5 Multipurpose Kitchen Items You Should Always Have (and Not Just For Cooking!)

Updated on 9/18/2015 at 1:30 PM

What we use in the kitchen can often be repurposed as cleaning products around the house. Whether you simply enjoy the taste or want to get the most bang for your buck, these are the five items you should always have on hand according to our friends at All You.

No trip to the grocery store is complete without the basics — eggs, milk, flour, butter, olive oil, bread. But there are a few other kitchen staples you may not think to add to your cart each week but are surprisingly useful for doing . . . well, everything. Not only do these grocery items earn their keep for cooking purposes, they also do double duty as cleaning products, beauty fixes, household helpers, and much more.

Vinegar

Balsamic vinegar might get all the glory (there's no denying how delicious it is in salads), but white vinegar has earned its place as the hardest-working item in your pantry. Its uses are endless: use a few teaspoons to brighten stained mugs, clean a dirty toilet or faucet, combat static cling, liven droopy flowers, whiten your teeth, make nail polish last longer, and so much more.

Baking Soda

All hail baking soda! This pantry powerhouse does it all. Use a pinch to make homemade antacid, keep pests out of the house, whip up a fluffier omelet, de-germ everything from a hairbrush to fresh fruit to patio furniture, and much more.

Cornstarch

That $1 box of cornstarch sitting in your pantry? Chances are, you're not using it to its full potential. Cornstarch can clean a grease stain, soothe a sunburn, calm diaper rash, prevent chafing, fix squeaky floors, and more.

Lemons

You can't go wrong by picking up a big bag on every single supermarket run. Not only does this versatile citrus fruit perk up dishes like lemon-rosemary chicken and lemon bars and imbue them with bright, zesty flavor — it also comes in handy in your beauty and cleaning routines. Use any extras in your fruit bowl to zap zits, freshen bad breath, and soften skin, or de-gunk your whole house (everything from a cutting board to shower doors to dirty microwave).

Coconut Oil

What can't you do with coconut oil? As MVP of your beauty routine, it softens skin, soothes chapped lips, conditions hair, and naturally removes makeup. Coconut oil is also handy as a household cleaner — try using it to polish furniture, restore dried-out leather, or remove sticky gunk left behind by adhesives. And of course, it's delicious as a cooking oil, as a healthier substitute for butter, to season a cast-iron skillet, or whip up a frothy homemade "latte."

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