My mom got me 3 really fun books for Christmas this year. I would have included them in my Green Christmas gifts list, but at the time of that post, I had not yet opened our gifts from mom and dad yet.

Heinz Vinegar: Over 100 Helpful Household Hints
Christine Halvorson
Salt: Over 100 Helpful Household Hints
by Christine Halvorson, Bot Roda
Arm and Hammer Baking Soda Over 100 Helpful Household Hints
by Publications International

I really enjoyed reading these books, and one day I got really excited and started cleaning everything with vinegar. Then Christian and I needed to run to the store suddenly. We got into the car and he said something like “Oh man, it STINKS in here!” because I hadn’t washed my hands and the whole car smelled like vinegar! There was some serious vinegar everywhere that day. I couldn’t smell it so much because I have a cold.

What I find funny about these books is that each one basically says THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN’T DO WITH THIS PRODUCT. It’s kind of hilarious. I did try them – some worked and others didn’t. For instance, it doesn’t matter what combination of vinegar and salt and baking sode I put on those stove burner drip catchers, I can’t get the baked-on grease off of those suckers. But vinegar works nicely added to the laundry as softener, and it really cleaned all the stains off one of my very favorite anodized steel sauce pots!