Common Household Items; Extraordinary Uses ......................... by Genevieve

by Genevieve P.

Let’s face it; there is a solution for everything these days! A solvent for this, or a cream for that! “Miracle-working” products line the shelves of every store and shop out there! The catch? Those magical items often cost a pretty penny, and then some! So, how does one get the same effects and save the extra money for more enjoyable purchases? Never fear! Many ways to forgo those overbearing prices can be found in your very own home! Here are just a few said items, many of which you likely have already, and their incredible secret uses and powers!

Distilled White Vinegar

White vinegar is, by far, the most versatile solution out there — ideally, used as a cleaner! From anything to refreshing towels to those super hard to get carpet stains that even the expensive cleaners seem to have trouble getting. Fresh home and saving money? Always a plus! You can easily grab a large bottle for less than $5 at most every store! Here are just a few tried and true uses that you can do around your home on Spring Cleaning Day! Carpets looking a bit worn and need some love? You have a toddler that LOVES to dump juice and make other stains on your floors? (Oh, hey, me too! Bless her trouble-starting little heart!) Have no fear! Just grab yourself a nice bucket, and put into it 1 cup white vinegar, a good squirt of Dawn Dish Soap (the blue stuff!), and fill with hot water (ratio 1 part vinegar : 4 parts water is usually). Get yourself a microfiber towel/rag. Now, with a little good ol’ fashion elbow grease, rub those nasty stains right out! Okay, stains are gone, but the carpet still looks a bit dulled and needs love? Take the same mix of vinegar/water (dish soap optional, but not needed), a spray bottle, and a push broom. Spritz all over carpet and rub it in. Your carpets are going to brighten right up! Worried about stinky vinegar smell? Never hurts to add a few drops of your favorite essential oils for a lovely fresh scent!

Does it seem like no matter how many times you have tried, your bath towels just aren’t as fluffy as they used to be?

Over time, bath towels acquire soap scum and skin cells our bodies leave behind (yuck!) Get rid of the added ickies before you drop extra cash for new threads! Just plop a ½ cup – 1 cup (depends on load size) into your laundry’s normal wash cycle! The vinegar has enzymes that break away and eat up those gross left-behinds. The result? Fresh, fluffy towels that feel like you juat brought them home brand new!

Brass or copper items not quite as shiny as they used to be? Put the shimmer back in your brass, bronze, and copper objects by making a paste of equal parts white vinegar and salt, or vinegar and baking soda (wait for the fizzing to stop before using). Use a clean, soft cloth or paper towel to rub the paste into the item until the tarnish is gone. Then rinse with cool water and polish with a soft towel until dry.

Everyone has that one thing they make in their microwave that just explodes and causes a huge mess. If you are like a lot of gentlemen out there, you’re likely to forget to clean it, as well as you should, at the time of said mess. So now your microwave is a disaster zone. Easily solved! In a bowl, combine ½ cup vinegar and the rest water. Set timer for about 4 minutes, let that magical steam work its powers. Let it set for about a minute (steamy!) Now just take a damp, soapy sponge and clean it out. Nice and bright!

There are so many uses for Distilled White Vinegar. It’s seriously a moneysaving miracle liquid! Just do a common search on the internet. You’ll be flooded with all sorts of valuable knowledge. So, the next time that one soiree gets a bit more rambunctious then your itinerary planned for, you’ll know exactly how to clean up the after effects!

Baking Soda

Baking Soda, like white vinegar, is also a fabulous cleaner and refreshing agent. (Just ask my kitty who gets a boost to his litter box with a sprinkle of baking

soda. Seriously, it’s an amazing deodorizer.) But it’s also very useful for many things in the beauty routine as well Baking soda is cost-effective, costing less than $3 for a jumbo box at most shops. Here are a few things you can do for yourself to give a good pampering, without donating your kidney to science for expensive spa treatments.

Nails stained from your favorite nail polish? Are they just not as white as they used to be? Don’t worry. Just mix up a magical paste of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide! 1 part hydrogen peroxide to every 3 parts baking soda (a thicker paste is ideal). Scoop, and gently massage, the paste onto your nails. Let the paste sit for about 5-10 minutes. Wash with mild soap and apply favorite lotion. The result should be whiter, brighter, stain-free finger nails! You can even use this same paste and method on the teeth. However, only do so about once a week, as the peroxide can be stressful on teeth if done daily. Adding baking soda to any tooth paste is a good way to get a better daily whitening boost.

Want to get a glowing fresh face clear of dead skin, but don’t have the cash to drop at the local spa? (Yeah, me either. Budgets and toddlers, get me every time.) My go-to is baking soda. That same ratio of backing soda and hydrogen peroxide you used for the nails, do for your face. However, no peroxide! Instead, use water. Then massage into your face. Let it sit like a mask for about 10-15 minutes; it will start to dry and get flakey. Rinse with warm water. Then take an ice cube and rub it gently over your face; pat dry. That chilly water will zip those pores up nice and tight! Apply your common moisturizer (coconut oil: just a few drops. This is bonus info and will be covered in a moment) leaving you with a fresh, glowing complexion like you just got the most luxurious treatment your local spa has to offer. And you spent less than $0.25 in baking soda to get it. Win!

BONUS KNOWLEDGE: All-Mighty Coconut Oil

I cannot go on enough about the benefits of coconut oil. It is seriously the most amazing beauty product replacer I have in my arsenal. As an organic and nonGMO product, it is super beneficial for the body. Nothing but the good stuff! I grabbed a large tub of it from the baking aisle of my local store and that tub lasts a long time.

Take it from a mermaid, coconut oil is a great moisturizer. Just a few drops (seriously, a little goes a long way) after a shower and it leaves skin baby-buttocks soft! It seals in that moisture and doesn’t leave a scummy residue on the skin. It soaks down deep into the skin layers and provide nutrition to the cells. Salt water, swimming, heat and other things leaving your long locks of hair a little dry at the ends? Yeah, mermaids sometimes have that issue too. Coconut oil is the answer —just a few drops massaged into the tips of your hair after a shower. Gently massage up, focusing on the dry ends primarily. Avoid rubbing it into the scalp. The oil combined with your scalp’s natural oils can often leave one with a greasy feeling, and it’s just gross.

Once a week I also like to balance out my hairs’ PH levels with an apple cider vinegar rinse (1/2 cup apple cider vinegar and 2 cups water. Let hair soak it up and sit for at least 5 minutes. Rinse.) And then give it a moisture boost with coconut oil. For this, you will want to make sure that you do it with dry/damp hair, using more coconut oil then you would after your shower. You will want to make sure that you really soak the hairs in the oils. Let that sit for at least a couple hours, or overnight if you are able. Then shower up and wash it out. You’ll be left with super soft and shiny healthy hair, free of dry ends and unbearable frizzies!

There are TONS of common things around the house that can be used in extraordinary ways! These are just a few personally tried and true uses. The possibilities are endless! Grab some things and see what you can replace in your house to save lots of cash. Use those extra funds to spoil yourself a little, you deserve it! Cheers!