Old Tools New Uses
by RealSimple Magazine & Site
- Collapsible Laundry baskets - put a garbage bag in them and you've got a portable garbage can (some even have handy handles to drag them around when they're pushing your weight carrying max... Great for when you're doing a mass cleaning and have little attention span to stay in one room.
- Lint Roller - run through the inside of your purse, around the lining and across the bottom.... Who knows what you'll find... Maybe a lost earring or maybe just some Cheerios.
Craft time get a little crazy? Use a lint roller to help pick up those tiny pieces of construction paper and glitter.
Lamp shade getting dusty? Run the roller up and down the outside of the lamp shade to get rid of the dust particles.
- Baby Oil - Find yourself with lots since your tanning days are on hiatus? Use it as a chrome polisher. Its clearly fume free and already on hand. Insert cotton balls into the equation and Hello you've got shiny faucets and (if you're really ambitious) hubcaps.
- Ketchup - Chromes polished, now what about those copper pot bottoms. You can revive the color and shine of cookware. Squeeze ketchup onto a cloth and rub it on pots and pans. After five years, rinse with warm water and towel dry.
And after you empty out the bottle cleaning up pots and pans, clean up the bottle and use it for a pancake batter dispenser. Its a no-mess dispenser and squeeze it into the pan in precise portions.
- Baking Soda - Well if you cleaned up the hubcaps and faucets and copper pots, might as well start on the silver. Baking soda can be used as a silver polish... Start by washing the items, place them in a large pot with aluminum foil in the bottom. Add a baking soda solution (1/4 c baking soda, a few t. salt, and 1q boiling water) and get a chemical reaction that'll leave Grandma's silver spoons singing.
Another use for that yellow box? Linen Freshener. Simply place the box amongst your stacks of sheets and towels to keep out that nasty mustiness.
And another use for baking soda... Drain De-clogger. Pour 1/2 c baking soda, followed by a 1/2 c vinegar. Cover with a wet cloth for 5 minutes and then flush with steaming hot water.
One more for the yellow box, crayon eraser. Sprinkle it on a damp sponge to erase crayon, ink and pencil from painted surfaces.
That white powder is one powerful secret. Turns out that it can be used as a container deodorizer. Soak plastic containers in warm water and baking soda overnight to banish smells.
- Chalk - Now that you've polished the silver, and won't have time to do it again for some time, you can prevent tarnish by putting a few pieces of moisture-absorbing chalk into some cheesecloth and store them with the silver for that shiny flatware to stay oh-so-shiny!
- Aluminum Foil - I've heard of lots of uses for aluminum foil, and I'm not just referring to the wrap yourself to look like a robot, putting it on the ol' rabbit ears to get better reception or baking a potato... but this is the first time I've ever had someone suggest it as a scrubber... To get baked-on food off a glass pan or an oven rack, use dishwashing liquid and a ball of foil in place of a steel-wool soap pad.
Painting a door or furniture? Cover the doorknob/hardware with aluminum foil and you'll be oops-free in your painting.
- Wax Paper - Not to be outdone by aluminum foil, wax paper has its perks. And I'm not just talking about baking. Rip off a piece roughly the size of your sweeper and attach it as you would a cleaning cloth. As you sweep highly trafficked/dirty areas the dirt and grim stick to the wax paper.
- Cooking Spray - Creating an ambiance with some tea-lights in adorable votive holders? Spray the holders with cooking spray to keep the wax from sticking in the holder. Easy change for next time, when you're not feeling blue candles for Valentines Day. Another use for cooking spray? Spraying down your shovel before clearing snow. It keeps the ice sliding off the shovel, an easy trick for smoother snow removal.
- Dryer Sheet - Clean up the soleplate of your iron with a dryer sheet. Rub the sheet over an iron on a low setting until residue disappears.
Tired of throwing away the used dryer sheet from laundry day? Stash them in a old tissue box, for the hubby to use to clean up sawdust. Cleans it up much faster than that sweep of the hand onto the floor, plus less mess! Or use it to clean up the bathroom. With a few drops of water, the used dryer sheet can remove that stubborn soap build up from glass shower doors.
- Egg shells - Leave those random flowers from your significant other in the vase a little too long? Now you've got that nasty goop in your vase... Easy fix. Drop some crushed eggshells into the vase, add warm water and drop of dish soap. Swirl it good, and voila! no more gunk... If only dishes cleaned that easy.
- Hair Dryer - Get a heck of a deal on a gift and don't want the price tag to give it away? A little warm air from the hair dryer loosens up the price labels!
- Rubber Glove - After you finish up with those dishes, leave on your damp rubber gloves and run your hand across the dog or cat's favorite laying spot (mine would be the back of my chair) and watch the hair come off. Simply rinse glove off in the sink (with your drain catcher in place) when its all removed
- Rubbing Alcohol - Someone get loose with the permanent marker and now its all over the walls and countertops? Pour a bit onto a cotton ball and rub on the stain. Make sure you spot test on a hidden spot, some paints/surfaces may not react well.
Hairspray stains on the semi-glossy/wallpapered wall opposite your bathroom mirror? Spray one part rubbing alcohol, two parts water and a dash of dish soap (in a squirt bottle) and wipe clean
- Seam Ripper - Get the lint, hair, string wrapped around the roller brush of the vacuum with that crazy seam ripper tool that comes with sewing machines.
- Tissue Box - Tame the plastic grocery bags throughout the house. Stuff them into the empty tissue boxes (you know, being the emotional wreck most pregnant women are they're just causing clutter anyway) and put the boxes throughout the house. In the laundry room, kitchen, bathroom and wherever else.
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