If you have children than I am 100% sure you have heard the phrase "When you were a baby..." out of the mouths of your mothers, aunts, and grandmothers. Even if you don't have kids you have probably at least once in your life had that phrase directed at you. Sometimes it is followed by really good practical advice, sometimes it is not as useful because we have discovered other ways of doing things since say 1970! Almost always though your mother's advice and your grandmothers advice comes from the roots of using things already around the house as a solution to multiple problems or tasks. One of these around the house items that I have found is "Old and New again" is: Baking Soda!!! You most likely have a box of it in your fridge right now, or at least in your cabinet for baking with. There are so many uses for baking soda it is mind boggling.
I have discovered that Baking Soda and babies are a two for one deal! When I had my first child she had severe eczema outbreaks and we spent tons of money buying the expensive creams and oatmeal baths that promised to ease her itching and pain, but to no avail did not. It wasn't until one day after venting my frustration to my mother that she said the dreaded phrase "You know...when you were a baby, we just put baking soda in the bath, it cured everything from diaper rash to sunburn, you should try it." I thought if it was that easy why had no pediatrician told me this? Or better yet her allergist? Trying to tell my mother that something won't work is next to impossible, so the next night I put my itchy, cranky daughter in a baking soda bath. After all what did I have to loose? The result was pure bliss on my child's face after bath time. We did baking soda bath 2x a week after that, and still use it when she has an outbreak! Thanks mom, I guess some advice is timeless.
Another useful tip is when you have a diaper pail in your home you can buy these fridge pals and stick them to your diaper champ on the inside, or you can just sprinkle a tablespoon of baking soda in bottom of diaper bag!
Much less expensive than those plastic tiny discs you can buy at Babies R Us!
Check out this list of other useful uses of baking soda below!
Health Uses
1. Use it as an antacid.
2. Use it as underarm deodorant by applying it with a powder puff.
3. Mix half a teaspoon with peroxide paste and use it as toothpaste.
4. Use it as a face and body scrub.
5. Add a cup to bathwater to soften your skin.
6. Relieve skin itch from insect bites and pain from sunburn.
7. Remove strong odors from your hands by rubbing them with baking soda and water.
8. Put two tablespoons in your baby’s bathwater to help relieve diaper rash. 9. Apply it on rashes, insect bites, and poison ivy irritations.
10. Can be used as a dry Shampoo for your hair, just sprinkle a little at roots and brush.
In the Home
18. Keep cut flowers fresh longer by adding a teaspoon to the water in the vase.
19. Put out small fires on rugs, upholstery, clothing, and wood.
20. Put an open container of baking soda in the fridge to absorb the odors.
21. Sprinkle it on your ashtrays to reduce bad odor and prevent smoldering.
22. Sprinkle it on your slippers, boots, shoes, and socks to eliminate foul odor.
23. Turn baking soda into modeling clay by combining it with one and 1/4 cups of water and one cup of cornstarch.
24. After feeding your baby, wipe his shirt with a moist cloth sprinkled with baking soda to remove the odor.
25. Wipe your windshield with it to repel rain.
26. Improve the smell of dishrags by soaking them in baking soda and water.
27. Suck it in with your vacuum cleaner to remove the odor.
28. Freshen the air by mixing baking soda with your favorite perfumed bath salts. Put the mixture in small sachet bags.
29. Restore stiff brushes by boiling them in a solution of 1/2 gallon of water, 1/4 cup of vinegar, and a cup of baking soda.
30. Put it under sinks and along basement windows to repel cockroaches and ants.
31. Scatter baking soda around flowerbeds to prevent rabbits from eating your veggies.
32. Sweeten your tomatoes by sprinkling baking soda on the soil around your tomato plants.
In Cooking
35. Use it as a substitute for baking powder by mixing with it with cream of tartar or vinegar.
36. Wash fruits and vegetables with it.
37. When boiling a chicken, add a teaspoon of baking soda to the water. Feathers will come off easier, and the flesh will be clean and white.
38. Soak dried beans to a baking soda solution to make them more digestible.
39. Remove the distinctive taste of wild game by soaking it in a baking soda solution.
40. Make a sports drink by mixing it with boiled water, salt, and Kool-Aid.
41. Remove the fishy smell from your fillets by soaking the raw fish in a baking soda solution for an hour inside the fridge.
42. Make fluffier omelets by adding half a teaspoon of baking soda for every three eggs used.
43. Reduce the acid content of your tomato-based recipes by sprinkling them with a pinch of baking soda.
Cleaning Purposes
44. Add a cup to the toilet, leave it for an hour, and then flush. It will clean the toilet and absorb the odor.
45. Use it to scrub sinks, showers, plastic and porcelain tubs
46. Spray it on walls, mirrors, and countertops.
47. Add a spoonful to your dishwasher to make scrubbing dishes easier.
48. Remove grease from pots and pans.
49. Dry clean carpets and upholstered furniture by sprinkling baking soda over the fabric and gently brushing it. Leave it for an hour or overnight, then vacuum.
50. Boost your laundry detergent’s cleaning power by sprinkling a handful on dirty clothes.
51. Combine it with water to make a paste for polishing stainless steel and chrome.
52. Remove scratches and crayon marks from vinyl floors and walls.
53. Clean your shoes with it.
54. Clean garbage cans with it.
55. Use it to wash diapers.
56. Clean the fridge with it.
57. Soak brushes and combs in a baking soda solution.
58. Mix it with water to wash food and drink containers.
59. Put three tablespoons of baking soda to a quart of warm water, then use the mixture to wash marble-topped furniture.
60. Absorb it with a damp sponge, then clean Formica countertops with the sponge.
61. Use it to get rid of stale odors from cooling containers and thermos bottles.
62. Run your coffee maker with a baking soda solution, then rinse.
63. Combine with hot water to clean baby bottles.
64. Sprinkle it on barbecue grills, then rinse it off.
