Dear Just Be: I found several bottles of vinegar in my home- can you think of any good uses for it?

Many typical everyday household items have multiple uses and they can be more cost effective than their counterparts. For instance, vinegar can be used as a house and car cleaner, works wonders on tough stains and in your laundry, can help our pets, keeps our bodies healthy inside and out, assists in the garden and of course can be used in our cooking!

CLEANER
1. Tired of buying scouring cleansers? Combine 1/4 cup baking soda with 1 tablespoon liquid detergent and add just enough white distilled vinegar to give it a thick but creamy texture to make your own.

2. Can't get rid of the smell in your kitchen sink? Deodorize the garbage disposal by pouring in 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup hot white distilled vinegar. Let sit for 5 minutes then run hot water down the disposal.

3. Coffee drinkers---Remove stains from coffee and teacups by scrubbing them gently with equal parts of salt (or baking soda) and white distilled vinegar. Rinse clean.

4. Going on a date and want the car to sparkle? Polish your car chrome with full-strength white distilled vinegar on a soft cloth.

5. Tired of winter sticking to your car? Rid the windshield wipers of road grime by wiping them with a white distilled vinegar-soaked cloth.

LAUNDRY
1. Do your clothes stick together? Prevent lint from clinging to clothes by adding 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar to the wash cycle.

2. Have a tough mustard stain? Before washing garment, dab with white distilled vinegar. Attack spaghetti, barbecue, or ketchup stains with a white distilled vinegar and water solution.

3. Forgot that you left wet laundry in the machine and it now smells moldy? Pour a few cups of white distilled vinegar in the machine and wash the clothes in hot water. Then run a normal cycle with detergent.

PETS
1. Does Rex need a doggy bath but you're tired of paying at the pet store? Give your dog a gleaming coat by spraying or rubbing with a solution of 1 cup white distilled vinegar to 1 quart water.

2. Is your dog scratching its ears? Wipe the ears out regularly with a soft cloth dipped in undiluted white distilled vinegar.

3. Is company coming and your worried about the cat box odor? Remove cat litter odor by pouring ½ inch of white distilled vinegar in the empty litter box. Let it stand for 20 minutes, swish it around, then rinse with cold water.

4. Still trying to train your dog not to bark? Stop a dog from barking with a spray bottle filled with equal amounts of water and white distilled vinegar. When the dog barks, spray the vinegar water in its direction but NOT in the face.

HEALTH
1. Dreading spring & summer because of bees and mosquito bites? Stop insect stings and bites from itching by dabbing them with a cotton ball saturated with undiluted white distilled vinegar.

2. Need a quick and easy antiseptic for cuts and scrapes? Use white distilled vinegar as an antiseptic.

3. Tired of paying high prices for specialty mouthwash and teeth whiteners? Eliminate bad breath and whiten your teeth by brushing them once or twice a week with white distilled vinegar.

GARDEN
1. Did you have ant problems in your yard last year? Stop ants from congregating by pouring white distilled vinegar on the area.

2. Have you received flowers? Preserve cut flowers and liven droopy ones by adding 2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar and 1 teaspoon sugar to a quart of water in a vase.

3. Want to spice up your soil that can be sandy or full of clay? Increase the acidity of soil by adding white distilled vinegar to your watering can.

COOKING
1. Are you grilling tonight? Tenderize meat with white distilled vinegar. Use it in marinades or when slow cooking any tough, inexpensive cuts of meat.

2. How about eggs for breakfast? When poaching eggs, add a little white distilled vinegar to the water. The whites stay better formed.

3. Can't eat your vegetables fast enough? Freshen wilted vegetables by soaking them in cold water containing a spoonful or two of white distilled vinegar.

4. How does Italian sound? Make pasta less sticky and reduce some of its starch. Add just a dash of white distilled vinegar to the water as it cooks.