174 Household Product Hacks to Save Money — and Space

You probably have aluminum foil, Coca-Cola, salt, baking soda, peanut butter, vinegar, Windex and coconut oil in your house. If not, you should. These common household items can save you emergency trips to the store as well as money.

You may never buy bleach, stain remover or furniture polish again!

Our guide to using these common and cheap items can save you time and money, sometimes in surprising ways.

30 Uses for Baking Soda

Opening a little box of baking soda is like opening a money saving treasure chest. There are so many uses for baking soda that you might forget you bought it for baking. Cut flowers will look pretty longer. Kitty litter boxes won’t stink. You might even give up your regular toothpaste.

Baking soda is great for getting rid of odors and getting stains out of laundry. It unclogs drains, tames spicy food, and makes your omelets fluffy. There are still 22 more baking soda tips to discover.

26 Uses for Salt

Salt has many uses beyond flavoring food. Its abrasive nature makes it good for body scrubs but also for scrubbing out stubborn stains. It can even treat dandruff and kill weeds between cracks in your walkway.

We’ve rounded up more than two dozen uses for salt that will make you start buying this miracle mineral in large quantities. Cheap table salt works best for almost any job. Save those pricey sea salt flakes for baking.

25 Uses for Peanut Butter

Most of the uses for peanut butter we think of involve chocolate and dipping. But did you know it gets gum out someone’s hair? And out of the carpet. Find out more uses for peanut butter and you’ll be surprised at how handy this childhood favorite is.

In a pinch, peanut butter can fix squeaky hinges. It can be used as a moisturizer, ice cream cone sealant, and of course giving little Fido or Kitty their pills. Some people like putting it on bread with jelly.

25 Uses for Coconut Oil

There are way more coconut oil uses that will save money and time than you could guess. Refined coconut oil is a healthier oil option in cooking. It’s touted for how good it is for your hair and skin. Did you know it can clean dead bugs off your car?

Coconut oil cleans makeup brushes, soothes skin, polishes furniture, restores leather and scads more. Check out the article for some surprising uses.

24 Uses for Vinegar

We’ve heard about using vinegar as a glass cleaner but didn’t know there were so many other uses for vinegar. We found 24 of them! Vinegar can be used to brighten laundry and replace fabric softener. It cleans our precious coffee makers.

Vinegar is really amazing. Vinegar can remove rust, stand in for eggs in baking (especially helpful right considering the cost of eggs), and battle ant infestations. Pretty great for something so cheap.

We are talking about diluted white vinegar mostly. Save the balsamic for drizzling over tomatoes and fresh mozarella.

21 Uses for Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola has been offering that refreshing fizz on a hot day for more than a century. But there are a whole lot more uses for Coca-Cola than just plain drinking, especially for getting stubborn stains out of tubs, tile grout and even pots and pans.

Cola’s carbonation and phosphoric acid combine to create a powerful household and garden workhorse. In some cases, diet versions can alter the results. But, yes, for these household hacks you can use Pepsi or even a generic cola.

13 Uses for Aluminum Foil

We had no idea that there were so many uses for aluminum foil beyond covering things. Foil to sharpen scissors? Immediately had to try it and yes, it really works. Aluminum foil can be used in the garden, laundry room, and before you go to the nail salon.

Check out this article to learn how aluminum foil might help shine a light when you’re out of batteries or save money off your heating bill.

10 Uses for Windex

You’ll be happy to save money with these various Windex uses, but really, showing off the imaginative ways a couple pumps of glass spray fixes things is part of the fun.

It makes moving heavy furniture easier. Windex gets stains out. It’s an insect repellent. There’s so much this three buck bottle can do — we found 10 household bonuses.

The Penny Hoarder contributor JoEllen Schilke writes on lifestyle and culture topics. She is the former owner of a coffee shop in St.Petersburg, Florida, and has hosted an arts show on WMNF community radio for nearly 30 years. Deputy editor Tiffany Wendeln Connors updated this story.