Why buy a new gadget or chemical when something you have in the kitchen will do just as well? Lifehacker listed ten of their favorite kitchen repurposing tricks. For example, I get plenty of Kool-Aid splashed in the dishwasher, but I didn't know the lemon flavor (without the sugar) can be a cleaning agent.
Link -via Interesting Pile
It kind of makes one concerned about the thought of actually drinking something like Kool-Aid lemonade, but the citric acid in one drink packet is enough to clean the lime stains and calcium deposits that build up over time in the dishwasher.
Link -via Interesting Pile
Uno Chicago pizza anyone?
I've got 5 cats. 5 indoor-only cats. So I have several litter boxes and do a lot of scooping. I go through a lot of litter.
Now if you've got cats too, you've no doubt seen that really, REALLY expensive litter made of corn. It's called World's Best Cat Litter. Read the package and see how they say it's better than clumping clay, it doesn't last for years in the landfills, it's a renewable resource since it's not mined, etc., etc. That all sounds nice but at a dollar a pound it's FRICKIN EXPENSIVE stuff just for your cats to crap on.
You know what that litter really is? CHICKEN FEED. Really. I'm not kidding.
I get a 50# bag of non-medicated chick starter feed for about $13 and put that in my litter boxes. Since it's less dense than clay, 50# of chick starter replaces about 80# of clumping clay, thus making it even cheaper than store-brand litter. One of my cats is an eat-anything dork though, so I mix in a little clumping clay with the feed to keep him from eating the stuff. That will also help prevent grain mites from hatching in the feed when you store it in a warm place.
Actually, my parents tried it. It didn't work very well, so then we had half a jar of Tang hanging out the cupboard for years.