Filed under: Consumer Goods, Food & Beverage, How to Save Money, Products
I'm not a big drinker. I like a lemon martini once in a while, but it takes me years to drink through a bottle of vodka. So instead of thinking of excuses to celebrate, I add the leftover liquor to a spray bottle and use it to help with a variety of household chores.
Of course, I don't wash windows with Ciroc; I use the cheap stuff that costs $9 for 750 milliliters. Then, for big jobs like windows, I make a 1:1 solution with water that yields about 50 ounces of cleaning solution that costs roughly 18 cents an ounce.
Granted, other cleaners are cheaper; Windex, for instance, cleans windows for about 12 cents an ounce. But Windex won't get the cat stink out of my carpet; for that, I'd have to buy another product, like Febreze, which costs about 24 cents an ounce. I could spend $30 on all the different products that do the same household jobs as one bottle of vodka.
Here are the jobs that straight or diluted vodka will do, and the products the liquor can replace. (Prices come from Walmart.com.)
- Shine windows. Dilute vodka with water 1:1, and spray on dirty windows. Remove with a microfiber cloth, which will leave windows streak- and lint-free. Replaces Windex, $3.12 for 26 fluid ounces.
- Make jewelry sparkle. Dunk your precious gems into a shallow dish of straight vodka, or spray it on your jewelry. Lightly scrub with a toothbrush, and rinse. Your diamonds will sparkle. Replaces Shine Brite Silver Dip Liquid Jewelry Cleaner, $5.99 for 8 fluid ounces.
- Deodorize fabric: Spray diluted vodka on fabric-covered furniture and carpets. Bad smells will vanish. Replaces Febreze Fabric Freshener, $4.94 for 27 fluid ounces.
- De-gunk hair. Add an ounce of vodka to 12 ounces of shampoo to make a clarifying shampoo that will make your hair shine. Replaces Pantene Pro-V Truly Natural Hair Clarifying Shampoo, $3.97 for 12.6 fluid ounces.
- Fight mold. To banish the smelly, ugly fungus, spray vodka on mold, let dry then scrub off. Replaces Tilex Mold and Mildew Remover, $3.97 for 32 fluid ounces.
- Remove water spots. Wet a microfiber cloth with a spritz of vodka and wipe off water stains on glassware. Replaces Scrub Off Spot Remover, $5.88 for 16 fluid ounces.
- Banish foot odor. To remove stinky foot odors, spray straight vodka into shoes and boots, and onto feet. Replaces Kiki Shoe Freshener, $5.85 for 2.2 ounces.