How to Save Money and Stay Healthy in a Clunky Economy

Baking soda will bring world peace. The economy’s crummy. Money’s tight. Here are some healthy ways to spread your dollars: 1. Use Baking Soda for Everything. Seriously. — It wasn’t long ago that people used baking soda for everything around the house. And I mean everything. Then devilish marketers arrived on the scene and sold us on supposedly higher power, often highly toxic, and way more expensive substitutes. But baking soda has all the power you need — and best of all, it’s natural, nontoxic and cheap, cheap, cheap! Here are a small fraction of the many uses for baking soda:

Clean countertops, sinks, bathtubs, and crusty dishes — Baking soda is mildly abrasive and, with a bit of water, dissolves grease and dirt. Keep a cup filled with baking soda by the kitchen and bathroom sinks so it’s always handy. (Consider buying aluminum-free baking soda for the hot bath and for baking.) Clean yourself — Baking soda cleans hands and nails and softens cuticles. Again put a dish filled with baking soda near the sink and use as hand soap. Or dip a nail brush into the bowl and scrub away that post-gardening grit. Add a cup of baking soda to your next bath, too. It softens the skin and helps detoxify. Get Beautiful — Mix 3 parts baking soda with one part water and it becomes an exfoliating face scrub. Also use on elbows to remove rough skin. Wash the Dog — Sprinkle some on Fido, rub in with your hands, then brush well. He’ll have that new dog smell all over again. Remove Little Sally’s permanent marker art mural — mix baking soda with toothpaste and watch the magic. Check out this real life test run captured on video.

2. Discover Borax — A mineral compound, borax is a natural, nontoxic every powder (much like baking soda). It works as a water softener when added to the laundry; its great for hand-washing delicates; it’s safe for washing cloth diapers; it’s the best toilet bowl cleaner I’ve stumbled across; it keeps the garbage pail smelling fresh (add a couple tablespoosn to the bottom of the pail); and it makes a great carpet stain remover: blot up whatever’s spilled, sprinkle Borax over the remaining stain, let dry and then vacuum up. The stain — and smell — disappears. A big box of borax retails at Target for around $2.69, give or take a dime. 3. Try vinegar — Another nontoxic household cleaner, vinegar removes mold from grout and plastic shower curtains. Mix it with water to make glass cleaner and then use crumpled newspapers to wash the windows (though don’t use the newspaper on, say, the TV screen). Newspaper is the best cloth you’ll ever use on your windows — no streaks, perfect shine. I know it seems counterintuitive at first, but you will be blown away by the difference. I guarantee. 4. Buy in bulk — At most supermarkets these days, you can buy food such as beans, seeds, rice, oatmeal, flour, grains, pasta and much, much more in bulk. Buying in bulk saves money and packaging. With bulk, you can buy only as many almonds as the recipe calls for and/or as much quinoa as you want so when you want to whip some up for under a stir-fry, you always have some on hand. 5. Improvise — Craft the things you need on your own, MacGyver-style. I’ve been collecting past-dated socks, stuffing them with table scraps, tying them in knots and, voila! Insta-dog toy! Or take an old, needs-to-be-recycled t-shirt, cut it into strips, braid it, and you’ve got another couple hours of doggy entertainment at the low, low price of zero dollars (dog toys at the store can cost up to $20 or more). Dog toys aren’t the only things that can be improvised. Look around at what you have, assess what you need, and see what you can devise! 6. Shop for local food and wares — Products that travel less distance to reach you are less dependent on the skyrocketing price of gas. See the recent EL article on how to shop for all things local. 7. Wash your clothes on cold, and lay off your dryer — I feel like it’s my god-given right as an American to use my dryer. Ahem. But that’s just the magic that marketing has worked on my poor, susceptible brain. Not only is the dryer really harsh on all my clothes, it costs A LOT to run. You’ll save on electricity by using an old-fashioned drying rack or an outdoor clothesline. Running the washing machine on hot is also a huge energy gobbler. Wash on cold and you’ll notice the difference when you get your electricity bill.