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I have two questions I'm hoping someone can help me with ....
1. Supposedly you should replace the baking soda in your fridge and freezer once a month. I'm wondering if I can effectively use that baking soda for another purpose afterward? Or do I just need to toss it?
2. Basically the same question, but for dryer sheets after they've served their purpose in the dryer. I use Bounce Free & Clear dryer sheets.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Anne
I've actually stopped using dryer sheets/fabric softener and simply throw in one-half cup of baking soda and one-half cup of vinegar with each full load of laundry. The baking soda and vinegar keep my clothes fresh and soft, and I don't have to worry about wasting dryer sheets.
I keep baking soda in one of those confectioner sugar shaker thingies and keep it by the sink. When I clean my pets' water and food dishes, I just sprinkle in the baking soda and clean them out. That way, there's no soapy taste for them. I also sprinkle some in my stainless steel sink and scrub it clean without using "chemicals".
Oh - and I also keep one in the fridge.
I love baking soda. We have it in a bowl in the fridge, once it has stopped doing its magic, it gets used to clean the kitchen sink with white vinegar. Two of my favorite non 7G products.
As for Dryer sheets. I love 7G Free and Clear ones.
http://www.seventhgeneration.com/Dryer-Sheets
I tear the entire box of them in half when I open a new box. They are perforated and it takes just a second. For a large white batch or towels I use 2 halves, for everything else I use 1 halfsie. I leave them in the dryer until they are thin and "done". THEN I save them in a bag in my laundry room, once winter comes we use them as fire starters in our fireplace.
Yes, really. It's something a friend told me about this summer; I tried it and found it to be incredibly successful. Summer temperatures where I live can range from mid-80s to triple digits. One can sweat while lying in bed trying to go to sleep. I have been using a spray crystal deodorant, which works well enough during the cool seasons but cannot do the job in the summer. My friend suggested brushing baking soda under the arms to combat the bacteria that create the body odor. It works!! I spray under my arms, dab the brush there--to create a little moisture to hold the baking soda--then brush. I do not take showers every day but the baking soda keeps me from smelling socially unacceptable.
Economical too.
There are many more ways to reuse baking soda. I wouldnt recommend putting them in your food anymore but as a veggies and fruit washing agent should be fine as long as you rinse well. Also great for cleaning cutting boards and pots and pans. This link has a lot of ideas, so go ahead and take a look. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/baking-soda-uses.html
Whoops, forgot to mention that you deodorize your hands by rubbing the coffee on your moist hands and then rinse.
As for hang drying, you can bring the whole rack indoor with you if you have your a/c or heater on. But of course only if you are there and temperature control is necessary. Most clothing are wrung enough that they won't drip. In case you have some hand washed items, then line a garbage bag with a towel on top directly under that item to prevent slipping from water puddles or damaging the floor.
I also use my baking soda for the drains and cleaning. However, for drains, I would put the baking soda and vinegar in 20 minutes before I strain my boiled pasta/veggies or before my shower so that I will not have to waste clean water.
Also, I would put some onto a dish for the bathroom. Once a day, before stinking up the bathroom, I would sprinkle some around the inside of the toilet bowl, and while flushing after the business is done, I would briefly scrub the bowl with the help of the fresh water coming down. It helps get rid of the unpleasant smell and keeps the bowl clean.
However, as an alternative to deodorizing with baking soda, I prefer used ground coffee together with the filter paper for the refrigerator. Just use a rubber band or clip to close off the top or leave it sitting open in a bowl. Since some of us drink coffee everyday, you can change it everyday and the old one can be used to deodorize your hands after handling fish/garlic/onions (either directly or still in the filter paper) before throwing it out. I am not good with gardening, so not sure if you can throw it into the compost. Otherwise, mix any extra coffee with brown sugar/sea salt and olive/coconut oil for a nice body scrub.
As for the dryer sheets, first of all, I would suggest hang drying as much as possible. I live in humid climate but still find it possible. If you must use the dryer, I have heard that putting a few drops of oil onto a cloth and throwing it in with the drying helps, but never tried it myself.
Wow!! these are really helpful hints!!
I re-use the baking soda from absorbing odors in my fridge and freezer to clean the toilets in the house. I throw a generous amount in the toilet, scrub it around, then use hot vinegar from cleaning the coffee maker to finish the job before flushing.
I am still waiting for a local store to get the SG dryer sheets to try. I used to get the Simple sheets at Walmart which were biodegradable, had no over powering perfume and were great! However I purchased a case so I have not had to buy any recently and I hope they have not discontinued them.
I used biodegradable sheets bought from Walmart but then they discontinued them. UUR. They were amazing and I would just throw them into my compost. Then I used SG softener but it was getting too expensive considering how much laundry I do. Washing for a family of 6 can get expensive. I stopped buying sheets and liquid softener all together. I found dryer balls at Rite Aid for $3 in their dollar value section. Best investment ever! I had static for the first load but none since. I also hang dry my clothes outside so I rarely even use my dryer. But if I do, im covered.
Baking Soda-I wouldnt cook with it after you have had it in your fridge but you can use it to clean anything. You can throw some in your kitty liter, use it with vinegar in your drains, or add it with lemon juice to make a cleaner. It works amazing. Just dont throw it out.
Dryer Sheets-When I was using the dryer sheets, I saved them in a basket. Once I had enough, we would use them to stuff dolls and animals we had sewn. Worked perfectly for little dolls. My daughters would use them for their barbies to have blankets. They even tied one on some string and used it for kitty toys. Get creative. Or just stop using them.
Check out my green blog to get green creative ways to save money. Its a daily blog that is non profit and I do purely out of my heart. Pass it on to everyone you know.
Surviving and thriving on pennies
hannaqueen.blogspot.com
Dryer Sheets- I wonder why people use dryer sheets. I use natural laundry soap. Our clother are soft, they dont smell, and there is no static. Why would you add chemicals to your clothes after using natural soap? Fabric softener does remove soap scum on shower glass doors. The liquid kind might work better than sheets. Something to do with the Ions
Reusing Baking Soda- Cleans grout, sinks, drains, glass in shower helps remove spots with vinager. Vinager and baking soda will clean the whole house. Bleach and most of the "cleaners" should be outlawed.
Instead of using dryer sheets, just take a washcloth or sock, sprinkle a bit of Seventh Generation fabric softener on it, and toss it in the dryer with your clothes. Voila! Totally reusable, no waste.
We use the baking soda left from the fridge to clean the drains in the kitchen and bathroom sink. We pour the box down and then some vinegar and it keeps any grime from building up, it work really well.
I've read somewhere that someone kept the dryer sheets and used it as pillow stuffing! I think it's a great idea!
We reuse baking soda for cleaning also. Works great, especially with a little vinegar.
I have used the balls for over a year now. They do work well to reduce drying time (reduce power usage, hooray) BUT, we live in Richland, Wa and even though we have some humidity here, being 1 block from the river, we have a little of the obnoxious static electricity. The balls work pretty well in the summer, not on anything fleece or nylon though. During the winter they are great for fluffing and reducing drying time but for static they are useless. I just discussed using dryer sheets with my husband last night, which is why I came to 7G to see if they had any. Since they don't, we have decided to use Freddies line and cut them into small squares. A little bit goes a long way and you can extend the life and minimize your impact by cutting them into 2x2 squares or so. I used to do that then decided to give those balls a fair chance (I think a year was plenty, we'll still use them though for fluffing.
We do use vinegar in the wash. Vinegar is a fabric softner through the acid destroying gross stuff that embedded and coated your fibers thus releasing the softness of your fabric. The vinegar smell dissipates when dry leaving behind no smell. IT DOES NOT WORK AS A STATIC CLING AGENT! Entirely different animal. Hope this helped.
The best product I have found for fabric softner is vinegar!! I promise, your clothes won't smell like vinegar, it's cheaper, and clothes come out soft.
I BUY REUSABLE DRYER BALLS THERE ECOFRIENDLY SINCE YOU CAN REUSE THEM I HAVE HAD MINE FOR ABOUT MORE THAN A YEAR AND THEY WORK BETTER SINCE THEY REMOVE STATIC AND FLUFF YOUR CLOTHES BETTER I BOUGHT MINE AT BED BATH AND BEYOND
I use on teaspoon of white vinegar to a cup of water and pour the mixture into the reservoir for the drying agent Dishes come out spotless
I reuse dryer sheets by dabbing them with liquid fabric softener and rubbing it into the sheet. Liquid is much cheaper than the sheets. I haven't noticed any negatives with this.
I also used 7th Generation powdered detergent for the first time and my whites have a new soft whiteness I haven't seen for years. I've tried them all - Tide, Cheer, etc. with no success. I'm just so happy at the age of 75 to have discovered this product. The box of detergent was bent in so was on the discount shelf - I always buy a bargain. Anyway, I highly recommend it.
Bounce dryer sheets are not biodegradable. Until seventh generation comes out with a biodegradable non toxic dryer sheet I believe there are other alternatives to Bounce.
Whole Foods should have one, and I'm pretty sure even Wal-Mart now carries a biodegradable line.
Just seems like a waste to use a product like Seventh Generation to wash clothes and then just add useless toxic chemicals to your clothes in the dryer stage (IMHO)
AE is right - the scrubbing power of the baking soda still works fine. The food odor particles etc. from the fridge will still be in the baking soda, so I wouldn't use it on anything i was going to eat off of without washing it afterwards, but otherwise it should still be useful. I have also used it to help get dried on food off of casserole dishes.
Dryer sheets: They make great chrome cleaners - you can use the old ones to polish up your faucets. Works amazingly well.
Baking soda used in the fridge, in my experience, can be effectively used for odor absorption for longer than just one month, unless you have lots of heavier odors there. It can also be used for cleaning purposes afterwards. I have a huge white shiny-tiled counter and sink, and baking soda along with a gentle bit of elbow grease and soft brush (a toothbrush works fine) will get both the tile and the grout sparkling clean.
I haven't heard of any ways to recycle used dryer sheets, except to wipe off the dryer's lint screen after each dryer load. Helps corral those lint bunnies that like to scoot around the laundry!
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