Eco Tip Tuesday: I Heart Baking Soda

After posting the first edition of Eco Tip Tuesday, a good friend of mine commented that she had swapped her bathroom cleaning agents for baking soda and vinegar thanks to me and my incessant rambling about "going green." Upon hearing this, I decided that baking soda would be the perfect subject for Eco Tip Tuesday, Round Two.

Let me just put this out there: I love baking soda. Like, if I too were a chemical salt, I would totally marry it. Yes, baking soda leavens my baked goods like no other, but let me tell you, her talents go far beyond the oven. Inexpensive, free of toxic chemicals, versatile, and effective, baking soda is the perfect go-to gal for many of your personal care, cleaning, and deodorizing needs.

When I had children, I started to think more about the products I was using in my house. The old stand-by cleaning products that I had come to rely on suddenly started to smell somewhat toxic to me. The long lists of chemical ingredients that I couldn't even pronounce, let alone recognize, began to trouble me. What kind of environment was I creating for my newborn baby in using these products? I was using these things to clean my home, which seems like a healthy endeavor, but was I going about it the wrong way? Was I actually doing more harm than good?

I started doing some research and that research only served to confirm my fears: typical household cleaning agents, such as chlorine bleach, have been linked to cancer and endocrine disorders, as well as immune system, blood, and heart health problems. By using them in my home, I was not only creating toxins on the surfaces we touch and the air we breath, but I was polluting our water and our earth every time I washed it down the drain. This was a burden far heavier than I was willing to bear.

Enter baking soda - hallelujah! I mean, could it get any cheaper? Plus, it's so easy. Literally, all I do is sprinkle the stuff in my bathtub and sink, scrub it a little, and voila! Clean bathroom, no nasty smell, no nasty chemicals, no bathroom cabinet overflowing with crazy ass potions. Turns out, it's got loads of other uses as well. Among them:

1. To polish silver: wash items, then place on aluminum foil in the bottom of a pot. Add a baking soda solution (1/4 cup soda, a few teaspoons salt, 1 quart boiling water) and cover for a few seconds. The result? Magic.
2. To unclog your shower drain: pour 1/2 cup soda, then 1/2 cup vinegar down a clogged drain. Cover it with a wet cloth, wait 5 minutes, uncover, and flush with steaming-hot water. Say goodbye to Drain-o. PLEASE.
3. Toothpaste: if you find you can't squeeze out another dollop, and it's too damn late to go to the store, make do with baking soda and water. Yeah, it might taste like shit, but it'll get the job done.
4. To remove stale odors from carpet, scatter soda on it, wait a few hours, then vacuum up the powder.
5. Place an open box of baking soda in your linen closet to stave off mustiness. Nothing ruins a good shower like a musty towel, am I right?
6. Freshen your dishwasher and coffee maker by running an empty cycle with a splash of baking soda.
7. Heartburn? Make your own antacid by mixing 1/2 teaspoon baking soda with 1/2 cup water.
8. Homemade facial exfoliator: mix 3 parts baking soda with one part water. Apply gently with your fingertips in a circular motion, then rinse.

There are many, many other uses for my beloved baking soda, all of which are at your fingertips with this here crazy new-fangled thang called the internets. So, come on people, ditch the nasty chemicals! Give your health, and your wallet, AND the Earth a break. Go green! See you next week!

*Eco Tip Tuesday General Disclaimer: I am not perfect. Nor do I claim to have all the answers. I'm simply a human being who happens to think this planet we call home is pretty special, worthy of our love and protection. As such, I've made it a personal mission to reduce my negative impact and increase my positive impact on the world. Eco Tip Tuesday is a space for me to share what I've learned. And I am WAY open to feedback. So if you've got something to say, let's talk!