5 Uncommon Uses for Common Household Products

by Melanie

I don’t know about you but I hate buying things with lots of chemicals in it. For this reason, I generally steer clear of beauty and cleaning products.

In the past few years I’ve found some natural remedies for things that I need. Here are 5 uncommon uses for common household products.

Salt to Remove Blood Stains

A few years ago, I was at a friend’s house and stepped on a piece of glass with my bare foot. We took out the piece of glass, but I was gushing blood on her light-colored couch. Instead of focusing on my pain, I was mortified. I didn’t want my blood to stain her couch! My friend got a wet washcloth and some salt. She put some salt on the stain and started rubbing. To my amazement the blood was coming right out! I was so relieved. The key is to act fast and get water and rub a nice amount of salt on the affected area. And voila!

Coffee Grounds for Cellulite

If you are looking to exfoliate and tighten up your thighs, try using used coffee grounds. Cellulite is essentially pockets of water between fat (I think) and the caffeine helps dehydrate the area and make it look more firm. I usually do this treatment once a week and exfoliate my thighs. Yes, it’s a bit messy, but it works. It is temporary though, it’s not a permanent solution. Exercise and healthy eating should help. 🙂

Baking Soda for Cleaning

You can add water to baking soda and use it as a scrub for cleaning. Easy to make and use, without all the smell.

Olive Oil for Dry Skin

In the winter, my face was perpetually dry. I tried moisturizer and face cream but my skin still looked parched and flaky. I decided to try some olive oil after hearing about the benefits. It did wonders for my skin and made it luminous! If your prone to acne, keep it light. It’s also good for hands and the bottom of your feet.

Turmeric for Teeth Whitening

This one totally blew my mind. I read that turmeric was a great natural teeth whitener. I thought “no way!” How could something so yellow and something that stains nearly everything in sight remove stains from your teeth? I decided to try it. I took a dash of turmeric on my finger and put a little water on it. I applied it to my teeth for 2 minutes. At this point I was freaking out. My teeth were bright yellow. This shit better work, I thought. And it did! My teeth looked whiter and it had removed superficial coffee and wine stains (items I practically live off of). You can do this with a toothbrush instead of your finger but it will stain it!

These are household items I already have in my house so I spent no additional money. I love finding new ways to use things you already have.

What’s your favorite natural remedy?

Melanie
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24 comments

debt debs July 30, 2014 - 4:53 am

Tumeric for teeth! Wow, I never heard of that one. How often do you repeat it Mel?

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Melanie July 30, 2014 - 9:44 am

I usually do it once a month, but might try weekly as I drink a lot of coffee, so best to remove the stains before they actually STAIN you know?

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Laurie @thefrugalfarmer July 30, 2014 - 5:50 am

Interesting about the turmeric!!! LOL, seeing bright yellow teeth would’ve freaked me out too. 🙂 My very fave natural remedy is coconut oil. It’s a superb moisturizer, a great scrub when mixed with white sugar, and a great eye-makeup remover. Like you, we try and keep chemicals to a minimum. It feels so good knowing we’re living more naturally and taking better care of our health.

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Melanie July 30, 2014 - 9:42 am

I gotta try the coconut oil! I never thought about it as makeup remover — so cool!

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Natalie @ Financegirl July 30, 2014 - 6:21 am

I am pinning this to my “Tips” board asap! Love this little secrets, especially salt for blood stains – who knew!

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Melanie July 30, 2014 - 9:41 am

That tip was a lifesaver for me!

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Shannon @ Financially Blonde July 30, 2014 - 6:24 am

Ha ha ha…I love your turmeric story and I would be freaked out about trying it out, but now I want to. I have spent WAY too much money in the past on Crest white strips and would love a different solution.

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Melanie July 30, 2014 - 9:39 am

Lol, I was freaking out. You should try it! Do it once a week to remove coffee and wine stains. 🙂

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Tonya@Budget and the Beach July 30, 2014 - 7:13 am

Coconut oil can be used for a plethora of things too. Love that stuff. I had no idea about the turmeric! Crazy! Another thing I do is homemade sugar scrub. Granted I do buy a Hawaiian scented oil, but I mix that with sugar and lemon and it creates the most heavenly body scrub.

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Melanie July 30, 2014 - 9:37 am

Ooooh that sounds lovely! I want to try it. I need to get on the coconut oil train.

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Kayla @ Shoeaholicnomore July 30, 2014 - 7:20 am

Interesting. I didn’t know about any of these.

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Melanie July 30, 2014 - 9:36 am

Glad you know now! 🙂

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Morgaine July 30, 2014 - 9:36 am

Great tips Melanie! And I agree with Tonya, coconut oil also has a tonne of uses.

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Melanie July 30, 2014 - 9:46 am

Definitely going to try it out!

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E.M. July 30, 2014 - 9:56 am

Thanks for sharing these, I didn’t know about half of them! I’ll definitely have to keep the salt solution in mind. And I really want to try turmeric now…I have used whitening strips in the past, but my teeth are pretty sensitive, so it wasn’t the most pleasant experience.

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Aldo @ MillionDollarNinja July 30, 2014 - 10:12 am

We use baking soda for a lot of our cleaning. We also use vinegar – it smells a little bit but it goes away after a few minutes.

I didn’t know about the turmeric. Are you sure is not an optical illusion? Once you see your teeth so yellow, rinsing out the turmeric might make your teeth seem whiter. heehee Is kind of similar when you wash your face and have white lather on it, your teeth look extra yellow. I’m just joshing; I’ll give it a try.

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Amanda July 30, 2014 - 10:14 am

I’ve been using white vinegar (with hot water and/or baking soda) for years for most of my cleaning needs, because I have cats. It doesn’t always smell the best, but let’s be honest, most of the chemical cleaners don’t either. It works, it’s cheap, and I don’t worry about poising my pets.

I really want to try using coconut oil more 🙂

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Eva July 30, 2014 - 12:11 pm

Great list! I could do better at using natural remedies, but now I really want to try turmeric for teeth whitening because doing it professionally is so expensive!

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Cecilia@thesingledollar July 30, 2014 - 2:57 pm

That turmeric thing is a new one on me. Looking forward to trying that out!

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Lauren July 31, 2014 - 8:43 pm

I had never heard of the coffee for cellulite. Might have to try it out, haha. And salt for blood stains- good to know, because I have a 3 year old who’s been getting some scrapes and cuts outside this summer, and I’m always worried that it might stain her clothes.

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Melanie August 1, 2014 - 9:52 am

Give it a try and report back 🙂

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Louise August 26, 2014 - 5:45 pm

Great post very informative.

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Out of this World Dentistry December 11, 2014 - 9:44 am

Turmeric is the last thing I would have thought of to take the stains off my teeth. My reaction was pretty similar to yours. “This had better work” I was pretty concerned for a while there, but it turned out very well. Thanks for the tip.

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Velma Freeman February 1, 2016 - 2:20 am

These are really great tricks! I am amazed to learn that I can clean blood stains with salt! My youngest son stained the carpet with blood last week and I tried to clean the spots with all kinds of products but I can still see the pale stain. The other tricks are really interesting too! I will definitely try the Turmeric trick!

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