Along with baking soda, I’m also a huge fan of using vinegar around the home. My current favourite way to use white vinegar is in the dishwasher (instead of Jet-Dry) and in the washing machine (instead of fabric softener).
But, there are a ton of other ways to put vinegar to use!
Here are 10 uses for Vinegar:
#1 – Clean Your Bath with Baking Soda and Vinegar: The bathtub can get quite dirty after a lot use and neglect. That doesn’t matter though, because you can clean your bath quickly and easily with both baking soda and vinegar. Just give dirty areas a good dusting of baking soda, follow with vinegar, and scrub vigorously with a sponge while the mixture fizzes away. Clean away any leftovers with water.
#2 – Clear up and Prevent Bruises: All of us have suffered a nasty spill of some kind (and I’m not talking about the kind where someone drops a drink) and those bruises can become extremely sore after a while. However, you can make all those nasty bruises go away; just soak some cotton gauze in a bit of vinegar, apply it to the bruised area, and let it sit for around an hour.
#3 – Brighten Your Laundry: You have a choice, spend a pretty penny on some fancy “all-color, stain-fighting, super-effective” laundry agent, or you can spend a couple of bucks on some plain, white vinegar. Just add 1/2 a cup of that stuff to your wash cycle to reinvigorate and brighten all the colors in all of your laundry loads; reds, blues, greens, yellows, blacks, and whites!
#4 – Hot Vinegar Drain Cleaner: Is the sink not draining as quick as usual? Chances are it’s probably a little clogged up by grime and such. This isn’t a problem though, all you need to do is pour roughly a half of a cup of vinegar and a half of a cup of baking soda down your drain, wait a little more than 15 minutes, and then follow it all down the drain with hot (preferably boiling) water.
#5 – Frost-Proof Your Windows: We’ve all had to wait that dreaded 5 minutes every winter morning; the windows are slowly-but-surely clearing up and you’re already 10 minutes late for work. You can help keep the frost off your windows by spraying a solution that’s 3 parts vinegar and 1 part water on your car windows every few weeks.
#6 – Deodorizer: Hate having to hold your breath when open your trunk to put the groceries away, or maybe that musty old closet is getting to be a little too unbearable? You can freshen up the smell of these places quite easily! All you need to do is give a slice of white bread a soak in some white vinegar, place the soggy piece of bread on a plate, and keep it in that closet or trunk for a night. Things will start smelling good again in no time!
#7 – Clean Fresh Produce: Whether you are the gardening type or you just took a stroll through the produce section at your local grocery store, you never know what’s clinging to the surface of your fresh fruits and vegetables. If you’re not feeling safe about your food, you can always wash them with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar mixed with 1 1/2 liters of plain water for a nice, bacteria-cleansing wash.
#8 – Clean Rust Off of Old Tools: So, you’ve finally gotten grandpa’s old tool box open, expecting gold and treasure, and just got some rusty old Depression-era hammers and screwdrivers. You can clean up grandpa’s old tools easily; just submerge them in some plain white vinegar for a couple of days until the rust is all gone.
#9 – Streak-less window cleaner: If you have some vinegar, water, and dish soap lying around, you can make a window cleaner that outperforms most others. Put 2 cups of water, 1/4 of a cup of plain white vinegar, and 1/2 a teaspoon of your favorite dish soap all into a spray bottle then have clean, clear windows in no time at all.
#10 – Keep Pests off your Pets: Is Fido biting and scratching away at himself because flea season has started? You can keep those bugs away by filling a spray bottle with equal parts vinegar and water and applying it to your dog or cat’s coat before rubbing it in. Be careful with cats though, they’ve been known to get a little resistant and violent when vinegar and its “horrific” scent get involved.
Baking soda is one of the most commonly used items in our home. Not only do I use it for baking, it’s one of the main ingredients in my homemade cleaning products! Baking soda is actually so versatile, I have a list of 10 other unique uses for it!
Here are 10 uses for baking soda:
#1 – Car Surface Cleaner
You love your car, right? It gets you from Point A to Point B and then back to A again at the end of the day. So naturally, you want the best for your car, so it can get you back to point B the next day. You can keep your car’s paint job nice and shiny by making a baking soda paste (There’s no specific amounts of powder or water you need, just make sure it’s a nice paste) and rubbing it all over your car’s dulling paint job. Let the paste sit for 5-15 minutes and then rinse your car off. Voila, now your car looks as good as the day you bought it.
#2 – Mouthwash
Have you checked out the price of oral care products lately? You and your children no longer have to deal with minor tooth decay thanks to the advent of baking soda. If you mix a single tablespoon with half of a tall glass of water, you have some pretty effective mouthwash.
#3 – Skin Exfoliator
For those of us who strive for clean, smooth, baby-like skin, this trick will serve you all quite well. You can make a nice exfoliating paste for your skin by mixing 3 parts baking soda with 1 part water. When applying it, you should gently massage it on your skin, getting as much coverage as you want. When you’ve gotten it all massaged on, rinse it all off with some warm water.
#4 – Tougher Laundry Detergent
Maybe you’ve heard about using vinegar to brighten colors in your laundry before, but what can baking soda do? 1/2 a cup of the stuff mixed in with your detergent makes your detergent work much more effectively, making clothes cleaner and colors brighter.
#5 – Homemade Clay
If you have an artist in the family (or maybe you are the artist), the following project could be a fun thing to do. If you mix some baking soda in with 1 1/4 cups of water and a cup of cornstarch, the result is something quite similar to store bought modeling clay. Afterwards you should go and find an air-tight tin to maximize its shelf life.
#6 – Deodorant
Stick or spray? You don’t have to pick either with baking soda; its magnificent quality of being able to make anything smell nice makes it an extremely viable option when choosing deodorant in the morning. No fancy steps at all to doing this: just firmly pat the baking soda under your armpits and go about your day.
#7 – Toilet Cleaner
None of us want to do it. Not a single person in the house wants to deal with THAT one dreaded job. No one wants to deal with the dirty job of cleaning the toilet. Then you remember you have baking soda on your side. Dump roughly a single cup into the toilet bowl and let it sit for about an hour (I don’t know, maybe watch half a movie while you wait). After that hour has passed, go back and flush the toilet. You’ll now have a clean and odorless toilet.
#8 – Deodorize Your Home
Baking soda can deodorize just about anything. You can put an open box in the back of a fridge to keep odors bearable; you can sprinkle some across the bottom of your trash can before you put a new bag in to keep the smells at bay; and you can leave a snowstorm of the stuff on the carpet before you go to work and vacuum it all up when you get home.
#9 – Poor Man’s Foot Bath
For most families, it’s too expensive to buy a personal sauna for the entire family to relax in. So, if you still want their feet to experience the soothing sauna experience, your only friend is baking soda. For a nice foot bath, simply fill a tub with warm water and then add and stir in at least 3 tablespoons of Baking Soda.
#10 – Replacement for De-Icing Salts
We’ve all had that moment; we walk in from the cold winter air, dust our jackets off, and start the boring, monotonous task of getting all the salt off of our shoes. Would you believe that Baking Soda can also help you here? You can substitute a fine dusting of Baking Soda for all those salts you’re tossing onto your driveway and patio. Unlike all the other options available, Baking Soda provides you with good traction and melts the ice just as well as salt. Unlike salt, it won’t cause damage to your shoes or your floors.
I hope you’re all having a great Easter weekend so far! I’m currently visiting some relatives on Vancouver Island so you won’t see me around until Tuesday! (We’ll be traveling home on Monday.)
Here are the interesting links I came across on my travels around the web this week! Enjoy and have a great weekend!
Making your own marinara sauce for lasagna using fresh herbs and vegetables straight from the garden is a staple of authentic Italian cooking. The secret to a rich, flavourful red sauce is using ingredients picked at their peak ripeness. A “Lasagna Garden” in a container is a smart way to make the most of your space, letting you grow everything you need, even without a large backyard!
The star ingredient, the Roma tomato, thrives in container gardens. Known for its thick flesh and bold flavour, it cooks down beautifully into a rich sauce. Classic marinara also relies on fresh herbs like basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, along with garlic to bring everything together.
Use a large container
Plant your tomato in the center of a large container. The bigger, the better. Aim for a pot that’s at least 18 inches wide or holds a minimum of 10 gallons, since both tomatoes and basil grow quite large and need plenty of nutrients. Place thyme and oregano around the edges, where they can trail over the sides without taking up too much root space. Parsley benefits from a bit more room, so plant it between the thyme and oregano to give it space to grow.
Use quality potting soil
The secret to a thriving lasagna garden starts with high-quality potting soil and the right added nutrients. Mix in a fertilizer, such as Miracle-Gro, to give your plants the boost they need to grow strong and healthy. Reapply the fertilizer about every three weeks by adding it to your watering can.
When you first plant your garden, water deeply until you see it draining from the bottom of the container. To make sure the moisture is reaching the roots, insert a stick into the soil and check how far down it’s wet. You’ll want the moisture to reach at least 6 inches deep. If it doesn’t, keep watering until it does.
Plant garlic chives
Growing garlic can be a bit tricky, especially depending on your climate. If it doesn’t thrive in your area, garlic chives are a great alternative. They offer a mild garlic flavour and their bright green stems add a fresh pop of colour to your sauce. Even better, they grow easily along the edges of a container.
Find sunlight
Make sure your lasagna garden gets at least six hours of sunlight each day. During especially hot summers, you may need to move your container into partial shade. Using planter wheels can make this easy, allowing you to shift your garden around to follow (or avoid) the sun as needed.
Enjoy your lasagna garden and happy container gardening!
