I do not endorse the advertisments above

Handy Kitchen Tips.

Baking Soda & Vinegar

To kill small tree stumps (up to 2" across) cut a deep 'x' with an axe or saw. Fill with baking soda. Wait about 20 minutes then pour on some vinegar. The chemical reaction kills the root. This works well on those pesky mequite trees that it sometimes seems like nothing short of fire will destroy!
Use Vinegar to clean mirrors
Soak colored clothes in vinegar to prevent them from bleeding

Once a month I use 1/2 to 1 cup baking soda (depending on how much the pipes are utilized),then I start to pour 1 cup white vinegar over the baking soda. I usually let it sit overnight then run very hot water for minimum of 5 minutes. If I have a clogged pipe I will do the above with boiling water and sometimes a plunger.
Soak wilted veggies in 2 cups water and 1 Tablespoon Vinegar
Use vinegar to disenfect wood cutting boards

Use baking soda and vinegar as a drain cleaner. Put 1/4 cup baking soda into the drain then pour 1 cup of hot vinegar over it. Use it every week as preventative maintenance. And yet again:
Use Vinegar Instead of Jet Dry in the dishwasher
Use Vinegar to cut grease when washing dished by hand.
To deoderize your kitchen drain. Pour a cup
down the drain let sit for about 20 minutes then flush with cold water.

Sprinkle weeds on the sidewalk or driveway with baking soda. Let sit 30 - 45 minutes, pour on some vinegar. Rinse with fresh water the next day.
Put the grill down into the bbq and sprinkle liberally with baking soda. Add enough vinegar to cover, put the lid on, and let sit over night. Flush with clean water the next day - most of the burned on stuff should be gone!

Vinegar Cleans Satinless steel
add about 1/4 cup vinegar to a vaporizer for colds

For cleaning sinks, tubs, etc. I put the stopper over the drain hole, then sprinkle some baking soda in the bottom of sink/tub. Then pour some vinegar over it. I don't measure, really, just use an amount that seems to work for you. Let this fizz for a couple minutes. Then add a little water and scrub with your sponge/scrub brush/cloth. Unplug the drain and rinse with hot or warm water

Vinegar dissolves rust on nuts and bolts

Use Vinegar instead of fabric softener
Baking soda and vinegar also clear clogged drains. Get the water out, fill drain with baking soda, pour in vinegar. When it stops bubbling, hit it with the plunger. Follow with lots of hot water - boiling, if your hot water heater is set below 160 degrees.
Pet Stains - when an animal vomits, urinates or has diarhhea on carpet, sprinkle baking soda heavily, then wearing rubber gloves, rub into area until baking soda coagulates. Let dwell at least five minutes. Vacuum with your regular vacuum cleaner. Clean or dispose of bag. Pour straight white vinegar over area. When vinegar foams, blot with sponge. Residue will evaporate leaving no odor or stain. If unable to immediately treat with vinegar, leave
baking soda on area until ready.

Car battery not making good contact? Take the terminal off the post (one at a time, if you cross them up you'll reverse polarity in the battery and it will cost you a new one!) cover the corrosion liberally with baking soda. After a few minutes, SPRAY with vinegar. Continue spraying as long as the soda bubbles. Rinse with a high pressure hose, let dry and put the terminal back on. Repeat on other side.

Camera or tape player damaged by battery corrosion? Remove batteries. Sprinkle baking soda into battery box. Using a q-tip dipped in vinegar, carefully and slowly swab out the baking soda. Make sure you don't mash the terminals or knock them out of alignment

When using baking soda as a scouring powder, add a little vinegar to remove soap scum or lime deposits.

Take a bucket of warm water, sprinkle some baking soda on the cut and then pour the vinegar over it. Soak it for a while. The kids love the bubbles and it will kill an infection. Also works for boils.

I use it to clean my drip coffee pot. I fill the pot with warm water (in the sink) add some white vinegar and a splash of baking soda. After the fizz I let it sit for a short time and sponge out the stuff on the glass. One final rinse and Walla, good as new!!!

For upset stomachs:
3 Tablespoons of Vinegar
1/2 glass of cold water
1 heaping spoon of baking soda
Mix cold water and vinegar and stir in baking soda. This will foam up immediately. Let it settle down and drink it all up. This is better than any antacid. It works in about 10 minutes. No more stomach ache.

Fantastic cleaner-upper for residue left in pots or skillets from frying or baking roasts, turkey, etc. Place the pot on a burner with about 1/2- one inch mixture of water & 1 cup vinegar. Bring to boil. Sprinkle on half cup of baking soda. It will bubble and boil immediately, so watch that it does not boil over. The residue will loosen and clean off like a charm.

Honey
Condition hair and prevent split ends and frizzies.
Mix one tablespoon SueBee honey and two teaspoons Star Olive Oil. Warm the mixture (but not too hot), dip your fingers into it, and rub it into the strands of hair. Soak a towel in hot water, wring out completely, and wrap around your head for twenty minutes. Then shampoo as usual, lathering well to remove the olive oil.

Give yourself a facial.
Mash a banana and add one tablespoon SueBee Honey. Cover your face with the mixture, let sit fifteen minutes, then rinse with warm water.

Dress wounds and burns.
Apply SueBee Honey to the injury. Honey is hygroscopic and absorbs water, creating an environment in which disease-producing microorganisms, deprived of their moisture, cannot live.
Soothe a sore throat.
Take one teaspoon of SueBee Honey at bedtime, letting it trickle down your throat.

Cure a hangover.
Honey is a concentrated source of fructose. Eating SueBee Honey on crackers helps your body flush out whatever alcohol remains in the body.

Relieve a cough due to a cold.
Dissolve one tablespoon SueBee Honey and one tablespoon ReaLemon in a small glass of warm water and sip it. For a stronger solution, combine equal parts SueBee Honey and ReaLemon, and take one teaspoon at bedtime. Both mixtures may help loosen phlegm.

Make a bath toy.
Use an empty SueBee honey bear in the bathtub.

Make a glue dispenser.
Fill a SueBee honey bear with Elmer's Glue and tint with food coloring to make colorful glues.
Substitute honey for sugar when cooking.
Use SueBee Honey in place of granulated sugar for up to one-half of the sugar. With experimentation, honey can be substituted for all the sugar in some recipes. For baked goods, add about one-half teaspoon baking soda for each cup of honey used, reduce the amount of liquid in the recipe by one-quarter cup for each cup of honey used, and reduce oven temperature by 25 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent over-browning. For easy removal, spray measuring cup
with PAM No Stick Cooking Spray before adding honey.
Make children sleepy at bedtime and help prevent small children from wetting the bed.
A teaspoon of honey at bedtime will act as a sedative to a child's nervous system and will attract and hold fluid in a child's body during the hours of sleeping. When a child over one-year old is given honey, the blood and tissue calcium begins to increase. The calcium unites with excess phosphorous to form a compound that makes bones, teeth, hair, and fingernails. The sedative effect on the nervous system of a child may be observed within an hour.
Honey should not be fed to infants under one year of age. Honey is a safe and wholesome food for older children and adults.

Help heal erysipelas.
Generously cover the affected area with honey, then cover with cotton for 24 hours. Repeat if necessary.

Chalk
Prevent an ant invasion.
Draw a line of Crayola Chalk around windows and doors outside your home, and around water pipes inside your home. Ants will not cross a chalk line.
Clean ring-around-the-collar.
Mark the stain heavily with white Crayola Chalk. The chalk will absorb the sebum oil that holds in the dirt.
Prevent silverware from tarnishing.
Place a piece of Crayola Chalk in your silver chest to absorb moisture.
Cover spots on white suede.
Rub with Crayola chalk.
Prevent tools from rusting.
Place a few pieces of Crayola Chalk in your toolbox to absorb moisture.
Prevent dampness in a closet.
Tie together a handful of Crayola Chalk and hang the bundle from the clothes rod to absorb moisture.
Prevent a screwdriver from slipping.
Rub Crayola Chalk on the tip.
Polish marble and metal.
Pulverize a few sticks of Crayola Chalk with a mortar and pestle until it is a fine powder. Dip a soft cloth in the powder, wipe the marble or metal, then rinse with clear water, and dry thoroughly.
Fill a hole in a plaster wall.
Insert a piece of Crayola Chalk into the hole, cut it off even with the wall, then plaster.
Repel slugs.
Slugs will not cross a chalk line.
Remove grease.
Rub Crayola Chalk on a grease spot on clothing or table linens, let it absorb the oil, then brush off. Launder as usual.
Draw on sidewalks.
Create games, maps, and adventures.
Prevent costume jewelry from tarnishing.
Place a piece of Crayola Chalk in your jewelry box. Prevent an ant invasion.

Misc
Shampoo is good to release grease out of clothes and carpet . It is much stronger cleaner than we realize.
Stop bleeding while shaving.
Dab on some ChapStick if you nick yourself.

If you have any other interesting tips or uses for normal household items drop me an e-mail