Double Duty

C1aire

I resisted buying "chef's soap" to get the onion-y garlic-y smell from my hands after cooking when my brother (a chef) pointed out that any stainless steel item will do. So now I used a spoon.

Chop sticks make great cat toys, as do corks and empty cotton bobbins.

Olliebeak

C1aire wrote: »

Chop sticks make great cat toys, as do corks and empty cotton bobbins.

My cat absolutely refuses to play with anything that has been specifically bought for him to play with! What he adores are empty biro cases (flips them over and rolls all over the floor like a young kitten with them - he's about 12 years old!) and golf balls! He actually grabs the golf balls with his front paws, rolls over with them and then appears to throw them somehow. We've bought the small plastic balls about the same size but he won't entertain those - he must like the weight of the golf balls .

C1aire

Olliebeak wrote: »

My cat absolutely refuses to play with anything that has been specifically bought for him to play with!

Oh yeah, I know how annoying that is! Shoelaces are a favourite too. Also, why use the scratching post when there is a perfectly adequate sofa...?

Christmas baubles are great too - one of my cats uses them as yours does golfballs. He loves christmas - his toys literally grow on trees!

mary43

Phew !!! Took me ages reading all this.What brilliant ideas !

I do a lot of them but don't want to duplicate so here's a few:

Old glass microwave plate stands on low table in the lounge to stand a group of candles on with pebbles out of the garden (all washed!) around them.

OH's old green wine bottles this year will be washed out and filled with cheap bubble bath..........label replaces with bubble bath image printed off the net and tied with a ribbon at the top for a birthday or christmas pressie.

Unused clay plant pots are used for tea lights in the garden as are any small glasses we either get given or have come with a set we've bought.

Shoe boxes are painted and used for storing odds and sods, same with box files.

Cutlery trays are good dividers in the desk drawer so I can find the stapler/hole puncher etc. when I need it.

Large mugs or cups (the sort given as gifts full of chocs) are used as plant holders on the window sill

Thats all I can think of without doing a tour of the house to see whatelse I've done..............lol

posted by stilerman

As a gardener, the thought of all my plant pots hanging in the shed in pairs of tights make me think of Bill and Ben. Great idea which I shall be using.

Be interested in t he instructions for this please.

Thanks all for some super ideas. Must put baby wipes on my shopping list !
:T

Ooops....forgot to mention...........old christmas and birthday cards are cut up and used for making cards and gift tags.

buxtonrabbitgreen

Hardup_Hester wrote: »

I used to use my coffee filters for straining chip fat, back in the days when we ate chips.
Hester

That is really useful. As chip eaters still.
On the double duty front, my DS's (now left home) used to use desert spoons as tyre levers when they were mending punctures grrrr

juno

I used a Norton Antivirus CD for getting drawing pins out of the wall when removing my Christmas decorations. It's not really double duty though, as I dunno why anyone would want to use it for something else

123xyz

Aerosol air freshener makes great glass cleaner. I'm not sure if this is strictly money speaking, but it saved me the petrol to drive 10 miles to the nearest shop. Just spray it on the glass and polish in the same way you would with proper glass cleaner, and it makes the room smell nice too!

Ebenezer_Scrooge_2

I recently made some fridge magnets out of old computer memory sticks and processors at work in my workshop, they look really great,lol

As you can tell i dont like throwing thing away:p

Do you have any reuse or alternative use favourites?

Ebenezer_Scrooge_2

I might make a hard disk clock next!: http://www.instructables.com/id/Hard-drive-platter-clock./

lil_me

My old CDs that are broken etc go to a friend who does clock making classes with kids.

Old saving tins (I get the ones which are like a bean can but bigger) I tape round the inside (so don't cut my hands) and they make great pen/utensil/junk pots