Posted: 02 May 2010 06:04 AM PDT

Baking soda is an amazing product. It is a naturally occurring element and is classified as a salt. For centuries, it has been used for a wealth of purposes including cleaning products, mouthwash and antiseptic. For less than $1, a box of baking soda can out-perform many cleaning products on the market and it doesn't spread chemical residues all over the house.

Baking soda for cleaning

With a wet rag, scrub baking soda into marble, stove tops, counter tops, silver, copper or brass surfaces and it will remove stains, grease, tarnish, hard water spots and ink. Allow to remain on stubborn stains and rinse or wipe off. If using on a surface that is too large to rinse with water, such as counter tops, wipe with a clean, wet cloth to remove the baking soda residue when finished.

As automatic dishwasher detergent: Use 1 tablespoon of baking soda and 1 tablespoon of borax (also a naturally occurring element) in an automatic dishwasher instead of soap.

As a drain cleaner: Pour one half of a box of baking soda into a drain and follow that with white vinegar until it foams. Allow the foam to settle and add more vinegar until it foams again. Rinse after 5 minutes with hot water.

As a carpet deodorizer: Sprinkle baking soda over the entire surface of a carpet. Leave on overnight and vacuum thoroughly in the morning. This will remove odors and help to keep the carpet fresh for several days.

As a carpet cleaner: Mix baking soda and white vinegar to form a paste. Scrub this onto carpet stains. Let dry and vacuum up.

Baking soda as an oven cleaner: Sprinkle the bottom of a cool oven with a 1/4 inch layer of baking soda. Spray the area evenly with a spray bottle of water until the baking soda has all been dampened. Wait an hour or so and spray the baking soda with more water, or more often if necessary - spray each time it starts to dry out. Do this repeatedly over the course of several hours, testing occasionally to see if the baked on food will scrape out. Scrape out the bottom of the oven when ready and rinse with water. Dry with a cloth.

Baking soda for personal hygiene

Use baking soda on a wet toothbrush to clean and whiten teeth and freshen breath.

Use 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda mixed into 1/2 glass of water as a mouthwash. Gargle with it as you would any other mouthwash, rinsing and expelling several times. Rinse mouth with clean water when done.

Sprinkle baking soda onto a damp washcloth and rub onto underarms to apply. Leave on as deodorant, the baking soda will absorb sweat and keep you smelling fresh all day.

Mix baking soda and water into a paste and apply to face as a mask. This will remove oils, dirt and help to dry out acne. Leave on for 15 minutes and wash off with water.

Baking soda for pet care

To use baking soda as a dog shampoo, wet dog thoroughly in the bath and rub baking soda into the fur. Rinse thoroughly with warm water. This will clean and deodorize as well as leave the skin feeling clean and fresh.

Sprinkle baking soda into clean kitty litter to help eliminate litter box odor.

Baking soda for outside use

To test soil to see if it is acidic, place approximately 1/2 cup of soil into a container and mix in 1/2 cup of water. Add 1/2 cup of baking soda and mix. If the soil bubbles, it is highly acidic. Add wood ash or lime to reduce the acidity before planting a garden.

For more uses of baking soda around the home, visit the Arm and Hammer web site or read TheFarm.org's Sixty Uses of Baking Soda.

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Posted: 01 May 2010 09:50 PM PDT

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Why exercise? Health trumps beauty, poll shows - StarPhoenix

Posted: 02 May 2010 02:36 AM PDT

NEW YORK - If you look upon fitness addicts as shallow narcissists suffering grimly for the body beautiful, it may be time to look again.

Most dedicated exercisers view working out as their apple a day, not their path to preening perfection, a new poll shows.

Staying healthy is the reason most fit adults gave for hitting the gym, and they are doing it for the ones they love.

Even a belt-tightening economy has not led the active to skimp on their regimens, according to the survey.

"People said they exercise more for health than for anything else," said Marjorie Martin of EveryDay Health, which conducted the poll with the American Council on Fitness.

Martin said 54 percent of the 2,882 Americans who responded to the online poll said they want to stay fit for their loved ones. Only 40 percent said they work out to look good on beach.

"Some of us probably would have guessed appearance and weight control first," Martin said. "The fact that it is health was I think very reassuring,"

More than 90 percent of the people who took part in the survey by EverydayHealth, a network of health and fitness websites, were women. The average age was 44.

Over 80 percent said they exercise regularly.

"This is definitely an audience interested in health," said Martin. "Health websites skew female. But 93 percent is much higher than expected."

A surprising 79 percent said that if a magic pill existed to keep them looking trim and fit, they would still work out. Only 15 percent said they'd happily become couch potatoes.

"Most of us would have guessed otherwise," Martin said. "But exercise is a tremendous stress release. And in a tough economy people could be using it as an outlet for stress in general."

Sixty-four percent said the poor economy has not had an impact on their workouts. Just under half exercise on their own. Only 15 percent exercise at a gym only.

Only 21 percent sacrificed gym memberships.

"They did things to economize, like opt to jog indoors, but it didn't seem to stifle the level of overall activity." Martin explained.

Cardio was the most popular workout. Among those exercising at a facility, four of 10 use cardio equipment the most. At-home exercisers preferred cardio equipment and fitness videos.

"For people who enjoy exercising there is this need to sweat," said Martin. "There's something gratifying in feeling like you have really put in a workout."

Of the latest trends, kettlebells, Zumba, a Latin-music based aerobics workout, and pole dancing were among the three that people wanted to try most, although 26 percent were unaware of them.

Almost half of those that don't work out claim they can't get motivated.

"We hear anecdotally that people are discouraged because they fail," Martin said. "And the message we get is a lot of people are succeeding. If we can figure out how to motivate people and keep them going, then we can change a lot."

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