What Every House Should Have

Before I write this, let me say that my house is not the cleanest on the block, but as a working mom of two I do try my best to keep it within reason. And since I also have two children, I'm always trying to save a little extra on cleaning supplies, and extra concerned about safety of my materials.

With that being said, I will now share with you all the three things that I have found to work miracles in my home, every time (one of which was even taught to us in the costuming department at Disney). Let me also say, that none of these three things comes with a recipe to make cleaning solutions (Krystal is the guru at that!), but that individually they do a pretty darn good job in a pinch.

The first must have is apple cider vinegar. While having this on hand my seem like a no brainer, it can be used for more than cleaning windows and what not. For instance, Disney taught us that between 1/8 and 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar thrown into the wash could alleviate the sweat smell from gym clothes (or costumes worn several times a day), and the sweat rings left around neck and arm lines. I know a lot of you are probably concerned about the smell that is then on your gym clothes... All I can say, is that though you will have a hint of vinegar, it's much better than eau de sweat! Also, after one or two more washes the smell goes away completely.

Next on the list is toothpaste. I know Krystal has already preached its virtues on being able to clean a stove top, but did you know that it can get stains out of pretty much anything that has a porous surface? Because the toothpaste is meant to deep clean our teeth and soak in, it can do the same for grout, granite, and oddly enough Kool Aid stains. I don't know about you, but as a kid I hated the stain above my lip from drinking Kool Aid. One day I found out that by putting some toothpaste on the stain for about 3 minutes, and then washing off with water, will take that all away!

And, finally, I feel every home should have a jar of salt handy at all times. The reason being is that salt is an absorbent. If you spill something on the carpet that you need out quickly, pour salt on it. Pet has an accident, and you realize you ran out of carpet cleaner, pour some salt on it, then scrape up the salt and apply some apple cider vinegar, and blot dry with a towel. The final good point to salt is that it can also be used to scrub things. For example, I've had pots with things severely burned on the bottom, I'm simply filled them with water and salt, and let boil for a few minutes before scrubbing away again. Need the bottom of your sink to shine? First wash, then take a scrubber with salt over it, and rinse!

I hope these little tips help. They're not only money savers, but are also very versatile and safe to use around anyone!