Thrify Thursday: Other Uses for Household Items

I went on the search for more Thrifty Thursday topics and I found some helpful hints that sparked some more ideas that I thought might be helpful if I put together to use things around the house for other uses.

1.  Have an extra salt or pepper shaker around?  Fill shaker with sugar for breakfast to add to coffee or cereal without getting out the whole cereal bowl.  It is super easy if you already have a salt shaker around the house to fill with sugar...make sure to label to avoid confusion later.  In addition, this helps allow kids to use it to add a little sugar without access to the whole sugar bowl.  Fill another with cinnamon in sugar for a quick addition to top toast or baked goods with already mixed cinnamon and sugar.

2.  Need a quick hot pad in the kitchen?  Lay out Chinese chopsticks on the counter and put the pan on top.  The height adds just enough to let the cool air under the hot dish in order to cool off and there is no cost if they are already in the drawer.

3. Do you get tons of return address labels free?  Use them to label DVDs, CDs, and plastic containers that you may loan out of leave somewhere.  People will always know who to return them to and you won't have to worry about how to get something to stick.

4.  Do you have mismatched glasses or stemware?  Do you have glasses that you never use?  Turn the glass upside down and place pillar candles on the bases.  They are even more neat if you group them together to make a free centerpiece or mantelpiece for holiday gatherings.

5.  Do you have extra wallpaper from a project papering some walls or that you got when you moved into the house?  They make great shelf liners to cover up worn shelves on bookcases or cupboards.  It not only helps extend the life of what you are using, it helps add a little interesting color where their normally wouldn't be any.

6.  Did you collect shells on your last million vacations?  I took some memorable shells from a vacation to Florida with my husband and put them in a container by my bathtub.  I get to see the shells every time I pass and remember the great memories of the vacation and I have a free decoration for my bathroom.  Do you have any other collections that you could put on display in a glass jar or vase that you aren't using?

7.  Have any broken plates or bowls?  Save them and make a mosaic.  There are tons of things that can be made into a mosaic like a tray, table or stepping stone for the garden.  They make great additions around the house and outside. Different colors are usually the best to make a colorful arrangement but anything that has good memories is always a good addition.

8.  Do you have any leftover tiles from putting in a floor or a tile wall?  These can be used for little ones to paint on and you can seal the work and give it to relatives for great holiday gifts.  Also, you can use transfer paper or stickers to make inspirational words and hang it up.  The great thing is if you put it in the room that you are using the extras from, it is already color coordinated!

9.  Do you have any decorative bowls or baskets?  They are great to put inside the door to hold keys or on the end table to hold TV remotes.  Often times, decorative bowls and baskets are something special that you got on a trip or that is a family collectible.  Make sure you display and use all the things that are important to you.  What would make you smile more then seeing it as soon as you came in the door.

10.  Do you have glass containers that you have used like spaghetti sauce jars, maple syrup containers, or baby food jars?  I saved a bunch of baby food jars to use to make special crafts with.  My cousin came up with the idea of making a sugar scrub for a baby shower and she used my baby food jars.  The larger jars are great for putting things in the pantry like rice, beans and other dry items.  They are also great to keep leftovers in fridge.  The other fun crafty item is to put a votive in it.  If you want to dress it up, glue tissue paper and ribbons to go with your color scheme.  Next time you think about recycling (or dare I say trashing) a nice glass jar, remember that you might find other uses for it...like a nice flower vase.

11.  Do you have somewhere to store plastic bags?  An old paper towel roll does the trick.  You can fit tons of bags in the tube and put it in one of your cabinets.  I have a neat fabric one from a craft fair that I got years back but if you haven't found the right craft fair, I highly suggest the paper towel method because it makes sure that you don't have plastic bags all over the kitchen.  You can even hide some in the bathroom and other rooms that you need plastic bags with such an affordable holder :)  I have also heard of using tissue boxes but my tissue boxes don't stand up to the wear a normal tissue box does so it doesn't have a long life after it's first use.

Do you have any other ideas of things that you have around the house that you can use for other uses?  Things can be used in multiple ways to make more use of what you have and save lots of space and money!  I hope that you like these ideas and try a few at your house.