Sunday Tips - Why I Love Baking Soda and White Vinegar

**updated at the bottom with two other uses I forgot!**

I'm all about the cheap, y'all. I look for ways to reuse things or get discounts on items we need or use household products in ways that others might not. 

Two of those items are baking soda and white vinegar. 

Years ago, back when I was dating The Husband, I read about people who washed their hair with baking soda instead of shampoo. It was said that this was a healthier option because, unlike shampoo, which strips your hair of oil (therefore telling your scalp to produce more), the baking soda simply cleans the hair and scalp. It took several weeks for my hair to get used to it, but I've been so pleased with the results. I only wash my hair once every 5 or so days once I've straightened it because it gets oily around the 5th day. If my hair is curly, and I've put product in it to contain the frizz, then I wash it every other night (sometimes every night if it's gotten knotted). 

I mix one tablespoon of baking soda with one cup of warm water in an old squeeze bottle. I wet my hair, squeeze just enough onto my scalp to start scrubbing, work it through my hair until I get it feeling soft, and then I rinse. Basically, I use it just like I would a dollop of shampoo. 

As a conditioner I use a spray bottle with half water and half white vinegar. I spray it on, comb it through, clip it up, and let it sit for a minute or two while I wash my body. Then, I rinse it out and spray in a leave-in conditioner. Clean, conditioned, and done on the cheap. :) 

Because I trusted it on my hair, I decided when Jack was little to use baking soda in his bath water instead of soap, which has tons of chemicals. He had/has sensitive skin, as does Ella, so soap just isn't great for them. But, baking soda sprinkled in warm bath water with a big spoonful of coconut oil mixed in sure does the trick at keeping them clean and keeping their skin less irritated and more moisturized!

Another use I've found for white vinegar is in our laundry. It softens and removes stinky smells in a most fabulous way (especially my loads of cloth diapers!). I use it instead of fabric softener. I haven't purchased fabric softener in over 5 years. I pour in my detergent, add my clothes, then pour in half a cup to a cup of white vinegar. Voila!

The other day, I found a neat experiment/learning-time activity to try out with Jack. It required baking soda, white vinegar, food coloring, and a medicine dropper. I didn't have a dropper, but my mom found one. Yay!

We tried it out this morning before church, and it was fun! It was also a great fine motor strengthening activity. We're getting those fingers strong for learning to write beautifully in a few years :)

The Bestie told me a few days ago that she cleans and deodorizes her sink drains with a mixture of those two, so I tried it out. So neat! I sprinkled baking soda all around the rim of the drain and over the drain hole. I pour half a cup of vinegar over it and let it do its thing. Once it stopped fizzing, I rinsed it all with hot water. This morning, after our experiment ended, I used the leftovers to clean the drain. No point in wasting all that baking soda and vinegar! Jack watched as the (colorful!) ingredients fizzed and cleaned the sink. 

A final thing I use white vinegar for is scrubbing my shower. I have a scrub brush that holds liquid. I mix half blue Dawn liquid soap and half white vinegar. After I've showered, while still in the tub, I use the scrub brush on the tub and shower curtain liner. It works well, and I'm not having to use a chemical spray with a strong odor. 

Fantastic. And cheap :)

So, there's my cheap tips for the day. Do you use either for anything else around you house?

**I totally forgot about these two!

* I use a half and half mixture of vinegar and olive oil in a spray bottle for furniture polish. It's awesome. 

* I also use a cup of vinegar in a pot filled with cold water to clean my fresh fruit.