Use and Reuse

recycling I love it when someone discovers multiple uses for every day items! I thought the chip clip was a great innovative idea until I experienced firsthand their short life expectancy versus cost. One year I must have gone through at least 6 chip clips! $2.99/pkg. for 3 giant clips. How did they break anyway? I did not use crushing strength to squeeze the clip open. I very gently squeezed the clip open. I heard the *plink*, and watched in slow motion as the clip released itself from its plastic housing, and the spring launched itself into my waiting hand. One half of the plastic clip fell to the floor and the other half I found I was still squeezing (gently, of course) between my thumb and forefinger. How did that happen? I don’t know. But it happened at least 6 times that year so I decided to boycott buying the chip clips.

I started using plastic zip top bags as a means of sealing in freshness and keeping foods crisp after the original bags had been opened. I used the plastic bags sparingly because they are not good for the environment. There are other ways of keeping your food fresh without overusing plastic storage bags or buying costly chip clips.

Buy wooden clothes pins from the dollar store and use them to close bags instead of using a chip clip. A whole bag will last a long time.

Reuse rubber bands to hold together heavier opened bags such as 4-5lb bags of sugar, flour…etc. Simply roll down the top of the bag to close, then wrap the rubber band around the bag from bottom to top. I do this when I can’t fit the entire contents into my storage canisters.

Metal paper clips also come in handy to close the small cellophane bags such as chocolate morsels, nuts or any other small cellophane bags. Can’t find your clothespins or paper clips? Use a swatch of cellophane tape! I keep a roll of tape handy in my kitchen junk drawer.

I sincerely hope you have found the closure I have found on this subject. (Tee-Hee!)

Jingle Stoppers

Key Protectors as Jingle Stoppers. You love your dog and can even tolerate the occasional barking. But you could do without the incessant jingle jangle of his tags. Well, here’s a new trick for you: Cover them with rubber key protectors.

Magnets

Use the big advertising magnets we all get on our phone books to display pictures on the fridge. Find some of your special photos or artwork from the kids. Apply a dab of craft paste to the non-magnetic side, then position the picture over the paste. No more putting the magnets over the picture - no more advertisements on the fridge!

Holiday lights not just for the holidays!

Take the strands of lights that framed the door or ran along the rain gutter and move them to the patio or deck. Strings of white lights look good year-round. Plus, they’re functional. They illuminate without attracting too many bugs.

Keep the holiday lights on your plants well after the holidays. When we get a freeze, turn the lights on, they will keep the frost off of your plants.

Time Savers

Use a wheeled pizza cutter to cut kid's pancakes, french toast, waffles, or similar food. It's easy and a great time saver!

You will especially love this idea if you spend a lot of time in the kitchen! Start collecting small transparent plastic containers, or buy some from the dollar store.

(Hint: I actually get my containers for free. I buy the pre-packaged Sara Lee or Hillshire Farms meats that are packaged in the reusable Gladware containers with lids. Look for this lunchmeat in the meat department, not at the deli counter. Hillshire and Sara Lee frequently put out $1.00 or $1.50 coupons for the pre-sliced meats to make this deal extra sweet!)

Then buy an extra set of measuring cups and spoons from the dollar store or use an old set for this purpose. Think about how many times your favorite recipes call for a certain measure of salt, sugar, flour etc. Leave the measuring cup or teaspoon inside the container so you won’t have to dig through the kitchen drawers every time you need to dole out a measure of ingredients.

Tip: I pour an entire container of salt into an airtight plastic container (I use Gladware) then place the measuring teaspoon into the salt with the handle sticking up so I can grab it easily. Make sure you label your containers so you will know what is in them.

Our iced tea mix calls for 1/3 cup of mix per quart so I leave a 1/3 cup measure inside the canister. You get the idea, right?

Housekeeping Tips

Always leave 2-3 plastic grocery bags in the bottom of your bathroom/bedroom wastebaskets. That way you won’t have to run around the house looking for one.

Only try this if there are no small children or pets in the house, With gloves on, dip strips of paper towels in full strength bleach, then tuck the strips into the edges and corners. Keep in place at least 4hrs or overnight. Put on your gloves and remove the paper towels. This leaves the caulking super white. Love this tip. It is much cheaper to use bleach than those other costly spray bottled solutions. :)

Use Your Straightening Iron to Iron Between Buttons. Try ironing between buttons, where a regular iron doesn’t fit. A straightening iron also works well on collar creases and minor wrinkles.

Purchase honey in the bear shaped plastic bottles. I have seen them in most supermarkets. (Walmart being the cheapest) When the bottle is empty you can soak off the label and fill the plastic bear with your favorite shampoo or conditioner. Use some “Goo Be Gone” to remove the sticky residue left behind by the label. The containers look very cute sitting around your bathtub. It might also encourage your little kids to let you wash their hair! This is a great idea to dress up your bathroom whenever you find a cute squeezable bottle. It looks so much nicer than most of the bottles hair care products come in.

Paint Brushes Not Just For Paint!

Buy a package of cheap paint brushes when you see them go on sale. I use the paint brushes to brush barbecue sauces and other marinades on meats before grilling instead of using expensive kitchen basting brushes. The paint brushes last longer and hold the sauces better than the basting brushes do. When my guests see me basting with a paint brush they get a big kick out of it! But then they see how well it works and they are convinced to try it themselves.

You can use the brushes to paint olive oil on your garlic bread or to baste the tops of you freshly baked bread with butter! Use them for anything that calls for a brush of eggwash.

The smaller paint brushes come in handy for getting dirt out of the tracks of windows and sliding glass doors, room corners and other tight spots you can't get the broom into. Label these "CLEANING" and store them in the garage or cellar so you don't use them for basting!

Use your manual French Fry cutter for more than just cutting French Fries. Peel and core apples and then slide them through the cutter. The kids like the French Fry look alike shapes and they will eat them up! Go ahead and experiment with other fruits and veggies like pears, cucumbers, or carrots. It is also a quick way to uniformly cut up your onions, mushrooms, turnips, sweet potatoes and other veggies for soups, stews or stir frys. It is kind of cool to see your food cut into this shape instead of the square chunks we normally cut them into.

Helpful Information

Here are some helpful phone numbers to actually get a human on the phone! The list also includes web addresses if you prefer to e-mail.

http://gethuman.com/ Good luck!

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Comment by Joy McNally on January 16, 2011 at 5:19pm: I love these kind of suggestions.I am known for thrift store shopping and if item is not in :good to go" condition, I have fun refurbishing it and either keeping it or giving as gift.This works best for me in housewares dept. rather than clothing as I am not much of a sewer but still handy w/ iron on patch lol.I also like to make my own housecleaning solutions (out of necessity) and homemade lip balm,lotions etc (just for fun).Wanted to pass along this tip I learned from my granny-for large bags such as bread etc,simply twist and then pull edges over remaining bread end of bag(may sound complicated but ez trick that does the job!)

Comment by Lorna~WordPress 101 on August 23, 2010 at 5:40am: Plastic shopping bags for stinky diapers :)

Comment by Lorna~WordPress 101 on August 23, 2010 at 5:39am: I buy Gatorade in powdered form for my husband to bring to work. We reuse Poland Spring water jugs for the Gatorade, and for a funnel, I cut off the top of an old soda bottle and use that. The h***'s nice & big!

Comment by Susan Crafts on March 25, 2010 at 12:46am: You are right about funnels, Stephanie! I use a funnel to refill my spice bottles. I buy the big bottles of spices and stow them away...out of sight. But I like to display the smaller bottles.

Comment by Stephanie Reese on March 25, 2010 at 12:12am: My husband decided that we needed a funnel for our kitchen, I thought he was crazy, but it tuns out it is actually quite helpful.
We buy things in bulk and just refill the smaller bottles, honey, salt, mayo....things like that and the funnel makes it so much easier to do and clean up is a breeze

Comment by Susan Crafts on February 23, 2010 at 9:24am: Hi Rose!
Your idea is not weird at all! I do something similar with the big plastic containers of salad greens I buy at Sam's Club. I place a paper towel on top of the salad mix then replace the cover. The paper towel draws moisture out of the container and into the paper towel, keeping my greens fresh and crispy longer. The container that the salad is packaged in is clear making it easy to see how much is in there.

Almost all of my reusable containers are transparent so I can see what I have without opening all of them. I have gotten away from using plastics to store my food because of the amount of chemicals in the plastics that can leach into our foods. The few plastic containers that I still use are transparent.

Note: Never reheat anything in the microwave that was stored in a plastic container. It is best to transfer your food to a glass container or use cookware specifically made for microwave use. Harmful plastics can leach into your foods when they are heated.

Comment by Rose on February 23, 2010 at 1:03am: I'm not sure where I got this idea but it sure is a time saver. I buy my vegetables wash & dry them then place them in a large clear container with a paper towel at the bottom. This way I can just pull out the whole container and use what I need and just slip back in the fridge I can also see what needs to be thrown out and what needs to be restocked, same for the lunch meat and cheese. 2 shoe box's keeps the fridge clean, now that I'm writing it sounds kinda of weird but it works for me.

Comment by Susan Crafts on February 14, 2010 at 2:02pm: Awesome idea, Julie. Thanks for sharing!

Comment by Julie Salinas on February 14, 2010 at 12:11am: if you have extra pony tail holders i use those too. lol my hair is short, i dont need any, i just seem to have some laying around.

Comment by Susan Crafts on January 27, 2010 at 9:33pm: Anna,

I save the twisty ties too! I love using them to close the poly bags of frozen veggies, and especially for closing my celery bag in the veggie crisper drawer!

Comment by Anna Hilpert on January 27, 2010 at 8:01pm: Instead of using rubber bands or clothes pins to keep things closed, I keep twisty ties. I keep the ties that come off of bread bags and the ones that you sometimes get with leafy veggies.. they always come in handy!

Comment by Susan Crafts on January 11, 2010 at 10:52pm: Good idea Lisa! Anyone have any other ideas? Please share with us. :)

Comment by Lisa Merriman on January 11, 2010 at 9:34pm: I've also used paint brushes to clean the "slats" of the closet doors that are usually installed in Florida. Thanks for all the great hints!! I'm definitely going to try the bleach-soaked paper towels in the caulking of my shower.

Comment by Susan Crafts on January 7, 2010 at 9:43am: The slim paint brushes that are angled work best for cleaning out the tracks on your windows and sliding glass doors.

Comment by Dede on January 7, 2010 at 12:33am: The paint brush idea for cleaning tracks is so smart:) I always have a problem with that one. Thanks:)

Comment by Susan Crafts on January 3, 2010 at 11:25am: Hi Lisa!

I hope you find my household ideas helpful and inexpensive!

Comment by Dede on January 3, 2010 at 10:20am: I do too Lisa. I always start pushing zeros but I think many companies are wise to this tactic now:)

Comment by Lisa Zacharie on January 3, 2010 at 10:16am: I love the these ideas especially the ones for household and getting a person on the phone i hate those electronic things.

Comment by Susan Crafts on January 1, 2010 at 8:02pm: If you don't want to use paste on the magnets, you can use cellophane tape. Tear off a couple of pieces of tape and roll each of them backwards joining end to end so the sticky side is on the outside and the non sticky side is on the inside. Position the tape near the top and bottom of the magnet then center your picture over the tape and magnet. Then later you can change your picture without ruining the magnet or the picture by simply peeling off the tape. I did this with the most recent pic my niece gave to me. You can not even tell an advertisement is under it! You can also trim your magnets to size or cut them in half if they are really big.

Comment by Susan Crafts on January 1, 2010 at 5:48pm: Thanks for the compliments on the new ideas I posted. I would like to expand on the clothespin idea. If you have some acrylic paints you could make them look pretty by having the kids paint them a solid color, allow to dry and then paint brightly colored designs on them. They could even add sticky backed rhinestones or stickers. The kids will love making their own designer chip clips! This makes a great rainy day project!