BAKING PANS


#1. Dustpan.
Cut one side of an old cake pan with a coping saw. If you want a handle, drill two holes through the opposit side and bolt onto an old broom handle.

#2. Utility tray.
Here's a good way to store nuts, bolts, nails, screws and other workshop materials: bolt a heavy duty muffin tin to the underside of a bench or shelf by one cornor, using a washer as a spacer, so that the pan can be swung out as needed. Or attach cleats under your workbench or shelf to serve as runners for the rim of the muffin tin.

#3. Serving tray.
Avoid spills-use a muffin tin to carry cold drinks.

#4. Water bowl
If your dog makes a habit of overturning its backyard water bowl, drive a stake into the ground through the center hole of a tube pan to keep it upright.

BAKING SODA


#1. Dishwasher deoderant.
If you use your dishwasher less than once a day, toss a handful of baking soda into the bottom between washes.

#2. Furniture blancher .
To spruce up white painted furniture, wash it with a solution of 1 Tbsp. baking soda in 1 Qt. warm water.

#3. Dog shampoo.
To add softness and luster to your pets coat. put 2 Tbsp. baking soda in its bathwater. Baking soda also works well as a dry shampoo for your dog.

#4. Sting salve.
A paste of baking soda and water will ease the discomfort of bee stings.

#5. Battery saver.
Eliminate acid build up on car battery terminals-apply a paste of 3 parts baking soda and 1 part water with a toothbrush; rinse with water and wipe dry. Wear safety goggles and rubber gloves to protect eyes and hands.

#6. Skin emollient.
For softer, smoother skin, add 1/2 cup soda to your bathwater.

BANNA PEELS


#1. Fertilizer.
Bury peels no more than 1 inch deep around rosebushes. If you have more, add them to your garden's compost pile; they are an excellent source of phosphorus and potassium.

#2. Wildlife food.
Place banna peels in an empty birdbath in winter as forage for deer.

#3. Emergency shoe shine.
For a spur-of-the-moment job, rub your leather shoes with the inside of the peel; then clean and buff with a paper towel or napkin.

BAR STOOLS


#1. Work stand.
For access to all sides when painting or working with clay, set the piece on a swiveling bar stool.

#2. Side table.
Drape a circular table cloth over a backless bar stool; top with a sheet of glass.

#3. Plant stand.
Paint a wooden stool and place a vining plant on top.

#4. Tomato cage.
Remove the seat; push the legs into the soil and wrap them with strong twine to support small tomato plants.

BERRY BASKETS


#1. Orchid planter.
Line a plastic mesh basket with sphagnum moss, add a little potting soil, plant an orchid, and hang with monofilament line or yarn.

#2. Plant protector.
Invert a basket and secure it firmly over small seedlings and plants to protect them from rabbits and squirrels.

#3. Bulb cage.
To foil rodents, set a mesh basket in a garden bed at the correct depth, place bulbs inside, and cover with soil.

#4. Bow saver.
When mailing a gift, protect the bow with an inverted basket.

#5. Bubble maker.
Dip the basket into a soap bubble solution and wave it in the air to make clouds of bubbles.

#6. Frog.
Turn a basket upside down in a bowl to hold flower stems in place.

#7. Dishwasher basket.
Put baby bottle caps and nipples in a mesh basket; using rubber bands, secure another basket upside down on top. Place in the upper rack of the dishwasher.

BICYCLE WHEELS


#1. Trellis.
Mount a bicycle wheel horizontally atop a tall pole, then run strings from the rim or spokes to pegs planted firmly in the ground; train pea or bean vines on the strings.

#2. Tool hanger.
Suspend a bicycle wheel horizontally and hang tools or utensils from the spokes and rim with S-hooks.

BLANKETS


#1. Poncho.
Fold a blanket in half, then cut and hem a slit in the center to go over the head.

#2. Insulation.
Insert pieces of blanket inside pot holders, hot pads, and place mats.

#3. Quilt.
Insert batting between two blankets and stitch together.

#4. Mattress pad.
Cut the blanket to the desired size, then sew on a strip of 1-inch-wide elastic across each corner to secure the pad to the mattress.

BLUE JEANS


Draft dodger.
#1. Cut each leg in half length wise. Stitch all four halves into tubes and fill with rags or fiberfill and stitch closed and use to block winter drafts at windows and doors.
#2. Sneaker bag.
Cut 18 inches off one leg; close one end with stitches and make a casing for a drawstring at the other (or simply cut holes to thread cord through).

#3. Patches.
Save pieces of tattered jeans so that you have ready patches for a pair thats still worth saving.

#4. Pillow.
Cut off one leg and hem the aw edges, and and tie one end tightly with a decorative cord. Stuff the leg with old pantyhose or other filler, then close the other end with cord.

BOBBY PINS


#1. Wire router.
Secure speaker or phne wires to the baseboard r molding. Clip the eds ff bobby pinsso that they slie easily int thecracks.

#2. Ornament holder.
Slip through ornament ring and clip to tree branch.

#3. Zipper pull.
Replace a broken zipper with a bobby pin until fixed.

#4. Bookmark.
Use bobby pin to mark your place in a book.

#5. Peg.
When propagating plants by layering, hold their stems down with bobby pins.

#6. Invisible tie clip.
Run the rear apron of your necktie through the loop on the back of the front apron, then clip it to your shirt with a bobby pin.

BOOKS


#1. Insulation.
Put book-filled shelves on exterior walls to help keep the heat in and the cold out and on the walls between rooms to muffle sound.

#2. Bookend.
Glue together three or four old books to make an extra-heavy bookend.

#3. Doorstop.
Glue together three or four old unwanted books to make that stubborn door stay open.

BORAX


#1. Fertilizer .
Fill a shaker with borax and sprinkle on the soil all around beet plants.

#2. Diaper freshner.
Add 1 cup borax along with the recommended amount of soap or detergent to a hot water wash to eliminate odors and stains and make diapers absorbent.

#3. China shiner.
For and especially brilliant shine, rinse your fine china in a sink full of warm water with 1/2 cup borax added; rinse again in clear water.

#4. Flower preserver.
Place a 1-inch layer of 1 part borax and 2 parts cornmeal in an airtight container; put in 1 or 2 flowers and leave in a cool dry place. After 7 to 10 days, pour off the mixture and dust the flowers with a soft artists brush.

#5. Cat litter deoderizer .
Blend 6 parts cat litter with 1 part borax to reduce odor in the litter box.

BOTTLES


#1. Mole and rabbit repellent.
When set in the ground near molehills with 1/2 inch of their necks exposed, bottles will whistle in the wind and scare off moles. Half-filled bottless placed through out the garden will do the same for rabbits.

#2. Cruets.
Use perfume, hair-tonic, or other exotically shaped bottles as oil and vinegar cruets.

#3. Drill holester.
To hold an electric drill or screw gun, cut the neck off a plastic bottle about halfway on the diagonal. Screw to the wall above your workbench or cut slits in the bottle so that you can put it on a belt.

#4. Boot trees.
Insert large soda-pop bottles into your boots to help them keep their shape.

#5. Newspaper saver.
Cut off large plastic bottle on the diagonal about a third of the way from the bottom. atie a piece of string around the neck of the bottle and attach the other end of the string to the delivery box. Ask your newsperson to put the bottle over the open end of the box after putting in the newspaper on a rainy day.

BROOM HANDLES


#1. Reach extender.
Attach a screw hook to a broom handle to lengthen your reach so that you can get hold of those socks behind the washer or the basket on the highest shelf.

#2. Closet rod.
Screw large screw hooks into beams in the closet ceiling and rest a broom handle on them. Hang out of season clothing on broom handles attached to the basement ceiling joists with screw hooks.

#3. Curtain rod.
Cut a broom stick to the desired length and drill holes at both ends. Hang it from L-hooks fitted the holes or finishing nails driven into the window molding and bent upward with pliers.

#4. Bird caller.
Insert a screw eye into the end of a short length of broom handle; remove it and sprinkle rosin into the hole. Then turn the screw back and forth in it to attract birds.

#5. Paint can holder.
Slide a broom handle into the rung of an aluminum extension ladder. Notch each end of the pole to keep the can from sliding off.

BUBBLE PACK


#1. Rain bonnet.
A bubble back kerchief will keep your hair dry.

#2. Cooler.
To help keep ice cream firm on the way to the picnic, wrap it with bubble pack.

#3. Insulation.
Glue to the inside walls of the doghouse to keep Rover warm on chilly nights.

#4. Picnic table cushion.
For pleasenter picknicking; stretch a length of bubble pack along the benches.

#5. Table pad.
When repairing glass or china, prevent breakage by covering the work surface with bubble pack.

BACK
HOME