Powdered Milk, Anyone?

In our ongoing quest to live frugally, we're finding some interesting uses for common household goods. And not-so-common ones...one of our staff just admitted that as a child, her mother gave the kids powdered milk (anyone else experience this?) It got us thinking whether there was other stuff that could be done with it (as with baking soda, for instance.) The treasure trove that is the internet gave us the following:

In the Kitchen

-Can be used for cooking–breads, cream, and whipped toppings to name a few

-Thawing frozen fish–the fish will soak up the nutrients from the milk and make it taste fresher. Just mix the powdered milk with water and let the fish soak.

Beauty Uses

- Makes a nice shaving cream (in theory) –combine the milk with enough water to make a thick creamy paste and apply as you would when shaving. The nutrients are supposed to help make your legs feel silky smooth.

-Bug bite and sunburn relief–make a paste by combining milk and water in equal parts and then apply to the affected area. In both cases it will take away redness and any stinging sensation.

-Milk bath–this is still used in countries around the world. Add some powdered milk to your bath and soak for a while. It will moisturize your skin and leave it feeling soft.

Household Uses

- Remove ink from clothes–just soak in milk and water overnight and then wash normally the next day.

-Fix cracked china–we don’t know if this works or not, but supposedly you can boil the cracked item in milk (on low for 45 minutes) and the crack will disappear. Apparently, the milk reacts with the kaolin to fix the crack from the inside out, but this could just be an old wives tale.

-Paint a room – yeah, we’re not too sure this is the most cost effective use of powdered milk, but you can combine 1 part water and 3 parts milk until you get the consistency of paint. It will be a neutral white color, so if that works then paint away. Just remember to let dry between coats like you would normal paint.

So what do you think? Would you use powdered milk in any of these ways? Share your stories and ideas so we can all live the frugal life! [Wisebread]