Stretch Your Food Stamp Dollars

When you're strapped for cash, Food Stamps can be a lifesaver when it comes to putting food on the table. Unfortunately, other essential household items, like cleaning and personal hygiene products, cannot be purchased with Food Stamps. However, there are a few things that can be purchased with Food Stamps that can also be used as cleaning products. The following are suggestions on how to stretch your Food Stamp dollars to cover some cleaning and personal hygiene products. This is by no means a complete list, so feel free to get creative!

White Distilled Vinegar & Baking Soda- These have multiple uses around the house. Vinegar disinfects and baking soda scrubs. Be sure to get white distilled vinegar, and not another type of vinegar. Most other vinegars have a lot of sugars in them and will make what you are cleaning sticky.

• Laundry Detergent: Mix one cup of vinegar and half a cup of baking soda.

• Multipurpose Cleaner: Sprinkle baking soda on the surface you want to clean and use a spray bottle to spray the vinegar onto the baking soda, then scrub and wipe clean.

• Dish Soap: Mix vinegar and a little baking soda with lemon juice, scrub and rinse.

Find out more ways to use vinegar around the house.

Cornstarch-Not just for gravy anymore!

• Stain Remover: Sprinkle a little cornstarch over a stain on clothing or upholstery (especially good for greasy stains) and leave for several hours or overnight. Brush the cornstarch off with a cloth and the stain comes off too.
• Baby Powder: Use cornstarch in place of baby powder. It's absorbent and gentle. 
• Finger Paint: OK, it's not for cleaning (it may even create a mess) but it's a fun, inexpensive activity for kids. Mix ¼ cup of cornstarch with 2 cups of cold water and boil until thick. Pour thickened mixture into separate containers and stir in food coloring. Let cool COMPLETELY before setting the kids up to paint.

Find out more creative ways to stretch your Food Stamp Dollars to cover non food items.