Baking soda. That little box you have in your cupboard for making cakes and cookies should actually be let out more often and used in many more rooms than just the kitchen. It can be used to clean many products, deodorize, and do a multitude of other things, like make a volcano!
I'll list a few different uses that I have incorporated into my life, as well as a few that I haven't used yet but probably will very soon.
1. Toothpaste. It doesn't taste very good, but you could add some peppermint oil to it if it's really that big of a problem. It also helps whiten your teeth! I just wet my toothbrush and dip it into my container every once in a while when I get fed up with toothpaste.
2. Shampoo. Normal shampoos strip your hair of it's natural oils, and then conditioner puts them back (but they aren't natural of course), so instead I just use baking soda to get rid of excess oils and grim. Then I do an apple cider vinegar rinse in place of using conditioner. It makes your hair shiny and smooth, and it's not full of confusing chemicals you can't pronounce. Baking soda can also be used as a dry shampoo, if you're into that sort of thing.
3. Cleaning. Baking soda can cut through almost any dirt and grim, whether it's in the kitchen, bathroom, or outside. Soaking things, or just scrubbing using baking soda instead of soap can really cut down on elbow grease, and any harsh chemicals that you might normally use (which aren't usually save for ingestion if you're using them in the kitchen). It can also be used as a laundry detergent.
4. Deodorize. Whether it's your shoes, armpits, car, litter box, or fish filled cooler, baking soda will help eliminate odors! It has something to do absorbing the smells or something, but all I know is when I wear my boat shoes without socks they get very stinky, so I sprinkle some baking soda in them and place them on my window sill. They smell clean the next time I wear them!
5. Camping. Baking soda is a great thing to bring the next time you go camping, because it can be used for so many different things, but it also won't pollute the environment (usually you can only use biodegradable soaps and things, which can be pretty expensive). Use it to wash your hands, clean your dishes, brush your teeth, deodorize yourself and your cooler (don't want any bears to smell your food), put out your fire, and many other things.
6. Fruit and vegetable cleaner. You know how everyone tells you to wash your fruits and vegetables after you buy them so you get off all the harsh pesticides that they are sprayed with? Well just running them under the water for five seconds doesn't do the trick. Even if you buy organic or pesticide free food, it's still a good idea to clean them before eating, just because they could be dirty or other people could have handled them before you bought them. One way to clean your fruits and vegetables would be just to scrub them with warm water and baking soda! There are other methods when you can soak them in water and vinegar. which is suppose to also help them not go bad as quickly, but I haven't tried this method yet.
So there are six (really a lot more) different uses for baking soda! I have used almost all of these methods myself, and not only do they tend to work very well, they also can make you feel good about not using harsh chemicals around your house. Take that cleaning corporations! Also baking soda is so wicked cheap, one time I bought two normal sized boxes for a buck, that it's not even fair. So you might as well buy an extra box next time you go to the grocery store, even if it is just to open and put in your fridge so it smells nice (or your brother/son's bathroom).
Vinegar also has tons of uses as well, maybe some time down the road I'll do a post about that! Thanks for reading, enjoy the amazing summer-like weather we've been having.
Naomi Odlin
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