Kitchen Items
Kitchen Counters
- Baking Soda & Water: reclaim by sprinkling with baking soda, scrubbing with a damp cloth/sponge. If you have stains, knead baking soda and water into paste and let set for a while before you remove.
- Also works for stainless steel sinks, cutting boards, containers, refrigerators, oven tops and more.
- Kosher Salt & Water: If you need a tougher abrasive, sprinkle on kosher salt and scrub with a wet cloth/sponge
- Natural Disinfectant: to knock out germs without strong products, mix 2 cups of water, 3 tbsp of liquid soap and 20-30 drops of tea tree oil. Spray or rub on countertops and other kitchen surfaces
Safer Oven Cleaning
- Baking Soda & Water: Coat inside of your dirty appliance with a paste made from water and baking soda. Let stand overnight. Then, don gloves and scour off the grime. Make spotless with a moist cloth.
Clogged Drains
- Baking Soda & Boiling Water: Pour ½ cup of baking soda into problem drain, followed by 2 cups boiling water. If that isn’t doing it, chase the baking soda with ½ cup of vinegar and cover tightly, allowing the vigorous fizzing of the chemical reaction to break up grime. Then flush with a gallon of water.
Silverware
Silver (Keep Sterling Silver Shined)
- Aluminum Foil, Boiling Water, Baking Soda & Salt: Line sink or bucket with aluminum foil and drop in tarnished silver. Pour in boiling water, cup of baking soda and a dash of salt. Let sit for a few minutes. Tarnish will transfer from silver to foil.
- Toothpaste: if you can’t immerse or prefer to polish by hand, rub tarnished silver with toothpaste and a soft cloth. Rinse with warm water and dry. Substitute 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water, instead of toothpaste.
Copper (Bright & Shiny)
- Ketchup: rub pots, pans and accents with ketchup. Rinse off and dry with soft cloth or towel
Windows & Mirrors
- White Vinegar, Water & Newspaper: mix 2 tbsp of white vinegar with a gallon of water and dispense into a used spray bottle. Squirt on, then scrub with newspaper (doesn’t streak like paper towels)
- If you don’t have vinegar or dislike the smell, you can substitute undiluted lemon juice or club soda
