I thought I would do something fun and share some household tips with you all this weekend!  I don't know about you but ever since I've been making my own household cleaners like laundry detergent and dishwasher tabs I've started thinking “outside the box” with some of the regular ingredients in my cupboards!  This week I put together a list of 10 handy uses for baking soda, I hope you enjoy!

10 Handy Uses for Baking Soda

#1 – Car Surface Cleaner: You love your car, right? It gets you from point A to Point B and then back to A again at the end of the day. So naturally, you want the best for your car, so it can get you back to point B the next day. You can keep your car's paint job nice and shiny by making a baking soda paste (There are no specific amounts of powder or water you need, just make sure it's a nice paste) and rubbing it all over your car's dulling paint job. Let the paste sit for 5-15 minutes and then rinse your car off, looks just as good as the day you bought it!

#2 – Mouthwash: Have you checked out the price of oral care products lately?  Easily save a little money by mixing a single tablespoon with half of a tall glass of water, you have some pretty effective mouthwash.

#3 – Skin Exfoliator: You can make a nice exfoliating paste for your skin by mixing 3 parts baking soda with 1 part water. When applying it, you should gently massage it on your skin, getting as much coverage as you want. When you've got it all massaged on, rinse it all off with some warm water.

#4 – Tougher Laundry Detergent: You’ve probably heard about using vinegar to brighten colors in your laundry before, but what can baking soda do? 1/2 a cup mixed in with your detergent makes your detergent work much more effectively, making clothes cleaner and colors brighter. I wouldn't try using baking soda and vinegar in the wash though, pick one or the other 🙂

#5 – Homemade Clay: If you have an artist in the family you can mix some baking soda in with 1 1/4 cups of water and a cup of cornstarch, the result is something quite similar to store-bought modeling clay. Store in an air-tight tin to maximize its shelf life.

#6 – Deodorant: Stick or spray? You don't have to pick either with baking soda; its magnificent quality of being able to make anything smell nice makes it an extremely viable option when choosing deodorant in the morning. No fancy steps at all to doing this: just firmly pat the baking soda under your pits and go about your day.

#7 – Toilet Cleaner: None of us want to do it. Then you remember you have baking soda on your side. Dump roughly a single cup into the toilet bowl and let it sit for about an hour. After that hour has passed, go back and flush the toilet. You'll now have a clean and odorless toilet.

#8 – Deodorize Your Home: Baking soda can deodorize just about anything. You can put an open box in the back of a fridge to keep it smelling fresh and clean or sprinkle some across the bottom of your trash can before you put a new bag.  It is also a great carpet deodorizer just dump it on the carpet let it sit a bit and vacuum it up!

#9 – Relaxing Foot Bath: For a nice foot bath, simply fill a tub with warm water and then add and stir in at least 3 tablespoons of our fine friend, Baking Soda!  I also add a little Epsom salts and essential oils for a nice Mom's night in!

#10 – Treat Insect Bites & Itchy Skin: For insect bites, make a paste out of baking soda and water, and apply it as a salve onto the affected skin. To ease the itch, shake some baking soda into your hand and rub it into damp skin after a bath or shower.

What other uses do you have for baking soda?