Sometimes something needs to be done around your house , and you don’t quite have the right tools. Sure, you could go to the store, but that’s a pain in the butt — costly, too.
Rather than doing things the boring, expensive way, become a household MacGuyver by utilizing these creative alternative uses for stuff that’s already lying around your home.
1. The simplest watering can ever.
If you’ve got plants, you need to water them. I don’t think anyone besides grandparents own actual watering cans, but you can rig up one that’s just as effective. Redditor Effectator demonstrates how one outward-facing hole in the lid of a milk jug works wonders.
2. Never fumble with similar keys again.
I’ve been using this one for years, but hat tip to Reddit user randomusefulbits for the helpful photo. The nail polish will wear away over time, but the colored flecks that remain should be enough to help you tell which key is which.
3. Corral unruly cables.
Sometimes you want your phone to be accessible on a table or desk while it charges. But once you unplug it, the cable falls back into the netherworld behind your furniture. A simple fix, like the one suggested by Redditor door_food , should help solve the problem — all it takes is a push pin and a paper clip!
4. Hangers plus hangers equal easy moving.
This hack from Redditor Necrotroph is pretty intuitive. If, for whatever reason, you need to move a bunch of your clothes, just hang them on sturdy hangers, just like the photo above. It’ll make them easy to move and easy to hang up again.
5. The best rubber bands money can’t buy.
If you want super strong elastic bands and you’ve got an old inner tube lying around, you’re in luck. Redditor midierror demonstrates how one tube will yield a stack of elastic bands that should stand up to the toughest stress testing.
6. Sorry, chipmunks.
My parents have a bunch of bird feeders like this in their backyard (yeah, I don’t get it). Squirrels and chipmunks were getting into the bird seed until I saw this tip from Redditor dillhole73 and suggested it to them. A few Slinkys later and their problems were solved.
7. Finally, a use for stray socks!
If you’ve got a sock without a mate, don’t throw it out. Instead, turn it into a running armband for your phone. You can check out The Art of Doing Stuff for full instructions. All you need is a sock and scissors.
8. A stuck zipper stands no chance against a bar of soap.
If you’ve ever experienced the horror of not being able to zipper up a piece of clothing, don’t fret. A bar of soap will lube up a zipper enough for it to easily slide up and down. Best part yet? Soap won’t stain your clothes!
9. Lighting candles? Spaghetti is your friend.
This one sounds super weird but bear with me. When you’re trying to light a candle with a hard-to-reach wick, it can be a literal pain to get it lit. Fortunately, dry spaghetti is effective as a super-long match.
10. Not so fast, slippery spoon.
Everyone knows that clothespins have tons of uses. One that I hadn’t seen before is this one, as suggested by The Krazy Coupon Lady . Just attach one to the handle of a spoon and you won’t have to worry about it slipping into the pot.
11. Command hooks: is there anything they can’t do?
For those random trash bins that don’t really fit any standard bags (I’m looking at you, tiny washroom bin), you can get some sticky hooks to help keep the bags in place. If you get color-coordinated hooks, like Redditor randomusefulbits did, this should fit right in aesthetically.
12. Fruit flies, begone!
Fruit flies are a pain. It seems like the second you let a banana get overripe, your kitchen is full of a billion of the little flies. You can attract (and drown!) them using a simple solution of vinegar with dish soap, as demonstrated by Redditor rarid57 .
13. Recover the little things with a stocking and vacuum.
When you’ve dropped something tiny, or need to pick a mess up from the floor, just stretch a thin stocking over the end of your vacuum hose and let it do the work. This handy hack was suggested by Redditor ChianEriksen .
14. Probably the most useful thing you can do with these clips.
There’s no shortage of ways to repurpose those little plastic clips from old bread bags. Redditor BenjaminLongview shows a super handy, super simple way to use them as a way of bringing order to wayward power bars.
15. Keep your phone clean while cooking.
DIY your own protective case with a li’l plastic wrap. Wrap up your phone, or whatever you use to read recipes, and you’ll keep it free of food debris and bacteria.
