Hey, this is part of my never-ending quest to find stuff that you can really use – around your house, or to wear, or to, well, even clean stuff.
I knew about baking soda and vinegar already – but salt? Who knew? Well I recently found a super useful article on 46 Smart Uses For Salt!
Ordinary, Everyday, Super-Useful Salt
Here’s a sample of how you can use salt (and avoid Overhyped, Overcommercial, Overtoxic Other Store Bought Products):
Most of us use lemon or vinegar to stop peeled apples and pears from browning, but you can also drop them in lightly salted water to help them keep their color. (I tried this – it just takes a little!)
Ouch? Immediately dampen area and pack on a small pile of salt to reduce pain and swelling. (Supposed to help with mosquito bites, too. TOTALLY worth trying.)
Keep a box of salt near your stove and oven, and if a grease fire flares up, douse the flames with salt. (Okay, we all knew that one, right? and keep a full container of salt right near the stove – right?)
Use salt in the final laundry rinse to prevent clothes from freezing if you use an outdoor clothes line in the winter. (I mean, this makes sense when you think about it – but since I’ve only tried drying clothes outside in the summer, I hadn’t thought it through.)
To fill nail holes, fix chips or other small dings in white sheet-rock or plaster walls, mix 2 tablespoons salt and 2 tablespoons cornstarch, then add enough water (about 5 teaspoons) to make a thick paste. Use the paste to fill the holes. (An alternative to the toothpaste trick. Better? I don’t know. But worth trying!)
Giving credit where it’s (totally) due – here’s a link to the original post over on Yahoo Green! There are lots more good tips for all kinds of uses.
Salt is cheap – it’s one thing we’ve got a lot of on this planet! And it’s eco-friendly. And it works (at least one the ones I’ve already tried – which makes me think it really does work as advertised here!)
And did I mention, cheap?
