When it comes to beauty, cleaning and healing, there are a few multi purpose items that I just love!!  To be honest, for the longest time I never even realized that you could use one product for literally dozens of uses. Now I have know about these things, I literally use all of them daily around here. Plus it makes me feel kinda crunchy too. so yeah, that’s good. Best of all, they aren’t expensive, they are easy to find and they have even more uses than the ones I mention. Who knew?

Baking Soda

An item with almost unlimited uses, baking soda is great for cleaning and absorbing odor.  I use it daily for cleaning that requires a mild abrasive – like my  stove tops, my post and pans (don’t ask) and my refrigerator door and tub, just to mention a few things.

If you’re out of toothpaste or want a little whitening of light surface stains, use baking soda. But be gentle! My gums can’t handle too much abrasion and it can cause gum recession if used too often. Try it a few times a month.

DIYers know that baking soda is an ingredient in homemade bath bombs too.

I also pour baking soda in jars and stand them around my basement, where they absorb humidity and odors (you know basements), not to mention I have 3 litter boxes there. Try it near your litter boxes if you have cats! I mix a few drops of NYR Organic essential oils into mine.

Need a little facial exfoliation but don’t have a scrub around? Baking soda works. Just mix a little with water and gently buff your skin. This is good on dry elbows and knees too. I’ve done it when I run out of my NYR scrubs.

If anyone in the fam gets stung by a bee, mix it with water to form a thick paste and just pack it on the affected area.Yeah it’ll be a mess but the stinging goes away faster.  It seemed to work well for my son. I read you can use it on mosquito bites too.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Used for thousands of years as a health tonic and often claimed to be a “miracle product,” apple cider vinegar is pretty fascinating when you read about it. I’m not talking dollar store ACV.  Get a good organic one, like Bragg’s.

Simply mix ACV with water for a health drink when can  soothe an upset stomach, help get rid of hiccups, soothe sore throats, break up the mucous in the body and promote nasal draining. Drinking it daily supposedly helps proper PH in the body and can possibly lower chance of infection. Who knew?  All I know is that I HATE the taste so I buy the Bragg’s pre-made drink with cinnamon. I try to drink it daily that way. But if a sore throat or cold strikes, I do mix a table spoon straight into tea.

Another crazy use is that an apple cider vinegar rinse can remove build up in hair and add shine.  ACV on a cotton ball rubbed onto skin can help reduce inflammation and prevent further break outs of psoriasis. Anyone ever try this?  You can also add a teaspoon to a foot soak, to soothe tired feet. And it’s GOT to kill germs too right?

Epsom Salt

Epsom salt is amazing to replenish natural magnesium levels in our bodies. So much info is written about nowadays that many people may be magnesium deficient. While you can take magnesium orally or use a topical spray like ancient minerals ( I do both), if you take baths, just adding epsom salt is an inexpensive and easy way to get your mag and help relax your muscles (and mind).

You can make a simple scrub using epsom salt and oil and use it in the shower for glowing skin.

Sea Salt

Not only does salt make food taste better, it makes an excellent gargle to soothe sore throats. I do this with all my kids and myself if our throats hurt and I swear it works.

Gargle 3 times a day!

I also use a salt water rinse when my children lost teeth to clean out the “hole” and disinfect the area.

Salt can also be used to make homemade body scrubs, much like sugar, to slough away dead skin and leave you glowing. And in case you’re wondering, if you burn the crap out of pretty much every dinner, like me, salt makes an excellent pot scrub (as does baking soda).  I should have taken stock in baking soda and salt. Imagine that? Stock in the natural element found in the ocean! Go me.