Top 10 Staples Every House Should Have

Every family has had that relative that cured some sickness, or cleaned some part of the house, with something so ordinary it is extraordinary! I mean it could be something really simple, but you'd never think to use it in a real scenario. Guess what? Our grandparents thought to use it! It's how they made it through many an emergency. There weren't emergency rooms or even emergency funds as much as you hear about them now. Some things our ancestors had to do they had to do with what was available to them in the house and because of that they became the MacGyvers of their time.

So what things should you have in your home to be halfway as resourceful as our ancestors?

1. Baking soda

In case you didn't know, baking soda has a TON of uses. Who would have thought some white powder could go so far? I've known that it's been used as toothpaste when mixed with a little water. I know it's used to get scents out of carpet and pretty much anything you wanted a scent removed from, especially if it had a stale scent (like from old bottles or containers). You can clean fruit and vegetables with it, put out fires with it, clean and deodorize your refrigerator with it, clean barbecue grills off with it, remove burned-on food from a pan, rub stainless steel with it, and the list goes on. I recommend Arm & Hammer brand above any other; it's just one of those household names that's been handed down for generations. They also have specific products for specific items. I know I've seen specific products for rug and carpet deodorizer, refrigerator freshening, there's even Arm & Hammer laundry detergent that uses it.

2. Aloe Vera Gel

Aloe Vera is the clear gel that comes from the pulp of the aloe plant. It's been used for infections, burns, and other conditions, especially pertaining to skin problems. It can also be used as a laxative when taken orally. Aloe Vera can be bought from most health food stores, and some grocers may carry it but it's not a very common product.

3. Duct tape

We're used to duct tape for packaging of boxes. Did you know another use of duct tape was removing splinters? You can put duct tape on the place where the splinter resides and then pull the duct tape up the splinter should come out with it. I'd recommend the clear duct tape you can tear off by hand. If you don't have regular scotch tape, you can use it to post things up around the house, repair broken hoses, even for health and beauty purposes such as removing unsightly hair (although I would imagine that would be slightly painful).

4. Salt

We know salt as being used to flavor food. We are also familiar with the use of salt for snow removal (in cities that have this issue) on sidewalks and roads. You may not have known that salt can be used to remove tea and coffee stains. You may not have known that salt can be used as a barrier for ants; you would sprinkle a line of salt and ants for some reason won't cross it. Salt is also used as a mouthwash, a weed killer, and getting rid of smells on your cutting board.

5. First-Aid Kit

Basics of a first-aid kit are band-aids, gauze, tweezers, scissors, cold pack, aspirin, cleaning wipes, anti-fungal cream, tape, plastic gloves, and perhaps finger splints. If you're really advanced and you know how to do stitches, you'll want to include some needle and thread as well. Especially with children around, having a first-aid kit will come in handy for those accidents that can occur inside or outside the home.

6. Rubbing Alcohol

Most of us think of using rubbing alcohol as an antiseptic but it has many more uses. You can use it to clean bathroom fixtures, remove hair spray from mirrors, dissolve windshield frost, prevent ring around the collar, remove ink stains, and erase permanent marker stains.

7. Bottled water

It's good to have a case of bottled water on hand in case you ever need it for drinking purposes, or worse - cooking purposes. Your main water supply may run out, in which case, having that case of water should help you get through a day's worth of usage. Having a spare two or three cases would get you through a weekend without your main water supply if necessary.

8. Candles / Flashlight

If for some reason you have a power outage, you'll still need some light. Have a good working flashlight (or two) on hand. If you don't have anything to power the flashlight be sure to have some candles with some matches. You don't need a particular fragrance of candle, just some fresh candles with enough burning power to last you a while.

9. Basic Toolkit

Your basic toolkit (in my opinion) includes a hammer, some nails, a multi-size wrench, a Phillips-head screwdriver, a flat-head screwdriver, and some nuts and bolts. You can usually purchase toolkits already prepared at stores like Menards or Home Depot or Lowes or maybe even an Ace Hardware Store. Having a toolkit on hand is handy if you have any problems that you can fix with minimal issues and that don't require a professional.

10. Batteries

I recommend having in the house a couple of packs of the following: AA batteries, AAA batteries, 9-volt batteries, and lithium batteries. Many household items use batteries to run. Yes, for some of these things you can also use an adapter and plug it into the wall, but if your power source goes out for any reason you need objects that utilize batteries. For example, flashlights need batteries. Without them you cannot see where you're going in the dark. Some radios use batteries, in case you need to hear something that you can't get now that your television has no power. Batteries are a way to still use some of your home objects without electrical power.

Sources:

Sixty Uses of Baking Soda - http://www.thefarm.org/charities/i4at/lib2/60soda.htm

Aloe Vera - http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/aloe-vera/NS_patient-aloe

101 Uses for Duct Tape (Minus 70 or 80) - http://thezac.com/ducttape/

Uses for salt - http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/274/1/Uses-for-salt.html

Extraordinary Uses for Rubbing Alcohol - http://www.rd.com/advice-and-know-how/extraordinary-uses-for-rubbing-alcohol/article24001.html