No need to toss old baking soda
Do you keep a box of baking soda in the refrigerator to keep it smelling nice and fresh? When it’s time to replace the box, don’t toss the baking soda in the trash. While it may not be active enough to bake with, you can still do myriad other things with old baking soda. Keep it handy near your stove or grill; if there’s a flare-up or fire, baking soda is a great extinguisher. Mix baking soda with equal parts sugar, and place it where you’ve spotted roaches. The sugar attracts them to the mixture, but the baking soda is deadly to them. And finally, you can dump it into the sink or tub and use it as an all-natural cleaner.
MUSTARD FOR ODORS
If you have small packets of mustard in your junk or office drawer, pull them out and put them to good use. Mustard is more than just a condiment; it can also combat odors. If your reusable plastic, glass or metal containers have a lingering scent inside, you can neutralize the smell with mustard. Just squeeze a few packets of mustard into the container and then fill with hot water. Seal it shut and let it sit for a few hours, then rinse with soap and water to reveal your freshly cleaned container.
OLIVE BRINE
The next time you open a jar or can of olives, don’t discard the flavorful brine inside. The savory liquid mixture of water, vinegar and salt has fantastic flavor that can be used beyond making martinis dirty. Pour the mixture into anything in lieu of salt; add it to pasta sauces or homemade hummus, use it as part of a salad dressing, or steam vegetables with it so they have a nice brine flavor when they’re all cooked up. You can also save brine by freezing it in ice cube trays; when you need one, just pop out a cube and toss it into the pot.
CRAFT SAFETY
When it comes to crafting supplies like crayons, markers and paint, it’s critical to look for materials that have as little toxicity as possible. The Art and Creative Materials Institute has an AP-certified label that goes onto products that meet stringent safety standards. Products go through an extensive toxicology testing program before they can bear the AP-certified mark. Using these products when crafting with small kids is key, especially if they tend to put paint-covered fingers in their mouths.
ROTATING DOORS
In the cold winter months, do this one thing when entering office buildings or shopping malls: Use the rotating door. A rotating door is designed to let people get in and out of a building without heat escaping. When you open a regular door, a vacuum effect takes place and sucks cold air from outside inside. You’ve probably witnessed the effect at busy buildings. By simply choosing the rotating door, you help save energy and keep the cold air outside.
FOOD PORTIONS
Are your kid’s lunches coming home half-eaten every day? It may not be a case of them not being interested in their food; they may actually have too much food to eat. The reality is, there are different appropriate food portions for kids, and throwing away uneaten food every day is both an ecological and economic waste. The website choosemyplate.gov helps provide information on the correct portion sizes for kids of every age. You can also encourage your kids to pack their lunches with you. This will empower them and make them more inclined to pack only what they want.
JUST ADD WATER
Concentrated cleaning products that you just add water to are gaining popularity for their price and reduced plastic packaging. But when you dilute these concentrated packets using tap water, you can end up with foul-smelling products in just a few days. Tap water usually has hard minerals, which can make cleaning products smell dirty. The solution? Use distilled water from the store, which is free from minerals, or collect rain water, which is naturally mineral-free.