Recently whilst house-sitting for some friends I had to deal with a little incident involving their dog Grace, a voluminous poop, and a very expensive, thick pile rug.

This required an extended cleaning intensive on my part to extract the particulate matter, followed by an emergency dash to the local shops to pick up a packet of baking soda to deal with the remaining stubborn aromatic low notes.

I found it in the cooking section of the supermarket. And what jumped out at me was the relatively minimalist packaging of this particular item. McKenzies Baking Soda.
How interesting to buy something not wrapped in plastic, and not plastered every inch in branding and marketing BS. How interesting that the very thing that drew my eye to it was its relative silence amongst all that shouting from the shelves.

A plain cardboard box. A brief description of the contents.
And a small tab to let you know that you can find out more about its many uses by downloading a free ebook.
A lot of people will probably pass it by. After all, there is no Bazentine blue crystal extracts or quantum deep tissue collagenic elastisiser. The packaging isn’t extra bonus size, and it doesn’t have a biometric appllicator spout.
It’s just plain old baking soda. In a box. What use is that?

That evening I did a quick online search and was floored by the number of uses for a simple box of baking soda. From softening your hands to cleaning to exfoliating, to removing stains…and yes, removing just about every type of odour that has ever been expunged or secreted.

A sprinkle into the carpet. Left overnight. Vacuumed away the next morning….and Grace was off the hook.

Postscript: The whole experience was only slightly spoiled when I actually went to download their eBook which required giving my email address and agreeing to receive further marketing emails. McKenzies, you had me until then.

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