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10 Extraordinary Uses For Ordinary Items

Some ordinary, unassuming household objects have super powers. And most of these items cost less than a couple of bucks.

So the next time you stain a shirt, smell something funky or think about tossing a banana peel, check these uses first.

Not only will you be going green, you’ll be saving some green to buy more Stuff.

I have been trying to test all of these and currently need only 2 more to complete the list.

What I have tried works well and I have even stopped buying the proper products. For example.

I used to buy expensive conditioner because my hair is really dry but after using mayonnaise I will never buy conditioner again, for myself anyway.

1. Ketchup

Get rid of chlorine green hair with a ketchup shampoo. Massage ketchup generously into your hair and leave it for 15 minutes, then wash it out with baby shampoo.

2. Lemons

• To relieve a sore throat, cut a lemon in half, skewer half over a medium flame on a gas stove or an electric burner set on high and roast until the peel turns golden brown. Cool slightly, then mix the juice with 1 teaspoon of honey.
• Whiten fingernails by rubbing a wedge on them.
• Remove soft cheese or other sticky foods from a grater by rubbing both sides with the pulp side of a cut lemon.
• Create blond highlights by adding a quarter-cup lemon juice to three-quarters cup water and rinse your hair with it. Sun dry your hair.

3. Mayonnaise

• Condition your hair by massaging it into your hair and scalp. Cover your head with a shower cap, wait several minutes, and shampoo.
• Relieve sunburn pain by slathering mayonnaise over the affected area.
• Clean piano keys with a little mayonnaise applied with a soft cloth. Wait a few minutes, wipe with a damp cloth and buff.
• Remove bumper stickers by rubbing some mayonnaise over them. Let it sit for several minutes and wipe it off. It will also remove tar and pine sap.

4. Milk

• Shave with milk if you have nothing else to use as a barrier.
• Shine patent leather shoes by rubbing them with milk on a soft cloth. Leave to dry and buff.
• Remove ink stains from clothing by soaking in milk. This can take a half-hour to overnight.
• Repair fine cracks in china by boiling them in milk. The milk reacts with the kaolin in china to close the crack. Place the plate in a pan, cover it with milk (fresh or reconstituted powdered milk) and bring to a boil. As soon as it starts to boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes.

5. Aluminum foil

• Sharpen your scissors by cutting through six to eight layers of foil.
• Shine rusty chrome by scrubbing with a little water on a wadded-up piece of aluminum foil.
• Keep birds out of your fruit trees by hanging twisted strips of aluminum foil on them with fishing line.
• Keep the soot off the bottom of your fireplace or charcoal grill by lining it with aluminum foil before starting a fire. Dispose of the foil after the fire cools.
• Eliminate electromagnetic interference if your TV and DVD player are stacked on top of each other by placing a sheet of aluminum foil between them.
• Iron more effectively by putting a piece of aluminum foil under the ironing board cover. The foil will reflect the heat from the iron so both sides get ironed at once.
• Move furniture with ease by putting small pieces of foil under the legs, dull side down.
• Clean starch buildup from your iron by running a hot iron over a piece of aluminum foil.

6. Bananas

• Polish leather shoes with a destringed banana peel. Buff with a soft cloth or paper towel.
• Remove warts by rubbing them with the inside of a banana peel every night for several weeks.
• Deter aphids by burying dried or cut-up banana peels a few inches deep around rosebushes.
• Nourish your skin with a mashed, medium-size banana combined with a quarter-cup plain yogurt and 2 tablespoons honey to make a mask. Leave on 20 minutes.
• Tenderize a roast by adding a peeled banana to the pan.
• Wipe houseplant leaves with the inside of a banana peel to remove dirt and leave a shine.
• Rub scraped knees with the inside of a banana peel to promote healing.

7. Beer

• Use beer instead of water in your favorite batter for added flavor.
• Soften hair and add body with a beer shampoo. Mix a raw egg with half a can of beer and massage it into hair. Rinse and style.
• For an excellent conditioner, massage a cup of warm beer into your hair and scalp after washing and allow it to set for half an hour or so. Rinse thoroughly.
• Pour the half-filled bottles and cups of beer left from a party onto houseplants and garden vegetables for the nourishment the yeast adds to the soil.
• To rid your garden of slugs, put a shallow dish of beer into your soil, buried up to the lip. The slugs will become stuck in it. Refill with new beer daily.

8. Dryer sheets

• Repel mosquitoes by hanging a sheet when outdoors.
• Freshen the air by placing a sheet in a drawer, in the closet, the locker at the health club or work, or under the seat of your car.
• Run a needle through a sheet before sewing to prevent the thread from tangling. • A sheet left in luggage can prevent musty odors.
• Eliminate static electricity from the television or computer screen.
• Dissolve soap scum from shower door and tile walls by cleaning with a sheet.
• Repel bees and bugs by tucking some in your picnic basket or under lawn furniture. Rub a sheet on your bare skin.
• Combat static on clothes, stockings and hair by patting with a sheet. • Deodorize your pets by rubbing dogs or cats (especially wet ones) with a sheet before they come in.
• Soak cookware with burnt or baked-on food in warm water and a dryer sheet or two to make clean-up easier.

9. Epsom salt

• Exfoliate by massaging handfuls of epsom salt over wet skin, starting with your feet and working up. Have a bath to rinse.
• Remove excess oil from hair by adding 9 tablespoons of epsom salt to a half cup of oily-hair shampoo. Apply one tablespoon of the liquid to hair when hair is dry; rinse with cold water. Pour lemon juice or organic apple cider vinegar through the hair, leave on for 5 to 10 minutes and rinse.
• Remove a splinter by soaking in epsom salt. Grocery bags
• Preserve paint brushes by placing them in bags and tie them or wrapping them with rubber bands to keep air out. The tools will stay moist and protected for a day or so.
• Pouf up curtain valances by stuffing them with bags. Can also be used to stuff crafts or pillows.
• Rub chapped hands with a thick layer of petroleum jelly and put them in a plastic bag for 15 minutes to half an hour.

10. Grocery bags

• Preserve paint brushes by placing them in bags and tie them or wrapping them with rubber bands to keep air out. The tools will stay moist and protected for a day or so.
• Pouf up curtain valances by stuffing them with bags. Can also be used to stuff crafts or pillows.
• Rub chapped hands with a thick layer of petroleum jelly and put them in a plastic bag for 15 minutes to half an hour.

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