Can you reuse aluminum foil? Of course, you can! Read on to learn how.
Have you ever pulled off a length of aluminum foil only to realize you didn’t need it, after all, and then wonder what the heck to do with it? Well, believe it or not, aluminum foil may be more useful than you would have thought. It’s more than just a handy cover for your cookies as you cart them to your reading club meeting. While aluminum foil may be a better choice than plastic wrap, it is also easier to clean and re-use than plastic wrap, and it is recyclable (as long as it’s clean) in some locations.
If you find yourself with aluminum foil that you didn’t actually use, or piece of cleaned and rinsed foil, don’t toss it. Instead, repurpose it around your home.
Here some ideas for ways you can reuse aluminum foil to expand its life span and usefulness. Sure, it might end up in a landfill eventually, but if you get two uses out it, that’s better than one. And in some cases, it may help you solve a problem and eliminate the need for any even worse product, like plastic wrap. Of course, the real key to eliminating the impact of single-use products is to reduce the use of them by using reusable options, like beeswax paper. But the reality is that sometimes you just need to use some aluminum foil. Make it count by repurposing it with these useful DIY ideas.
- Sharpen Scissors – Bring a dull pair of scissors back to life by cutting through a sheet of foil.
- Pot Scrubber – Balled up foil works just as well on grimy pots and pans and even works on cleaning up the outdoor grill. Just make sure only to use it on surfaces that are safe–that means no non-stick surfaces.
- Arts and Crafts Medium – The ways in which you can use clean sheets of aluminum foil in your arts and craft projects are endless. All you need is your imagination.
- Static Cling Eliminator – Throw a clean balled up bit of foil in with your clothes in the dryer to avoid static cling.
- Painting Tool – Cover doorknobs with foil to protect them when painting. Also, you can use crumpled foil to create texture on your walls.
- Pet Deterrent – Many cats and dogs don’t like to walk on foil and don’t like the crinkly sound of it. Hide some foil where you don’t want your pets to go, like around your plants.
- Ironing Helper – Place sheets of foil under your ironing board cover to make ironing a breeze. It reflects the heat and speeds up ironing time.
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Image: Kitchen Foil on Counter via Shutterstock