Homestead Hints ~ 75 Uses for Baking Soda!

Out here in the country, life revolves a little differently than it does in the city. We put hard, long hours into making our homestead a self sufficient haven for our families. Homestead Hints will be a series following things that we’ve learned over the last several years on how to make our homestead a little better. Welcome to the Little Homestead on the Prairie…

Secret: I have this huge massive bag of baking soda in my pantry. I ran out a few months ago and when I checked prices...the cheapest was a 13 pound bag at Sam's Club. Lucky for me there are many uses for baking soda besides baking. Here's a huge list! (Thanks to Life Hackery for these tips!)

• 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. Take a baking soda bath to relieve skin irritations.
• 11. Heartburn? Take a teaspoon of baking soda mixed with one-half glass of water.
• 12. Freshen your mouth by gargling half a teaspoon of baking soda mixed water.
• 13. Relieve canker sore pain by using it as mouthwash.
• 14. Use it to relieve bee stings.
• 15. Use it to relieve windburns.
• 16. Apply it on jellyfish sting to draw out the venom.
• 17. Unblock stuffy nose by adding a teaspoon of baking soda to your vaporizer.
• 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.
• 33. Sprinkle it onto your cat’s litter box to absorb the bad odor.
• 34. Sprinkle it on your pet’s comb or brush to deodorize their fur and skin.
• 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.
• 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.
• 65. Scatter it on your greasy garage floor, scrub the floor, and rinse.
• 66. Remove burned-on food from a pan by soaking it in a baking soda solution for 10 minutes before washing.
• 67. Clean your ashtrays with a baking soda solution.
• 68. Keep your drains clean by putting four tablespoons of baking soda in them each week. Flush it down with hot water.
• 69. Clean your shower curtains by soaking them in baking soda and water.
• 70. Put it on a small brush to rub canvas handbags clean.
• 71. Use it to remove melted plastic bread wrapper from a toaster. Sprinkle baking soda on a damp rug, then use the rug to clean the toaster.
• 72. Use it to clean your retainers and dentures.
• 73. Make a thick paste of baking soda and water, and used it to scrub enameled cast iron and stainless steel.
• 74. Mix four tablespoons of baking soda with a quart of warm water, and use it to clean the inside part of an oven.
• 75. Use it to unclog gas stoves.

I definitely want to try #36 and I'm wondering how well #55 works with cloth diapers? Has anyone tried it, is it gentle enough?

Which of these do you do already and which do you want to try?

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