Keeping a well-stocked food pantry isn’t just beneficial to your cooking, it can also help in cleaning and other domestic uses. Here are six common food pantry items that you can easily use to do many other things with that aren’t food related.
1. Baking Soda
Baking soda is a wonder ingredient when it comes to the home. Well known as a non-toxic cleaning agent, it’s often used as an odor neutralizer. You can also use it to make your own toothpaste and as a freshener when you wash clothes and linens. Coffee and tea stained all of your mugs? Wash them with baking soda, or soak them overnight.
2. Coffee
Don’t get rid of those coffee grounds; they improve your compost, give you shiny hair and even help to exfoliate your skin. You can easily make your own exfoliating scrub by mixing a tablespoon of coffee grounds with half a tablespoon of olive oil. For an invigorating touch, add in a drop of your favorite essential oil.
3. Vinegar
If you’re looking for a natural hair conditioner, look no further than your pantry for apple cider vinegar, which you can use as a rinse for your hair. White vinegar works well as a fabric softener and is also commonly used as a non-toxic cleaner around the home. Just use a half water/half vinegar solution to clean down surfaces.
4. Olive Oil
Besides being an excellent addition to food, olive oil has a multitude of uses. It works as a natural eye makeup remover, shoe polish and even bath oil. You can also use it if you’re out of your usual skin moisturizer.
5. Salt
You can use salt to clean out grease stains in the oven, and it also helps to soothe bee stings as well as canker sores and sore throats. Because of its texture, it also works well as an exfoliant. Massage a mixture of salt and olive oil into your skin, leave it on for a few minutes and then wash it off for skin that feels fresh, clean and invigorated.
6. Honey
You can use honey to make your own lip balm. And because it has antiseptic qualities, you can use it to clean cuts and scrapes. It also works well as a moisturizer, which you can easily make at home by mixing a spoonful of honey with two tablespoons of warm water and massaging the mixture into your skin. And it’s nature energy boost. Try a spoonful of honey if you’re lagging.
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Image: Johnny Hughes