Posted by Rachel Schwartz on 2/16/2021 to
Now Ya Cookin'
It's always useful when items can be used for purposes other than their original intent. Whether it be for practical purposes or just an alternative if you find you've run out of something or don't have what you need to accomplish a task, being able to find a suitable substitute in your house is helpful. Surprisingly, a lot of common food items can be used for more than just preparing meals. From polishing surfaces to DIY-ing beauty self-care routines, your kitchen is full of food items that can be used in ways you would never have thought. Here are 15 ways that food items can be put to non-food use.
Flour can be used to polish steel cookware and appliance surfaces. This a trick used by housewives for years. Wash the steel surface that you want tot polish like normal, using soap and water to get it as clean as possible. This can be the sink, refrigerator doors, steel mixing bowl, etc. Make sure to dry the surface completely when finished washing because you then take a dry rag and saturate it with flour before using the rag to scrub the newly cleaned surface. The longer and harder you scrub, the shinier the steel should become. When finished, just give things a quick wipe down with a paper towel or clean rag to remove any excess flour.
Use lemons to get rid of unwanted bugs. Lemons are useful to have on hand as they can be used for more than just cooking. Many insects and other bugs have a strong sense of smell and are particularly sensitive to citric acid, of which lemons have a ton. To keep these guys out of your kitchen or any other area of your home, squeeze or spray lemon juice around your doors and windows. The strong smell should keep them away while giving your home a nice, fresh scent.
Use tea bags to depuff your undereye area. Tea bags are good for reducing any puffiness, redness, swelling, dark circles, pain, and itchiness from your eye area. The symptoms that they relieve depends on the type of tea bag used (green tea, black tea, etc.) but they all can help. After making a cup of tea, instead of throwing out the tea bag, let it cool down until you can comfortably pick it up and then place it over your eyes for 15-20 minutes with the eyes closed. If you want to make a cold compress, place the tea bags in the refrigerator for 10 minutes or so before placing over the eyes.
Use eggs in place of conditioner. If you run out of conditioner, just take a trip to your kitchen to pick up a few eggs before your next shower. Separate the egg yolk from the egg white and add a teaspoon of olive oil or baby oil and a cup of lukewarm water to a bowl with the egg yolk. Whisk the mix together and then use it on your hair like you would a conditioner. After a few minutes, rinse it out and enjoy silky soft hair.
Use ketchup to clean copper and brass pieces. If you only have one or two copper pots, it may not be worth buying a copper polish. Instead, break out the bottle of ketchup from your refrigerator or pantry. Pour some ketchup onto a soft rag and gently rub it into the copper. After a few minutes, rinse it off using warm water.
Make a homemade skin exfoliator using ground coffee. A lot of beauty products use coffee grounds in their products because it acts as a gentle exfoliant and is gentle but abrasive enough to be used on the skin to remove dead skin cells and can temporarily reduce the appearance of cellulite by tightening the skin. To make, mix together a half cup each of coffee grounds, brown sugar, and melted coconut oil. Scrub onto the skin and rinse off.
Use sugar to make your own lip scrub. Lip scrubs are ridiculously easy to make yourself so instead of paying $10 for one at the store, make your own! All you need to d is take some sugar and mix it with a little olive oil and, if you'd like, a few drops of an essential oil of your choice. Then, use just like you would any lip scrub.
Make makeshift fireworks at home. All you need is some sand, sugar, baking soda, and lighter fluid. Simply fill a metal or glass bowl with the sand and douse it with lighter fluid. Then, create a hill using the baking and sugar and set the whole thing on fire. The reactions from the baking soda and sugar should create a long snake-like tube of black stuff that spirals out of the bowl. The reaction can last up to 20 minutes. And voila, homemade firework!
Use oatmeal to soothe irritated skin. If you had chicken pox as a kid and remember taking an oatmeal bath, this is why. Oatmeal contains soothing properties which is why it is a common remedy for chicken pox and acne breakouts. For acne breakouts, cook some oatmeal and once it has cooled to a lukewarm temperature, apply it to the affected areas and let it sit for a few minutes before rinsing it off. If bathing, the oatmeal can be added straight to a bath or put into some panty hose and used to scrub onto the skin.
Use a banana to polish your silver. While silver is pretty to look at, it does tarnish easily and requires routine polishing to keep it shiny. If you've run out of silver polish or can't find any, use a banana peel instead. Add a banana peel and some water to a blender and blend until you have a thick, yellow paste. Then put that paste on your pieces of silver and let it sit for a few minutes before rinsing the paste off. Your silver should be bright and shiny.
Green apples can stop headaches. This is a good trick to know if you or a loved one frequently suffer from headaches. Studies have shown that some people who suffer from headaches or migraines find the smell of green apples to help reduce the severity of their headache to more manageable levels.
Clean your tiles with baking soda. Tiles are durable but the grout holding them together can get gross over time. Try an easy, eco-friendly home remedy to clean your tiles by adding half a cup of baking soda to two gallons of water. Then, scrub your tiles with this mixture and see the grout look like new again.
Use pickle juice to melt ice. If you live in an area that sees snow and ice in the winter and keep pickles in the house, don't throw away the pickle juice! This is also not a bad idea for anyone living in warmer climates where snow and ice are not common but also not unheard of in the winter. Because pickle juice is a briny, salty liquid, it can act as the salt substances frequently used to melt ice and snow in the winter. Just carefully pour out the liquid onto your sidewalk, steps, or other areas you want to defrost when it's icy outside.
Disguise scratched wood surfaces with walnuts. If you have any wood surfaces or hardwood floors, then you'll know that they can collect shallow scratches and nicks over time. To help disguise these small imperfections, take a shelled walnut and rub it over the scratch or nick. The oils in the walnut should help disguise the marks and make them less noticeable.
Avocados can be used as a face mask. In addition to giving us great snacks like avocado toast and chips and guac, avocados are also good for your skin. The natural oils in avocados act as a moisturizer and can help rehydrate your skin and get rid of dry patches. You can make a face mask by simply smashing up and applying it to your face. After a few minutes, rinse it off with warm water like you would any other face mask.
