Not Just for Baking

I love baking soda. It is really cool stuff.

First there's what it does with baking - combining with other ingredients to make dough and batter rise and become light and fluffy. It creates the big air bubbles in sourdough, too (mmmmmm....sourdough).

Then there's that science experiment that if you didn't do, some other kid in your class did at some point with a volcano.

You can also use baking soda for health! Dissolve a little in water for an antacid. Women - put a cup in a bath to help balance your vaginal PH (Besides the cool reaction to acidity and vinegar, baking soda's main use is to regulate PH - that's why it's great for cleaning, too) and help soothe yeast infections. Use it to take the sting out of a bee sting.

And cleaning? Why there are dozens of ways to use it for cleaning!! Although there are many more, I wanted to mention the ways that I've been using it frequently in my house. For more you can visit the ARM & HAMMER website, or google "cleaning with baking soda".

One thing I've always done is create a paste to help clean those pans I've seriously burned food onto. I put it on, let it sit for a minute, and voila, I can get that gunk off. I pour some into the sink and use the residual water to scrub and sanitize the sink, too. Then there's those cool fridge/freezer boxes to help deodorise the fridge/freezer and to help stop smelly stuff (pastrami, anyone?) from ruining more delicate flavors (cheese!). And yesterday? I re-created that volcano experiment in my sink (one cup baking soda, one cup vinegar) to clean out my pipes! Mika thought the bubbles were really cool.

Now most of you know I cloth diaper my kids (for the most part, lol). This is what made me start LOVING baking soda. First I sprinkle a little in the bottom of my diaper pails with a little lavender essential oil to absorb smell. (This also helps when cleaning out the pails, which I do about every other wash). If they start to get really smelly before I'm ready to do laundry, I'll sprinkle a little more in with the diapers to help with the smell. Then when I do wash them, I add another cup to the diapers (and actually 1/2 cup to all my laundry) because since the baking soda helps balance the PH balance of the water and boosts the liquid laundry detergent (we have and HE washer) my diapers (and all laundry) gets cleaner, and fresher. And no more diaper rash thanks to it balancing the diaper's PH!

What do YOU use baking soda for in your house?

WWYD?

Since becoming pregnant with Mika, I have been trying to find more natural ways to clean my house. Cheap natural ways to clean my house. For example, I bought a big jug of Simple Green something like two years ago, and it's still half full. (Now, as a disclaimer, I don't use it for everything around the house, and probably don't clean near as often as I should, so it probably won't last you something like 3-4 years)

As the hospitality director of my MOPS group, I have been given the task of taking the white tablecloths home and bleaching them. Well, I don't like bleach. I really don't want it around my family. Especially since my family (specifically Zarik and Urijah) have sensitive respiratory systems and Chlorine Bleach is a respiratory irritant. So now what? I start googling bleach alternatives, of course. (I love google, don't you? Even googled sycamore tree after watching Pocahontas and neither Zarik or I knew exactly what a sycamore tree actually was)

Anyways.

Now I have already washed the tablecloths with 1/2 cup of vinegar, and most of the coffee stains came out! Now I have just a little juice stain and stubborn coffee stain left. Now I come to a crossroads. Passionate Homemaking has some GREAT ideas, and after googling "homemade oxyclean" (again - I ♥ google!) I now have to decide to use the homemade oxyclean, or lemon juice and cream of tarter.

Decisions, decisions. I'll let you know what I decide.