I figured I'd give it a try, and I'm so glad I did! It's such a handy tool and I use it constantly. The one that was given to us was used at least once a week for about 4 years before it finally wore out. (Yes, they're made of plastic. :P)

Well, I enjoyed using my new-fangled mop but it only came with 8 cleaning pads and one bottle of cleaning solution. To purchase re-fills of that stuff just wasn't an option... I wasn't going to pay 50 cents (or more!) every time I wanted to mop my floor!

I tried using a regular-sized washcloth in place of the cleaning pad, and it worked wonderfully! I use an all-cotton wash cloth, and I dampen it with tap water before putting it on the mop (so it doesn't need to soak up so much cleaner right at first). After I'm done mopping, I rinse out the cloth, hang it somewhere to dry, and launder it with my whites/dishrags/etc. And if I want to get a clean cloth halfway through mopping... I can! Because they're "free"!

The owners manual said (of course) that one MUST use their cleaning solution, but I decided it was well-worth a try at making my own. So, I took some floor cleaner* and water and re-filled the bottle of cleaner. It worked just as well as their "special" cleaner, and is so much cheaper. I used my own cleaning solution in my mop for over 4 years, and then the handle of the mop broke (i.e. the cleaner I was using in it didn't ruin it)! :)

So, that's my frugal tip! Be sure to visit Biblical Womanhood for more great frugal tips!

*You might laugh, but before we got married, I was given about a gallon of "Professional floor cleaner" which was supposed to be diluted 128:1. I have used from that same bottle and it's still over half-full.