On the Rocks or Clean Your Socks — Vodka's Many Uses

One time in high school, my friend's mom spilled some wine on their white carpet. She immediately went to the freezer and pulled out a bottle of vodka, making us think, wow, she must really need a drink now. Then we watched as she poured just a little bit of the hard stuff onto the red blotch and presto, away it went!

That, I thought, was a fancy way to deal with a spill, but it's crafty too, and as my friend's mom demonstrated, vodka is good for more than just greasing the wheels for you to be more gregarious at get-togethers. It's a good multi-tasker, for things as varied as giving your hair an extra shine (add a shot to your shampoo), freshening your laundry and making your own homemade spritzers (lavender flowers + vodka = ahhhh).

The Daily Green has put together a handy slideshow of some of the spirit's lesser-known uses.

Just be prepared to further explain if you say that you do your laundry with vodka that it means in the washer, and not in a thermos with a lid for drinking!

Photo courtesy of Lehel Mor@sxc.hu