Happy Autumn, friends! Perhaps most people are singing the praises of apple cider vinegar right about now, but this post is all about classic white vinegar. A fantastic, multi-purpose solution for many of our household needs! We ran out of vinegar in September and were thrilled to find that our local refillery, the Nada Shop, had bulk vinegar available. We brought our empty plastic jug and refilled it for the same price as your typical name brand vinegar at the grocery store. This easy plastic reduction has us grinning from ear to ear!

Perhaps you’re wondering if we were charged for the weight of the jug? Nope! Refilleries weigh your empty vessel first and subtract out that weight before charging you. This is known as identifying the tare weight. If you want to learn more about how to shop in bulk with your own containers, at refilleries or grocery stores, check out our blog post on the topic. It’s easier than it may seem!

Three Ways to Clean with Vinegar

You may be wondering what we use vinegar for around our house. There are nearly endless ways, but here are a few of our most common:

• Multi-purpose cleanser – you can clean most surfaces with vinegar. It’s great for cleaning up general messes, and it kills bacteria and mold. You may have noticed that vinegar has a strong smell, but fortunately it won’t leave an odor once it’s dry. There is a fun and easy solution to the natural odor though, citrus infusion! Save some citrus peels and soak them in the vinegar for about 2 weeks. And then, voila! Citrus scented cleanser. Just remove the peels and pour the vinegar into your favorite spray bottle. Glass bottles are excellent, but you can also use an empty plastic one that you may already have on hand.
  • Friendly tip: don’t use vinegar to clean marble or granite as it can damage the finish.
• Water spot remover – vinegar is great for removing hard water stains from your shower door. Best if used before the spots get too bad!
• Laundry disinfectant – vinegar is an excellent disinfectant and odor remover. For particularly dirty/stinky laundry you can add a bit of vinegar to the washer! Or if your towels feel a bit stiff or smell musty, put some vinegar into the next load to freshen them up.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes ways to use vinegar around the house. In fact this Better Homes and Gardens article claims to tell you how to clean all home surfaces with vinegar!

Simplifying Your Life

Using vinegar is a simple way to reduce the number of cleaning products that you purchase. Most of us have grown up believing that we need multiple, highly specific cleaning products to have a clean home, but really, you can clean most things with vinegar and hot water!

I hope that learning more about the many uses of vinegar helps you simplify your cleaning routine and declutter your stash of cleansers. Better for the planet and better for you – no yucky chemicals for you, my friends!

xo, Nicole