Most people are watching their dollars and working
off a budget to make ends meet. Many are also now looking for natural
alternatives to live a more wholesome and chemical free life. Following are a
few ways in which you can have both of the above. These uses are becoming more
prevalent and are easy to do it yourself. So, here are great easy uses for
common household items to make your life more chemical free and your wallet a
little fatter.
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1) Toothpaste: Buff a CD/DVD
Apply toothpaste to a cotton ball and wipe the
disc. Wash with water afterwards and you've got a brand new disc!
2) Cornstarch: Untangle Knots
Sprinkling cornstarch into tough knots, such as
shoe laces helps loosen them.
3) Walnut: Buff Dings out of Wood Furniture
Get rid of unsightly scratches and dings on wood
furniture by rubbing a walnut on the areas. The blemishes will vanish quickly
and your furniture and pocket book will be saved.
4) Club Soda: Make Your Breads Fluffier
When baking, where recipes call for water, add club
soda instead to make pancakes, waffles and any other breads fluffier.
5) Salt: Keep Windows Frost Free
Pour a cup of salt into a liter of water. Sponge
the liquid onto the inside of window to prevent frost from forming during the
winter months.
6) Rubbing Alcohol: Remove Permanent Marker
Dab the surface that has the permanent marker on it
with a cloth or cotton ball covered in rubbing alcohol to make it disappear
quickly.
7) Chap stick: Stops Bleeding When Nicked Shaving
Cut yourself shaving? Just swipe some chap stick
over the cut to stop that constant bleeding. No more tissue squares!
8) Apple Juice: Removes Dandruff
Don’t ask how it works, but it does! Instead of
buying a special shampoo, just wash your hair in apple juice to rid your scalp
of pesky dandruff.
9) Aspirin: Get Rid of Armpit Stains on T-Shirts
Grind up an aspirin tablet or two, then make a paste
out of it using water, lemon or vinegar. Spread the paste on the stained area
and let sit for an hour before washing.
10) Olive Oil: Make Pets’ Coat Shinier
Add a bit of olive oil to your pet’s food to give
them a healthier, shinier coat of fur.
11) Newspapers: Clean Windows and Mirrors
Instead of using a spray and a streaky cloth, use
only newspaper to clean off your mirrors and windows for a streak-free finish.
12) Baking Soda: Remove Bugs from Windshield
Mix baking soda with warm water to make a paste.
Spread the paste over your windshield for fifteen minutes. Then wipe or spray
off with a hose.
13) Bleach: Extend Life of Flowers in Vase
Add a few drops of bleach to vase water to prevent
the build-up of the slime caused by bacteria. It works just like chlorine in a
swimming pool.
14) Kitchen Dish Soap: Flea-Killing Dog Shampoo
Kitchen dish soap (not dish detergent) can double
as dog shampoo for its flea killing abilities.
15) Coke: Remove Blood Stains from Clothing
Soak the stain in coke until the stain is
dissolved, then wash the clothing as usual. Wash before the coke dries, though.
16) Honey: Remove Blemish Overnight
Have a blemish you need to get rid of by tomorrow?
Put a dab of honey on the blemish and cover it up (it’s best to use a Band-Aid)
and the honey’s natural antibacterial properties will clean out the bacteria by
the morning.
17) Wax Paper: Clean Can Opener Gears
Run a few small strips of wax paper through the can
opener to clean out of the bits and pieces that have built up in the gears
throughout the year. The wax will also rub off on the gears to protect for
future use as well.
18) WD-40: Remove Crayons from Walls
Use the lubricant and a cloth to remove stubborn
crayon marks from the walls just by spraying the wall and wiping with a cloth.
19) Chalk: Keep Ants and Slugs
Out of the House
Ants and Slugs Won’t Touch Chalk. So, simply draw a
line in front of your doorway where you are having problems with these pesky
critters and they won’t cross it, meaning they won’t be able to get into your
house.
20) Vinegar: Kills Weeds and Helps Flowers Grow
Vinegar is a magic wonder when it comes to
gardening. It not only kills weeds but they help flowers grow as well. Douse
vinegar all around your garden to prevent weeds from popping up and to help
your flowers to grow healthy and strong.
21) Mayonnaise: Remove Bumper Sticker
Spread mayonnaise on the bumper sticker and let sit
for at least thirty minutes. Then, rub the sticker off with a towel, leaving a
clean bumper!
22) Tin Foil Ball: Replace Dryer Sheets Permanently
Instead of using a dryer sheet ball up one or a few
sheets of tin foil and toss it in the dryer. It removes the static electricity
from your clothes and one can last up to a year.
23) Banana Peel: Polish Leather Shoes
Use the inside of a banana peel to give shoes a
professional and natural shine that will last for quite some time.
24) Mouthwash: Cure Athlete’s Foot
Pour mouthwash on cotton balls and then swab your
feet. The alcohol will disinfect the bacteria completely if you continue this
for a week or so.
25) Baking Soda: Clean BBQ Grill
Mix a cup of baking soda with half a cup water to
make a paste. Dip your brush into the paste and scrub the grill. The caked on
pieces and black residue will come off much quicker and using baking soda is
much safer and cheaper than using cleaning chemicals.
26) Coffee Grounds: Fertilizer
Coffee is full of nutrients and vitamins that are
very beneficial to soil. That’s why some people include it in compost piles. If
you want to get the most out of your coffee, pour the grounds on areas where
you want more grass or flowers.
27) Olive Oil: Shaving Cream
The smoothness of the oil can replace the need for
shaving cream, and it also provides great moisture.
28) Dryer Sheets: Gets Rid of Static Electricity
Use dryer sheets to remove static electricity from
things such as clothing, TV screens or your own hair. Tame fly away strands by
running a dryer sheet over them.
29) Freezer: Freeze Candles to Make Them Last
Longer
Put candles in the freezer for at least 2 hours
before using. Once you burn them, the wax will melt at a much slower pace,
making them last much longer!
30) Two glasses of water: Cure Headache
Water is the cure to most common headaches. To make
the headache go away quickly, drink two cups of water very quickly.
31) Lemons: Deodorize Garbage Disposal
Toss whole slices of lemon into the garbage
disposal then run it. The acidity of the lemon will rid your sink of all odors
and leave a fresh scent that usually lasts for a few months.
32) Alka Seltzer: Remove Burnt-On Grease and Food
Stains
When letting your pots and pans soak, throw in one
or two Alka Seltzer tablets and the caked on residue from cooking will come off
easily when you scrub/wash.
33) Apple Cider Vinegar: Relieve Diarrhea
Mix two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar into
eight ounces of water to soothe your stomach. The taste may not be the
greatest, but the antibacterial properties of the vinegar will end the
unpleasantness of the bowel problems.
34) Toothpaste: Remove Scratches from Glass
Apply toothpaste to scratch, then rub with a cloth
until the scratch is gone. Make sure the glass is clean beforehand.
35) Cheerios: Relieve Pain from Poison Ivy,
Chickenpox and Sunburns
Pound one to four cups of Cheerios into a powder
and add to your bath to soothe your skin while you soak. You may not feel
relief while in the tub, but you will soon after.
36) Buttons: Sort Earrings
Organize your earrings and prevent them from
becoming entangled by using spare buttons as holders for each pair.
37) Corn Oil: Prevent Hairballs for Pets
Add a few drops of corn oil to your pets’ food to
prevent hairballs from forming. The thick oil helps the fur pass through the
animal’s system much quicker and easily.
38) Whipped Cream: Remove Gum from Hair
There are many remedies for removing gum from hair,
but this is a lesser known one. Give it a try rather than peanut butter the
next time you’re in need.
39) Coke: Remove Oil Stains from the Driveway
Oil stains are very difficult to remove pavement,
but one method guaranteed to work is Coke. The highly acidic drink will eat
away at the oil until clean.
40) Brown Sugar: Facial Scrub
A scrub is good to do about once a month to remove
dead skin and bacteria built up in pores and remove excess oil from the skin.
Brown sugar does just as well as expensive products and will definitely result
in a clearer and smoother complexion.
41) Dryer Sheet: Lint Brush
You already know that dryer sheets remove lint in
the dryer. Well, it can do the same thing out of the dryer, too. When you’re in
a fix, use a dryer sheet. It works just as well as a lint brush, and if you
like the scent, it’s an added bonus.
42) Newspaper: Deodorize food containers and Food
Drawers in the Refrigerator
For that stinky Tupperware or smelly refrigerator
drawer that is too much to deal with, toss in a sheet of newspaper overnight
before you deal with it. The paper will absorb the smell greatly reducing it or
eliminating it completely.
43) Olive Oil: Unstick a Zipper
The oil will help the zipper slide more easily,
fixing the problem!
44) Salt: Cool Something Quickly
You know that feeling when you’re having a BBQ and
someone asks for a drink and you realize that no one has put them in the
cooler? There’s nothing worse than a warm drink on a hot day. Chill a drink
quickly, by adding salt and water to your ice. The drinks will be cold in a
matter of minutes; saving your party and making you look smart all at once.
45) Scotch Tape: Prevent Wall from Chipping When
Nailing
The wall can leave unsightly chips when hammering
in a nail. Prevent this by simply placing a piece of scotch tape over the area
you’re going to nail. The wall will be held tighter, preventing chips from
occurring.
46) Alka Seltzer: Soothe Insect Bites
Dissolve two tablets into a glass of water. Then
use a cloth or cotton ball to apply it to the affected area. The red will go
down and most importantly, the itchiness will vanish usually in fifteen
minutes.
47) Lemon: Whitens Whites
Add about half a cup of lemon juice to your load of
whites to makes them extra white. You can use lemon juice with bleach or
detergent, so don’t worry about mixing chemicals with the acidic lemon.
48) Banana Peel: Whiten Teeth
This may sound a little odd, but rub the inside of
a banana peel on your teeth twice a day for two weeks and you will receive the
same effect from a teeth-whitening kit. Plus, you’ll save yourself money and
the hassle of using chemicals.
49) Hair Dryer: Free Photos Stuck on Pages
If you have a photo stuck on a page that you can’t
get free, try using a blow dryer on the back of the page. It will loosen the
photo from the page and the adhesive holding it there.
50) Banana Peel: Heal Most Skin Problems
Bananas are the magical fruit, because they heal
many common problems on the skin. By rubbing the peel on your skin, you can
heal bruises and cuts and eliminate rashes, itching and warts. Basically if you
have a common skin problem, it can be cured by this fruit.
I hope you can put some or all of these to good use
to save money and make your home a safer environment. There are tons more DIY
uses for common household items like these. make sure to share the info with
your friends!
