Not Just Lemonade With Lemons
Simple household items can have some pretty surprising uses, as the folks at Real Simple magazine reveal in their April issue.
The magazine found 101 uses for ten everyday items. Kris Connell visits The Early Show to share a handful of Real Simple's discoveries.
"Take a look around you - in your refrigerator, pantry, or junk drawer - and you'll find 10 familiar items that can easily do at least 10 things you're not currently using them for," the magazine proclaims.
Lemons
Lemon juice is the strongest food acid found in kitchens, which makes life unbearable for most bacteria.
- Sanitize a chopping block: Wooden cutting boards and chopping blocks tend to hold onto bacteria from raw chicken and other foods. Simply run a slice of lemon over the wood to disinfect. As an added bonus, lemon juice can also erase those pesky stains that tomato sauce, carrots and other foods leave behind on your chopping block. Allow the juice to sit on the stain for about 20 minutes and rinse.
- Brighten laundry whites: Who needs bleach when you have lemon juice? While lemon juice is not as strong as bleach, it can help brighten your grimy whites. Add 1/2 cup lemon juice to the wash cycle of a normal-sized load.
- Decorate on the cheap: A glass bowl full of lemons makes a cheerful and simply sophisticated centerpiece or other decoration. Connell does this all the time herself - it's inexpensive, and it's easy to pick up your table decorations while shopping for dinner. Of course, there's no need to limit yourself to lemons. Limes, Granny Smith apples and other fruits also look nice.
Baking Soda
If we all remembered high school chemistry class a little better, we would not be surprised by the power of baking soda, that is, sodium bicarbonate. A chemical reaction actually turns baking soda into SOAP when it meets grease, making it a fantastic cleansing agent. As a matter of fact, more than 100 tons of baking soda was used to clean the interior of the Statue of Liberty during her 1986 restoration.
- Scrub pans: Sprinkle soda on crusted casseroles and roasting pans and let sit for five minutes. Scrub and rinse. Baking soda won't scratch your pots and pans.
- Erase marks from painted surfaces: If your child has take a crayon or pencil to the walls, or your baseboards are scuffed up from shoes and furniture, baking soda can help. Sprinkle the soda on a damp sponge, rub until clean and rinse.
- Exfoliate your skin: Wash your face, then apply a paste of three parts baking soda to one part water. Massage gently into skin, avoiding the eye area. Rinse clean.
Coffee Filters
Coffee filters are made of longer fibers than other papers, which prevents them from crumpling or dissolving in water. Their strength and softness make them incredibly useful around the house.
- Diffuse the flash of a camera: When you're taking a close-up, soften the bright flash by holding a coffee filter over the flash. Professional photographers have specially-designed tools that serve this purpose, but there's no need to spend the money on this. Simply reach into the pantry.
- Strain wine: You don't have to "drink around the cork" when a wine cork crumbles into your bottle. Place a coffee filter over a carafe or pitcher and slowly pour the wine into the vessel. The filter will neatly capture all the cork pieces. And hey - wine always tastes better once decanted, right?
- Protect your china: Prevent scuffs and scratches on your fine china by placing flattened coffee filters between stacked dishes.