Five Great Ways To Save Money With Baking Soda
| June 13, 2012 | Posted by thecheapskatemom under cleaning, diy, ecofriendlykitchen, environment, home, household |
by Hannah Walton aka The Cheapskate Mom
As a staunch believer in non-toxic and affordable cleaners – I have been having a love affair with baking soda for some years now. I’ve moved beyond keeping a box of baking soda in the fridge to eat up odors – I now have two HUGE boxes of baking soda as a back up to my open huge box. Yep, I’m that big of a fan! My grandfather once gave me a little supermarket book from the 70′s all about the myriad great uses for baking soda – and since my grandparents did not have television (sad face), I read the entire book in one sitting – and then re-read it again. I learned a lot that night – and as an adult I’ve put that info into action. I want to share with you five great ways I use baking soda around the house to save money and keep things less toxic :
1. Diaper Pail Deodorizer :
Using old nylon pantyhose (or cheese cloth) I make diaper pail deodorizer balls with baking soda. I simply fil and tie off the ends – voila – diaper pail deodorizer on the super cheap that super works. Yay! Bonus Tip : Sprinkle some baking soda in cat litter boxes and skip out on the expensive deodorizer options at the pet store. Works the same – but for a fraction of the cost.
2. Sink Cleaner:
I have a steel sink – I never knew what clean was until I sprinkled baking soda in my sink and scrubbed with water and elbow grease. It works like a charm and deodorizes as well. Like – my sink literally glistens – tv commercial style – after I clean it with baking soda. It makes me feel like Martha Stewart – who, as a fellow cheapskate – also uses baking soda for almost everything!
3. Cheapskate Drano :
If you’ve got a terrible sink clog – try baking soda and vinegar. This has saved me the expense, hassle and toxins of buying Drano – and has worked great most of the time ( I will admit not always ). Be liberal with the baking soda and liberal with the vinegar – and give it TIME. This helped the other day when our beloved dishwasher backed up – instead of having to call a plumber – we called upon the natural cleaning powers of baking soda and vinegar. Worked like a charm.
4. Add Baking Soda To Your Laundry Detergent and Save Money:
Add baking soda to your laundry and use less detergent – you can do this because baking soda boosts your detergent’s cleaning powers – I have been doing this for years and have saved so much money thanks to baking soda.
5. Cheapskate Face Scrub :
Although I’m a super cheapskate, I’m also somewhat of a vain beauty freak (I shamefully admit this). So what’s a vain cheapskate to do? Use baking soda as a face scrub/ exfoliant. Works great, no harsh chemicals going on, and is pretty gentle on my skin – so I can skip on the skin-irritating, costly scrubs and spend my money on more important things like lipstick 
