11 household uses for beer you can’t live without. Like, seriously.

After weekend bashes, your home always looks a tad… disheveled. The morning after, you find yourself navigating through the land mines of empty food containers, random wrappers, and of course almost-empty bottles of stale beer. It’s kind of like a scavenger hunt, only you know, not fun. Lucky for you, there are plenty of ways to put that leftover beer to good use – excellent use, actually.

Here are 11 household uses for beer you’re going to love (I promise):

1. Get rid of pests
Beer is like a superhero for your home and garden, guarding them against oodles of different pests:

• Distract bees and wasps from your weekend bash by placing bowls or jars of beer several feet away from the main area.
• At night, place dishes or jars of beer around your garden to prevent slugs and snails from messing with it.
• If cockroaches are an issue, put a piece of bread-soaked beer into a jar and put Vaseline around the lip of the jar. Once the roaches get in, they won’t be able to get back out. (Enter evil laugh here.)
• To combat fruit flies in your kitchen, pour beer into a jar and cover the top with plastic wrap, poking tiny holes in it to trap them.
• Mice also enjoy a good brew: Put an inch or so of beer into a pail, and use a piece of wood to create a ramp for mice to crawl up. Once they fall into the pail, they won’t be able to get back out, so you can take your hungover mice back outside.

2. Spruce up your lawn
If you’ve got brown spots on your lawn, pour half a cup or less on the problem areas. Word has it the fermented sugars kill any fungus and feed the grass so it can make a comeback.

3. Enrich soil
Yeast is beneficial to your plants, so pour a few tablespoons of flat beer into your garden to amp up the soil and keep your plants healthy.

4. Polish metal
Thanks to the carbonation and acidity in beer, you can use it to polish tarnished metal, such as copper pots and pans – even your taps and showerheads! Seriously: Fill a sandwich bag with flat beer and tie it around your dull taps. Later on, you’ll find they look brand new.

5. Loosen rusty bolts and screws
If you’ve got a screw that won’t come loose, pour beer onto the frozen hardware, wait a few seconds, then give it a turn. The carbonation helps in breaking down the rust.

6. Polish wooden furniture
If your wooden furniture is starting to look how you feel the morning after a shindig, dampen a microfiber cloth with flat beer and gently rub it into your furniture. It’ll give it a polish and revive the color.

7. Soothe sore feet
If your feet are giving you attitude, one of my favorite uses for beer is an at-home foot soak. The enzymes in beer help soften callused feet while the yeast softens your skin. Mix one part room-temperature beer and one part warm peppermint tea and hop in!

8. Condition your hair
Beer is loaded with nutrients that repair damaged hair to its former glory. You can also use beer as an all-natural way to highlight your hair. Makeovers anyone?

9. Brighten your skin
The hops in beer act as a natural astringent, while the yeast helps balance your skin’s pH levels. Give this beer facial a try, which may also improve your skin’s elasticity, clear pores and fade brown spots. (Don’t mention it.)

10. Clean your jewelry
You don’t need to spend a fortune on jewelry cleaner: Simply drop your silver and gold into a bowl of beer, then shine ‘em up using a microfiber cloth.

11. Water your plants
Now that you have a ton of uses for beer to try, don’t forget about repurposing those empties: If you’re planning on taking a trip, you can use empty beer bottles to water your plants while you’re away. Fill your empties with water and push a cork in the top. Carefully drill a hole into the cork and turn it upside down into your plant’s soil. They’ll still be nice and hydrated when you return!

What are your favorite household uses for beer?

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Image: Quinn Dombrowski

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