10 Uses for the Humble Clothespin (Tuesday Tips: Kitchen Edition)

One of the most useful (and least expensive) items in my kitchen gadget drawer is a little bin of colored plastic clothespins! If you're a a green freak, the wooden ones are great too...

Years ago I bought a pack of 25 from Dollar Tree ($1 compared to $6.99 for 10 Chip Clips at your favorite bed and bath store).

IN THE KITCHEN

1. Close bread and chip bags, cereal bags inside boxes, and opened bags of frozen veggies to keep things fresh without wire annoying twist ties.

2. Hold your cookbook open to your page while you follow your recipe (this also works for sheet music).

3 Clip a few tea bags to a pitcher or teapot to keep the tag ends from falling in. If the vessel is too thick for the pin, just clip it on and use it as a weight instead.

OUTDOORS

4. To keep your tablecoth on, clip the sides together under the table.

5. Pin a stack of napkins together to keep them from blowing away.

FOR KIDS

6. Hang artwork or notes on a string.

7. Let them attach sheets to furniture with clothespins to make a fort.

8. Who doesn't know a craft project or two that uses wooden clothespins?

AND, OF COURSE, FOR LAUNDRY...

9. Pin pleats at the bottom of the hem for easier ironing. Also use mini wooden clothespins from the craft store instead of pins for hemming.

10. Mark a stain (or an area you've pre-treated) on an item of clothing so you won't forget to attend to it when you do laundry.

BONUS

Oh, and you can also use them to hang laundry on a clothesline.






In closing, this is

EITHER THE BEST OR WORST PARENTING/CLOTHESPIN TIP EVER:

"Use a clip to your keys when your child is in a carseat as a fail-safe way to make sure you never forget." - reader comment on another blog

If you read this post, you already know where I stand on this one. All I can say is: If that's what you have to do to keep your kid safe, then please do it!

What's your vote- BEST or WORST?