Creative Uses for Your Household Items

Most household items have more than one use, and creatively using these things can help you save money and add a creative splash to your daily routine. This weekend, perhaps you’ll enjoy using the following items in new ways:

1. Mini photo album. Sure, this was a cute graduation gift, but have you used it recently? Either share it with someone who will fill it with Kodak moments or consider using it to hold items related to a household project (i.e. fabrics, paint swatches, measurements, stitch witchery, etc.)

2. Dryer sheets. Some people like to toss these in with the laundry…others also like to use them as air fresheners in the car (under the seats), the gym locker, and in empty suitcases and clothing bins stored in the basement.

3. Marshmallows. Yes, these sugary delights do more than sweeten hot chocolate and complete the concoctions known as s’mores. Place a small marshmallow in an ice cream cone before adding the ice cream and you’ll keep drips to a minimum. And keep your supply of brown sugar soft by adding a few marshmallows to its storage container.

4. Scotch tape. In addition to helping you wrap gifts, scotch tape can also work wonders in the floral department. At a bridal shower a few years ago, my mother-in-law taught me that by affixing scotch tape in a lattice pattern atop a vase, hard-to-arrange flowers easily become a gorgeous bouquet.

5. Shower curtain liner. In addition to keeping cloth shower curtains dry, a clean shower curtain liner easily doubles as a tarp. Use an extra shower curtain liner to keep dry while sitting on damp grass at your weekend picnic; protect the floor under the high chair during a baby’s meals; or to create a slip’n’slide for this weekend’s barbecue on a grassy incline in your yard.

6. Extra buttons. Still have that extra button packet lying around even though the blouse is long gone? Affix a magnetic strip to it and it becomes a refrigerator magnet. Use it as an extra game piece for tic-tac-toe, checkers, Monopoly, or other board games that may have missing pieces.

7. Paper clips. In addition to attaching documents to one another, paper clips easily double as replacement ornament hooks, impromptu zipper pulls, and book marks. These little wonders are an organization enthusiast’s dream: simple, small, and multi-functional.

8. Aluminum foil. These shiny sheets are great for keeping food fresh. Foil has countless uses, including two of my favorites: protecting the edges of a pie crust from burning and keeping the oven clean while baking chicken, sweet potatoes, and more.

9. Stationery boxes. Stationery boxes are often durable, petite, and attractive. Because thank you notes are always in style, it’s likely you already have a few of these boxes on-hand (if they haven’t already been recycled). Use these boxes to store nylons (so they don’t get snagged in your drawer), or use them to hold sewing materials or other small items.

10. Old socks. Is that one clean sock sitting on the laundry room shelf still waiting for its mate to reappear? If nobody is planning on wearing said sock, consider using it as a rag when washing the bathroom or cleaning the windows.

How do you creatively use household items in your neck of the woods? Let us know, and your brilliance could be featured in an upcoming blog post!