You probably have lots of things in your house that you use for one thing, and one thing only. Get ready, though, because these everyday items are about to make your life a whole lot easier.
Most of us take a lot of things for granted until we really need them, especially when it comes to small, everyday items. Whether it’s a rubber band or a plastic grocery store bag, we all tend to have certain items lying around our house at all times, and all of them usually only serve one purpose—either that, or it’s an item that’s considered trash once its main use is done.
However, there are plenty of ways you could be using the random things you probably have in your house at this very moment, and we promise that they’ll make your life so much easier.
Tissue Box
Most people tend to save any plastic grocery bags they take home from the store, as it can be pretty guilt-inducing to just toss them out right away. However, storing them often becomes quite the chore, as they’re something we usually get more of each and every week.
The obvious solution here is to use reusable bags when doing you’re shopping, but everyone forgets to bring them along every now and then, forcing them to grab a dreaded plastic bag. It might sound strange, but an empty tissue box will help you out here—you can just stuff in your used plastic bags and pull them out one by one as you need them, just like you would tissues.
Rubber Bands
Have you ever wanted to make sure a door doesn’t lock behind you, just without spending tons of money on little gadgets that only serve that one purpose? Rubber bands will be your new best friend.
All you need to do is put a rubber band over one side of a door handle, give it a twist, and then stretch it over to the other side of the handle. The twist in the middle will sit over the latch and keep it pushed in, making it impossible for the door to lock.
The humble rubber band can do more than just that, though. If you ever find yourself working on a DIY project and notice that you’re dealing with a screw that just won’t budge, a rubber band might be able to help.
Just place a section of the rubber band over the top of the screw, then place your screwdriver over it—the rubber band material can provide some traction that can help remove the screw, or at least loosen it up a bit.
Binder Clips
Sometimes we all find ourselves in situations where we don’t want to carry around a purse or wallet—maybe it’s while you’re jogging in the park or while you’re walking around an outdoor festival on a hot summer day.
It can be tough to come up with a solution, though, as you’ll still need to carry the essentials like your key, an ID, and a credit card or cash. Surprisingly, a plain old binder clip is actually a great alternative in this situation because it’s compact and will actually keep your stuff pretty secure.
Keep your money and cards securely fastened in the actual clip, and use the metal clasp to hold a key or two.
Coffee Filters
Anyone who needs their daily dose of caffeine in the morning will most likely have some coffee filters in their kitchen. While they have one obvious use, you can actually use them for so much more.
Need a snack but don’t feel like dirtying a bowl or carrying around the bag? A coffee filter makes a great makeshift bowl that you can just throw away when you’re done.
You can also use them to prevent drips while eating popsicles by poking the popsicle stick through the coffee filter so the popsicle rests inside.
Did we also mention you can use them as glass cleaners, makeshift napkins, or as dividers when stacking plates or cookware?
Hanger Clips
There are some stores that send you home with the hanger your product came on, but most people find them pretty unsightly and end up throwing them away. You can always request that the cashier keep them when you’re checking out, but the hangers that come with clips on each end can actually be pretty useful—well, just the clip part.
When you get home, either cut or snap off the actual clip and then use it as a makeshift chip clip to keep your snacks airtight.
Straws
For anyone who likes to travel with jewelry, you’re probably well aware that keeping things separate and untangled during transport is difficult. This is especially true of necklaces, especially thinner ones, which often become knotted pretty easily.
Before your next trip, try threading your necklace through a plastic drinking straw and clasp it close to prevent it from shifting around in your bag.
Pill Organizers
Speaking of necklaces, earrings are another thing that can be somewhat difficult to transport. You can easily lose either the front or back piece, or they can get tangled with any other loose pieces of jewelry you may have. This is where a plastic pill organizer comes in handy.
Just place your earrings in the empty compartments and nothing will get lost during your trip. You can also use a button to keep earrings together, too—just thread the earrings through the button holes, attach the back, and you can keep pairs of earrings together easily.
Hair Straightener
Most people have an iron in their home, but it’s a tool that always feels like such a pain to use. This is especially true when you’re staying in a hotel room and don’t want to break out a clunky ironing board in such a small space.
Handheld steamers are becoming a more popular option when it comes to wrinkle-free clothes, too, but what about when you’re in a pinch? For anyone who uses a hair straightener, say hello to your new makeshift iron.
You’ll obviously need to bust out the real deal if you need to iron the full piece of clothing, but a flat iron can help you out when it comes to ironing shirt sleeves, a shirt collar, or just around a shirt’s buttons.
Toilet Paper Tubes
If you use any sort or portable technology everyday—a cell phone, an e-reader, a laptop—we can guarantee you’ve felt frustrated at some point because of loose or tangled cords. No matter how neatly you pack them into your bag or purse, they always seem to end up coming loose and taking over.
Though you may want to invest in something that’s actually designed to keep your cords organized, you can always try using an empty toilet paper tube in a pinch. Just wrap up the cord and stuff it inside of the tube to keep the cord from spreading out.
You can even write the name of the cord or charger on the tube so you know what’s what without digging through everything.
Powdered Drink Mix
In addition to being a tasty drink for hot summer days, those cheap packets of powdered drink mixes can come in pretty handy when it comes to getting your dishwasher clean.
Take about a quarter cup of the dry drink mix—make sure it contains citric acid in some form—and add it to your dishwasher’s detergent cup. Run the machine as usual, and the citric acid will take care of any rust or stains that were stuck on the dishwasher walls.
