Some of your favorite cooking and food prep products are aching to be put to bigger use! Never, repeat, never buy certified "green" cleaning products, as most are simply combinations of common household items.
And they'll charge you a pretty penny. From cleaning to food preservation, these common, generic goods will keep the house in shape without spewing nasty fumes or costing you more money.
Vonderful Vinegar
Vinegar works wonders in the scrubbing, degriming department. Most solutions for cleaning with vinegar include a half and half water mixture and sometimes salt or baking soda. To cut the lime buildup on a chrome sink or tub, add two tablespoons of salt to 1 teaspoon of vinegar making a thick paste. Create your own cleanser and save money by 1/4 cup baking soda, 1 tablespoon liquid detergent, and just enough distilled vinegar to make it cloudy.
This superhero of a liquid also cuts stagnant smells with its deodorizing power. Wipe down counters with a rag soaked in diluted white distilled vinegar to give it a fresh scent. Do you loathe scraping crusted food off the microwave like I do? Bring 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup vinegar to a rolling boil in the microwave then simply wipe clean. Pasted food easily comes off leaving a neutral smell.
Never underestimate vinegar's power to cut grease and film. I dilute vinegar in water and run it through an empty coffee pot or dishwasher a couple of times a month to keep them fresh and free of grime. It also works wonders on cloudy dishware.
Salt of the Earth
The sodium-packed table flavoring we all take for granted has far more uses than adding taste to food and (in excess) causing hypertension. You may not have given much mind to a bag of salt (outside of adding some punch to a dry chicken) but salt has much more to offer than an afterthought to bad cooking. With over 14 million square kilometers of salt on the Earth's surface, putting it to work outside the kitchen makes a great use of an abundant resource.
As it turns out, most ugly garden beasties don't care much for it. Get rid of poison ivy by spraying leaves and roots with salty water. You can also keep fleas away from the doghouse by washing it with it. The next time you get a bee sting, rinse it with water and cover it with salt to soothe away the pinch. Use salt and hot water to kill grass and weeds growing in between the concrete on your sidewalk or driveway.
Sure salt, as vinegar, can cover a multitude of cooking sins, but did you know it can also put out a fire? Keep a bag nearby while cooking to serve as an extinguisher to grease fires. Not sure about those expired eggs? Add two teaspoons of salt to some water and crack an egg in the bowl. An edible egg will sink whereas a bad egg floats. When your food boils over, there's no need to dread cleaning it afterward. Sprinkle some salt on the stovetop and it will be a breeze to wipe down after cooling.
One of the most ancient uses of salt is meat preservation. It prevents the growth of bacteria which causes food spoilage. But did you also know you can prevent browned cut potatoes and apples by soaking them in cold salt water? Make sure you buy Kosher salt or pickling salt when using it as a preservative.
Sore throats cry out for a saltwater gargle! Repeat throughout the day to reduce inflammation. Add salt and baking soda to your toothpaste to whiten teeth and give a fresh clean feeling. Ease the day's stress on your tired feet with a salt and water soak. To ditch those tired, puffy eyes mix 1/2 teaspoon of salt in one pint of hot water, soak pads in the solution, and lay over eyes. Even make your own sea salt scrub without dishing out a small fortune!
Forget the fancy preservative packets sold at the florist—toss some salt in a vase to keep your cut flowers looking great for longer. If your feet are as stinky as my husband's, sprinkle some salt in the soles every now and again to soak up the odors. Put new candles in a vat of salt for several hours and you'll be amazed when they don't drip!
Flour Power
Flour has long been an indicator of prosperity among a culture—most societies that could grow, harvest, and grind grain into powder have been pretty well off. According to the Gallery of Flour Stacks, 320 million tons of wheat flour roll off the mills each year—and that's just for human consumption. Flour is a main food staple unless you're on a gluten-free kick.
Unlike French fried onions or capers, flour is one of the few items you never have to hunt for in the grocery store. Stroll down the baking aisle and it will always be loaded up on the bottom two shelves in a variety of sizes and textures. Even the culinarily challenged majority of us have a plump bag perched in the pantry. Instead of waiting for your next batch of cookies to put that pound to good use, consider other useful ways to utilize this ancient food supply.
This baking staple makes fantastic arts and crafts projects. Flour is amazing glue—just mix some of it with water and let it dry on your counter to know what I mean.
Foiled Again
You use your foil for exactly one thing. Covering stuff in the oven or fridge, right? Rethink this handy tool to save big on several common household products. Foil is 100% recyclable, making is a great thing to keep around the house and recycling it takes just 5% of the energy needed to create it.
Cloth Cleanup
After our eighteen-month-old finishes lunch, it takes nine full-sized paper towels to mop the goo—from her face, the high chair tray, and floor—then disinfect it. At that rate, we'll spend $300 a year on child clean up alone, not to mention kitchen spills, hand-washing, and general messes. I calculated our total cost of paper towels for one year. A staggering $550 per year sent a clear wake up call. We need new habits in a bad way.
Not only is the cost of clean up ridiculous, but it's also very burdensome on recycling needs and our landfill. Nor do I believe that we can live a paper towel-free existence. Especially in high traffic, easily contaminated areas like public restrooms, I place health at a higher premium than paper elimination. But for the average home cleaning and furniture wipe down, there are several better alternatives than the astronomical amount most of us use.
Cut up old towels to use in furniture or quick cleaning jobs. Instead of displaying the paper towels on the counter, place cut rags in a bin on the counter and tuck the towel roll in a cabinet. You're more likely to grab a what's most accessible. Post a separate bins for icky clean up towels so they don't co-mingle with your shirts and unmentionables before washing.
Invest in a reusable cleaning cloth. The E-cloth has earned some serious praise for its supposed ability to clean surfaces with water alone. TADgreen Inc. offers several E-cloth packs for stove, steel, and multipurpose cleaning. Each microfiber cloth is washable and helps eliminate bacteria and allergens. No additional chemicals or liquids are needed with it.
If eliminating paper towels completely doesn't fit in your world, ration them each month. Buy a specific number of rolls. When the well runs dry, wait until next month. You'll find yourself getting creative to stretch the disposables. Use the ultra-absorbant kind, like Viva, so that each segment is used to the max. Viva is also great for making your own baby wipes and coffee filters.
Old shirts make fabulous dusters and window cleaners. I slightly dampen a piece of soft t-shirt fabric for streak-free mirrors and windows without having to use a chemical cleaner. Buy paper towels that use recycled paper. Seventh Generation offers a product that is only slightly higher than traditional rolls and cleans about the same.
Next: Planting Air Filters
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