Vinegar

I bet just about everyone has this item in their house. And if you were like me, you don't realize ALL the things you can use it for. I buy this by the gallons now and always seem to be needing to pick up more! It is a cheap, non toxic cleaner for deodorizing, degreasing, and general cleaning. If you don't like the smell (like Zach doesn't), just add a couple drops of your favorite essential oil. Here's a short list to the endless possibilities of uses for vinegar.

-An easy way to make an all purpose cleaner is to pour equal parts of vinegar and water into a water bottle. That's all I use to clean our counters, furniture, and bathrooms.

-Pour it down your drains, like the garbage disposable, to kill odors. It also has been working great to pour down bathtubs drains to keep bugs from crawling up!

-Use as a fruit wash to kill germs and pesticides.

-Wipe away mildew with pouring a little bit of straight vinegar on a cleaning cloth. Or if the mildew is on your shower curtain, just pour the vinegar right onto it.

-Erases ballpoint pin marks or crayons.

-Great for disinfecting cutting boards (especially if you have wood ones like mine).

-Removing carpet stains (great for pet accidents).

-I've been putting 1/2 cup in every load in the dishwasher. Look at the difference in one wash! I haven't tried it yet, but you could also put 1/2 cup in your washer to clean it out instead of bleach.

-Removes mineral deposits from shower heads.

-Whitens grout on your tile.

-Softens cuticles and callouses. Soak your hands or feet in vinegar.

-Spraying along the doorway keeps ants out.

-Use as a fabric softener. Pour it in your Downy ball, or whatever fabric softener you're currently using, and wash normally.

-For a microwave with really tough stains, microwave a bowl with vinegar for a minute. Everything wipes off so easy after that.

-And I hear it's good for applying on painful sunburns...that it takes the pain away instantly. I haven't had a sunburn yet to try that one. ;)

I know there are soooo many more uses, but these are the ones I personally have used it for and know it works fantastic!