Studio 5 contributor, Kathleen Alder shares a few of her favorite uncommon uses for common household items.
1. Aerosol deodorant isn’t just for underarms, keep a can by your shoes and spray the bottoms of your feet before putting on sandals and shoes to be worn without socks. It will keep feet from sweating excessively and smells nice too.
2. Products like Febreze can help deodorize shoes. Keep a bottle along with tissues in the closet. After wearing sandals and shoes without socks, spray the inside and wipe out the excess. Shoes will stay fresh longer.
3. Bar soap can be used to make a zipper open and close easier. Just rub a small soap sliver over the zipper teeth and the zipper will easily slide closed.
4. Bar soap slivers can also be used to mark a hem, a button or patch placement and then easily brushes or wipes off when you are done.
5. Milk of Magnesia can be used as a face mask to absorb the oil. Just apply, let dry and wash off.
6. Vacuum sealer machines can be used to seal any kind of food bag. Use the seal only feature without the vacuum on chip bags, sandwiches for lunches etc. it will seal almost anything. If the bag is really thin, let it cool slightly before removing from the sealing element.
7. Pillowcases are not just for pillows, you can use them to make you salsa. Just peel and quarter your tomatoes, place them in a clean pillowcase in your sink overnight to let the juice run out. Squeeze the tomatoes, add the other ingredients put your salsa in bottles and process. No more boiling for hours.
8. If you purchased a pizza stone at one of those home kitchen parties thinking that you could make pizza the professional way, you soon found out that it was really messy and you quit using it. Now there is a way to use it that makes sense.
a. Pizzas:
i. Put the stone in the oven to preheat, then put the pizza pan right on the stone rather than putting the dough on the stone as instructed. Bake until the top is brown and the crust will be crispy on the bottom.
b. Pies:
i. Preheat the stone in the oven and bake the pie right on the stone for a flaky brown crust on the bottom.
c. Casseroles:
i. Preheat the stone in the oven and bake the casserole on the stone and the casserole will heat up faster.
9. Those big platform rollers for large patio pots can be used to move large objects from one place to another in your house. They are lower to the ground so the heavy item doesn’t need to be lifted very far and then it will roll easily to the next destination.
10. Use round placemats on wooden chairs to add color and padding. They don’t have to be tied on so no torn ties. And they can be changed easily and quickly.
11. Small garbage can liners can be used to toss a large pasta or green salad.
12. Corn starch, white glue, and flour can be mixed together to make play dough for the kids that dries without baking. Mix equal parts of each in a zippered bag, mix and knead until you get the desired consistency. If it is too runny add more dry ingredients. Mold into desired shape and let dry. It can be painted after it dries or colored during mixing. Keep it sealed in the zipper bag where it will stay good for several weeks.
13. Ironing boards are more efficient if you use the fat end. There is more surface to iron on at the fat end. You can iron a whole front, half a back, half a back and then a whole front. Flat items like napkins and tablecloths work better also.
14. Lipstick can be used as a bronzer to simulate that tanned look year round without getting out in the sun or tanning bed.
15. Packing tape can remove lint from anything. Tear about 8 inches of tape off the roll, stick it together in a circle. Slip it over your hand and roll it along the item to be de-linted. It is less expensive than buying lint rollers.
16. Aluminum foil can be used to sharpen those dull scissors. Make 6-8 layers of foil and cut through them several times for newly sharpened scissors.
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