A Natural Remedy Hidden in your Pantry

You probably already know that Coconut Oil is a fantastic natural remedy that you can use for almost anything. But chances are you have another great natural remedy lurking in your pantry that you didn’t know about and aren’t taken full advantage of. Baking Soda. It’s one of the least expensive natural remedies out there and for some reason it’s not in most peoples medicine cabinets. After you find out all the amazing things you can do with it you’ll probably want to go stock up. Just like you stocked up on Coconut oil because it’s so amazing.

Heart burn. Baking soda will immedietley neutralize acid and can even help with ulcer pain. Mix 1-2 teaspoons in a full glass of water and drink.

Bug Bites, itchy raches or poison ivy. I like to make a paste of coconut oil and baking soda to put on any bug bites, it helps stop the itching quickly. You can also just put baking soda right on the itch if you don’t want to make the paste.

Splinter removal. The inside of a banana peel placed on a splinter works great for extracting them but if you don’t have a banana on hand you can use baking soda instead. Mix a tablespoon of baking soda to a very small glass of water and soak the area with the splinter twice a day, most splinters will come out on their own after a day or two of soaking it.

Deodorant. If you’re trying to go natural and avoid toxins and aluminum in conventional deoderant you can either try a natural brand or make your own. Just make a simple paste of baking soda and a touch of water (or coconut oil!) and use as deoderant.

Sunburns. For quick sunburn relief soak in a lukewarm tub with at least half a cup of baking soda, when you get out let yourself air dry instead of toweling off the extra baking soda and then of course oil yourself up with coconut oil.

Exfoliate. Exfoliators are usually pretty expensive but this is a great make it yourself one that is gentle enough to use on your face and you can use it every day. Just mix 3 parts baking soda to one part water and exfoliate as you would with the $30 exfloiator thats hidden at the bottom of your bathroom drawer.

Muscle Soothing and Detoxing Bath. Just add some baking soda and apple cider to your bath tub to help soothe sore muscles.

Mouthwash. Since baking soda is great at neutralizing odors (we all know how good it works because we have an open box of baking soda in our frideges to help neutralize odor right?) its better than your conventional mouthwash because it doesn’t just cover up the smell of your garlic it neutralizes it. Just mix one teaspoon of baking soda in half a glass of water, rinse and spit.

Neutralize Odor and Clean Hands. No one like the lingering smell of garlic or onions after cooking and as much as you scrub with soap it doesn’t seem to go away. Make a paste of 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water or 3 parts baking soda to 1 part hand soap, wash your hands and rinse.

Clean Fruits and Veggies. Just sprinkle a little on a sponge to help with the residue off your produce (notice I said residue not pesticides. No amount of cleaning or scrubbing will get rid of pesticides so make sure you buy organic whenever possible or at the very least buy organic from the dirty dozen).

Deodorize Anything.  Sprinkle it in your sneakers, on your childs stuffed animals, in the garbage disposal, on your sofa, in your car or just about anywhere else to neutralize odors. When Wally and Daphne lived with us I used to mix (a lot!) of baking soda with a few drops of sweet orange essential oil (because I liked the smell, you can use any essential oil smell you like), and heavily cover the carpets with it to get rid of puppy smell. Goodness I miss those puppies.

Baking Soda is also great for cleaning just about anything from the tub to the oven. What else do you use baking soda for that we might not have thought of? Are there any other favorite household staples that you use in different ways? The more chemicals we can get rid of the better.