What things are suppose to be used for one thing, but you use it for another?

Question

I am mainly looking for houshold items, space saver, cleaning tips decorations, but I am open for other ideas.

Answer 1

I keep a small bottle of lighter fluid with my cleaning stuff.
Use it to remove anything sticky. Works on permanent marker as well.

I have a tall faux silver ice bucket tucked in beside the toilet. It holds the toilet brush, air spray, cleanser & sponge.

I have an old cod liver oil bottle next to the bathroom sink filled with mouthwash. The lid is missing so I inverted a plain shot glass over the neck.

I have a very tiny kitchen so counter space is at a premium. I covered the rear element of the stove closest to the outlet with a 12" x 12" floor tile. I put the toaster here. I rarely use all 4 elements. The toaster stays cleaner since I give it a wipe whenever I clean the stovetop.

I picked up some magnet clips at the dollar store for the side of my frig to hold take out menus, maps, coupons etc. I used the extra one to hold a small notepad to the door of my car.

Another cool use for hot glue is to add detail or design to a shelf or furniture piece you will be painting. Draw your pattern on in pencil. Trace design with hot glue. Paint as usual. I've done this on a few projects. Chrome paint from the auto department will make it look like silver.

With only one bathroom, everyone in the house is in there sooner or later. I keep a dry erase marker above the mirror. Messages & reminders are written on the mirror. The recipient is responsible for erasing it.

I have hardwood in my bedroom. I bought 5' long bathmats (MS collection) for each side of the bed. Very comfy & great value.

I use a denture brush to clean window & door tracks so the vacuum can pick up most of the dirt. (The dirtier it is the more you need to "dry" clean first.)

A little tin teapot like you see in diners is the perfect dispenser for dishwasher powder & doesn't take much room under the sink.

A coffee mug tree is great on the dresser to hang rings, necklaces, bracelets, keys & sunglasses.

For freshly washed grapes or to serve perogies etc, place a small saucer upside down in the bowl first.
The excess moisture will drain under the saucer away from the food.

I have more but I'm out of time.

Hope you get lots of great ideas you can use.

Answer 2

No sure what your looking for, as for cleaning I Love that swiffer sweeper, I don't but the refills, I use an old wash rag with pine sol.
My husband recently bought me a decorative peice of bass. It was old and tarnished, it looked almost like it was iron. We live in Africa, so Brasso is no where to be found. A local, showed me lime (no lemons here) and salt. Just cut the lime in two add salt and scrub. It shined up in a matter of seconds! (Brasso would have taken longer)
To keep down cluter, (3 kids), I keep baskets around the house, and when it time to tidy up, all items in that room that don't belong go into the basket. Once a week the kids and I go around putting things back in their home. It almost a game to them, and less stress for me!

The best thing I can suggest about space saving is to go up! When we lived in the states, our place was super small, I got shelves and some book cases from thrift shops (baskets too) and used them, I even put a book shelf in the too small closet!
Also, I use shoe boxes to keep craft and medical items in, I write on the outside on duck tape what it is, and put it high in the closet or shelf.
To keep track of kids cloths, (2 kids -ages 7 & 5) I make the tages of the 5 yr old with a maker, it helps with sorting, and if she grows into some hand me downs, I simply mark them as well.
I decorated my office using baskets on shelves, added a few trinkets, and fake vines of ivy, (Dollar store) Voila- It looks great, and guess have no idea that I keep thinks like last years taxes, medical records, and office supplies in them. Another great way to decorate is painting a wall or two, to define space. I that small house I painted two wall in the dining area to define that that was separate for the rest of the room (open floor palns) I think wal-mart paint can run $8 a gallon, and you can have the color mixed. Also Home Depot and such places sometimes have paint that they mixed for other people but was returned because the color wasn't quite right. You can get a $22 gallon of paint for $5 sometimes. I did this when I bought a $20 (old damaged, but sturdy) dresser drawer for the kids room, I found a gallon of beige paint for $4 and asked the man if we could make it purple, he did! Then I purchased some fabric off of the clearence/ remients rack and covered the drawer. I took off the knobs, used regular Elmars glue on the front of the drawer, and covered it with some pillow batting I had around the house (In a bootbox), Then cut the fabric an inch larger then the drawer front and hot glued it to the back of the drawer. Painted the knobs, put it all back together, and there we had a nice deco matching peice of furniture that cost lesst the $25. I even had fabric left over to cover the lamp shade, I did the same as above, minus the Elmars glue step, and trimmed in ribbing I had around! I finished this project in one day, and that included sanding!

Hope this helps-
Godd luck!

Answer 3

Some one gave me a very large car spring. I cleaned it and spray painted it. I put it in my bathroom where I tightly roll washclothes and wedge them in the spring. I have gotten soooo many compliments on this idea!

Answer 4

WD-40 gets tape gum off everything. You know, like when you take a label off something and the gum is still there. Also gets grease and tar off your car and linoleum glue off floors.

Answer 5

A vacuum for the broom.

Answer 6

Hairspray gets ink off of things...

Answer 7

.....a keyboard: useful for beating yur head and NOT putting a hole in the wall.