20 Household Uses for Food ...

Baking soda or powder is one of those commodities that will feature more than once in this list of household uses for food. Put some baking soda in with your laundry and it will make your whites appear much whiter!

To avoid scratching your dishes, secure a dish cloth around a handful of coffee granules with a rubber band. You can then use it in place of a sponge to scrub your crockery and pans without worrying about scratching.

Cleaning the microwave generally appears on lists like these and various food alternatives to chemical products are often touted as good microwave cleaners. Green tea is one of those alternatives. Steep some green tea leaves in boiling water and when cooled, use it with a sponge to clean your microwave. You can use it inside and out.

One of the most versatile foods with alternative uses is vinegar. You can use vinegar to remove the tannin stained insides of mugs and cups. Just add vinegar and some baking soda (or cream of tartar), leave overnight and wash them in the morning; they’ll look as good as new.

Similar to the microwave suggestion, you can clean your oven using a mixture of baking soda and vinegar. It’s much cheaper than using expensive cleaners!

How annoying is it that you have a squeaky hinge and you have to buy a can of oil only to use it once and then it sits in the basement or garage for the next 10 years? Reach instead for the olive oil. It’s a cheap, odor-free and efficient lubricant.

I find some of these household uses for food a bit scary, because if they can do these things then what are they doing to our insides? Apparently, you can polish your kitchen pots and saucepans using ketchup – it will remove any stains and discolored areas.

When your chopping board gets smelly from garlic, chili et al, you can soak it in coffee to remove the odor.

Ants dislike turmeric, so if you find yourself battling ants you can use turmeric instead of insect killer.

Foods with alternative uses can also join forces with other foodstuffs. Bay leaves can deter bugs like weevils and silverfish making homes among your dry goods like flours and lentils.

White vinegar does the same job as fabric conditioner, other than adding in those “all natural aromas” which are in fact all chemically produced.

I’ve already mentioned that olive oil is one of the foods with uses around the home and here’s another. If the zippers on clothes are stuck, use some olive oil to grease the teeth – it should pull as good as new.

Cut a lemon in half, rub it in some coarse salt and then use it to clean a variety of things – porcelain, pots and pans and your sink. Cheap and easy, and uses up the leftover lemons you have.

One of the handy household uses for food that isn’t widely known is using bread to pick up broken glass. Use a slice to wipe areas where the glass broke and it will pick up the tiny fragments you might not be able to see.

Use old newspapers soaked in some vinegar to clean your windows and mirrors if you want a streak-free finish.

Rub a few drops of olive oil into leather shoes, handbags, jackets and even baseball mitts to preserve the leather and keep it nice and supple.

Vinegar is indeed a heavyweight when it comes to alternative uses for food. Thanks to its degreasing and antiseptic properties, just mixing it with water makes it an excellent all-purpose cleaner that can be used on countertops, sinks and floors .

Even our pets can benefit from multi-tasking foods. Washing your dog’s coat using corn starch will remove the grease and leave their coat nice and shiny after you brush it out.

I love this suggestion because along with slices of cucumber, us girls have been known to use used tea bags to soothe puffy eyes. So, it seems logical that if your dog’s eyes have tearstains, you can use some soaked tea bags to freshen them up. (Now all I need is someone to tell me how to get the dog to lie still with tea bags on his eyes!)

I wouldn’t recommend doing this in the house because you don’t really want to be spraying cooking oil around, but it’s a great suggestion for picnics and alfresco eating. If you’re plagued by a wasp or fly, squirt it with some cooking oil from a spray bottle. The oil clogs their wings and inhibits their ability to fly.

I have to say I’m yet to be convinced by all these household uses for food, but I have collected these tips from various sources who are genuinely thought of as “experts.” I guess you can only try and discover for yourself. Do you have any tips to share?