Tuesday, June 22, 2010

New Uses for Aluminum Foil

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Aluminum foil. We all know it is great for covering food to keep it warm, and lining pans for easy clean-up, but there are so many more uses for it.
  • Sharpening scissors. Cut through 6-8 layers and your scissors will stay sharp.
  • Make your soap last longer. Put a piece on the bottom of the bar so it doesn't sit in a puddle of water and wear away quicker
  • Re-soften brown sugar by wrapping the block in foil and bake at 300 for 5 min.
  • Place a piece under your iron while ironing. It will reflect heat and make it like ironing both sides at once.
  • Use it as wrapping paper in a pinch
  • Keep pie crust from burning by wrapping the edges of the crust with foil near the end of baking.
  • Cover doorknobs and hinges to save yourself from removing them to paint.
  • Ball it up to clean off the grill
  • Ball it up and use it like steel wool
  • Use it as curlers in your hair.
  • Use it to keep pets off furniture. They hate the sound, and soon enough your pets will be trained not to go up there.
  • Place a piece under a napkin in a serving basket to keep rolls warmer
  • Curl it into a cone for a make shift funnel
  • Line a glass pan with foil, add several spoonfuls of baking soda, fill the pan with boiling water, and drop in tarnished silverware for a quick cleaning.
  • Place it on the rack under a casserole or other messy food to catch drips. Never put it on the bottom of the oven as this is a fire hazard.
  • Gardening. Add it to mulch to keep slugs away. Hang it from fruit trees to keep birds from eating the fruit
  • Crafts! There are so many crafts you can make from foil, I couldn't possibly name them all.
Do you have any clever uses for aluminum foil? Share them with me, and I'll be sure to add them to the list.

*As a side note, I know you may suggest wrapping drip pans in aluminum foil, but I've heard from quite a few sources that this is actually a fire hazard. Actually when I first moved into my house we had to replace the receptacle (the part the burner plugs into) on our stove top because they had wrapped the drip pans improperly and caused it to melt the receptacle. In my opinion, it is easier and takes less time to wash them in the dishwasher regularly. 
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