Before your next trash day, keep any eye out for items that you can use one last time to help you clean the house with ease. Here are 6 disposable household items you probably have laying around to turn into one-time-use cleaning tools:
Worn out T-shirts
Shirts into Cleaning Wipes
Before you throw out those raggedy shirts here’s one more great way to get use out of them. Old t-shirts are great for cleaning and wiping down furniture, shelves, and counters. Simply cut worn shirts into smaller pieces and use them as rags. The soft fabric is gentle on surfaces and effective at trapping dust and dirt. You can use them dry or slightly dampened with a cleaning solution.
Shirts for Furniture Polish
Old shirts are also perfect for polishing wood furniture. After applying furniture polish or a mixture of your own favorite DIY solution, use a t-shirt rag piece to buff the surface to a shine. The fabric is gentle enough not to scratch, yet effective at getting a glossy finish.
Old Toothbrush
Toothbrush for Appliances
When you’re ready to switch to a new toothbrush you can use the old one for fine detailed cleaning. Use old toothbrushes to clean small parts of appliances like your refrigerator’s vents, your oven’s knobs, or the edges of your microwave. The small bristles allow you to clean the nooks and crannies of these areas, removing crumbs, grease, and other debris that tends to accumulate.
Toothbrush into a Detailing Brush
An old toothbrush can also help you clean areas that are difficult to reach with larger cleaning tools, such as around faucet handles, sink edges, or in the crevices of your stove. Simply dip the brush into a cleaning solution (like a mixture of vinegar and water) and scrub away the buildup of grime.
Used Dryer sheets
Dryer Sheets into Odor Absorbers
Used dryer sheets are pretty versatile for many things, but especially for cleaning. Old dryer sheets can help absorb odors in shoes, trash cans, or closets. Once you’ve accumulated a good handful of used dryer sheets, ball them and place them in your shoes, inside a small trash bin (such as a bathroom waste bin), or in drawers to help these areas smelling fresh. The scent left by the dryer sheet will help mask any unwanted smells and neutralize staleness inside dressers.
Dryer Sheets into Dusting Wipes
Old dryer sheets are equally great for dusting furniture, baseboards, and other surfaces. Because the sheets are used, they have a plush texture and contain a bit of fabric softener, which helps attract and trap dust, leaving your surfaces clean and with a pleasant scent. Simply wipe down surfaces like tables, shelves, and countertops with a used dryer sheet.
Newspaper
Newspaper into Glass Cleaner
Crumple up a sheet of newspaper and use it to clean windows, mirrors, and glass tables. The newspaper fibers are great at removing smudges without leaving streaks or lint behind. Use your favorite glass cleaning solution or spray a vinegar-water mix on the surface and wipe it down with the crumpled newspaper. Modern newspaper is typically free from running ink but it’s good to check the kind you’ve collected before trying this method.
Newspaper into Pet Liners
Newspaper is also excellent for soaking up spills, particularly messy ones like pet waste. If your home contains pets like indoor cats or caged mammals you can use newspaper as the bottom to a cage liner tray or to line a cat litter box for easy clean up that helps to absorb odors.
Empty Pill bottles
Pill bottles into Mini Trash Cans
Instead of collecting pill bottles with a few expired pills left in your medicine cabinet, repurpose them as a mini trash cans for cleaning small areas, such as your desk, car, or other small spaces. You can use it to throw away tiny bits of trash, like paper scraps, receipts, or cotton balls, keeping surfaces tidy while you clean.
Pill bottles into Storage Containers
Empty pill bottles are even great for getting organized by storing small supplies like cotton swabs, rubber bands, or even Q-tips. This is great for smaller homes where space is limited and also a great way to stay organized when traveling.
Paper towel roll
Empty Rolls into Extenders
With all the different DIY craft and repurposing videos out there on empty paper towel rolls there’s many things you can do to get one more use out of them. A clever cleaning hack is to use rolls for extra reach in hard-to-reach areas. You can secure them to the end of a vacuum hose or attach a duster to the end to give you more length.
Empty Rolls for Organization
You can even use an empty paper towel roll to help organize cords and cables. Simply coil up your cables, slip them into the paper towel roll with a written label of what electronic they belong to, and store them in drawers or closets. This keeps cables untangled and makes it easier to find the cord you need in a flash!
