If your little one has outgrown formula or has a sensitive tummy that has caused you to switch formula types once or twice, you may find yourself with leftover newborn baby formula on your hands. Baby formula isn’t cheap, so it seems like a waste to just throw it away, right?
Surprisingly, there are quite a few things you can do with leftover baby formula. Of course, the first thing to consider is passing it on to someone you know who can use it before it expires, but if that isn’t an option, check out these innovative ways to use leftover baby formula.
1. Add it to Coffee or Hot Chocolate
Baby formula is just milk, so why not use it in place of regular milk in your favorite hot beverages (as long as it’s not expired, that is)? All you need to do is make your coffee as usual, and instead of milk or creamer, add some of the leftover baby formula. It might taste a little different at first, but it’s definitely not bad, and it’s nice to know you won’t be wasting valuable formula.
2. Take a Milk Bath
Milk baths offer a host of benefits for the skin. Taking a milk bath (or giving your little one a milk bath) can heal diaper rash, soothe itchy skin, and moisturize dry skin. Simply add a scoop or two of the leftover baby formula to a tub of warm water, and revel in the luxurious skin-nurturing benefits. Add an extra touch of decadence by bringing an aroma diffuser into the bathroom and filling it with a rich scent like frankincense or sandalwood.
3. Use it as Fertilizer
Many of the nutrients in baby formula are the same ones plants thrive on. If you have some leftover formula and a green thumb, add the powder to your plants’ soil periodically and watch them grow!
4. Remove Stains from Clothing
Some people swear by this method of removing stains from clothing. In fact, it’s a great hack for getting ink out of fabric. Simply make a paste out of baby formula and water and apply it to the stain. Let it sit overnight before tossing it in the washer. Wash as you normally would, and the stain should be gone.
5. Cook or Bake with it
Milk is milk, so if you have some leftover baby formula that hasn’t expired yet, you might as well use it in your baking and cooking recipes. Just replace the regular milk the recipe calls for with baby formula and watch what happens. No one will even be able to tell you used it unless you tell them.
6. List it on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist
If you don’t know anyone to give your unused baby formula to or you simply can’t bring yourself to bathe with it or consume it, list any whole packages of baby formula on the Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. As we mentioned before, baby formula is expensive, so someone on these platforms is bound to snap it up, and you can be proud of the fact that you helped another family.
If you have leftover baby formula and it’s not expired, there are many things you can do with it. From bathing in it and eating it to using it as a stain remover or a garden fertilizer, leftover baby formula is a very versatile product that should never go to waste.