Do you have a plethora of wooden clothespins hanging around your home and unaware how useful they can be beside when hanging clothes on a clothesline?
You’d be amazed at how handy clothespins can be. Since they’re one of the most underappreciated everyday household items, I’m going to share with you how you can utilize them in your day to day life to make things run a little smoother.
Here’s how you can put your wooden clothespins to good use around your home or office:
1. Laundry Reminder
I hate when my family brings me stained clothing when I’m not in the middle of doing laundry. Why? Because I’ll forget it was stained when I go to do the laundry.
Don’t have any more of your clothes ruined by forgetfulness. The next time someone tosses you a dirty garment with a stain, clip a clothespin to it. You’ll remember to treat it when you do the laundry this way.
2. Hold the Blanket in Place for Baby
When babies are little, it can be difficult to keep the sun from shining in their face when they’re in their strollers.
You can add some sun protection by clipping their baby blanket to the visor of their stroller. Hold the blanket in place with clothespins.
3. Dirty Duds Bag Holder
Whether you have a baby which had a massive blow out, or you have sweaty duds from the gym – you don’t want those clothes mixed in with your diaper or gym bag.
You can have a dirty duds bag, but you still don’t want the odors in your bag. Instead, use a clothespin to attach the dirty duds bag to the outside of your bag. You won’t forget to toss it in the washer either when you get home.
4. Stick’em to the Fridge
Clothespins are a versatile object, but you may not be aware they make magnificent magnets. You can decorate them and glue a magnet to the back.
From there, stick them on the fridge, where they’re great for holding notes, putting pictures on your fridge, or displaying artwork.
5. Ouch! Don’t Burn Yourself
Burns hurt. When you’re dealing with fire, the further your fingers stay from the flame the better off you’ll be.
When lighting a candle or a grill with a match, use a clothespin to hold the match. This will give an extra layer of security to make sure your fingertips don’t feel the heat.
6. Get a Little Privacy
When we used window units in our home, it was hard to keep the curtains closed around the unit. This inevitably infringed upon the privacy the curtains offered.
Instead of leaving the curtains open around the window unit, I’d use a clothespin to clip the curtains together when I wanted them closed. You can do the same when your curtains don’t come together fully.
7. Block the Sunlight
At our first fixer-upper home, we had no trees around the house. It made for hot days. Instead of allowing the sunlight to scorch us, I’d put large towels and blankets over the windows.
You guessed it. I held those blankets in place with clothespins. Eventually, we bought blackout curtains, but if your budget isn’t quite there yet use clothespins to hold towels and blankets over the windows to keep your home cool.
8. No More Chaos
It’s a huge pet peeve of mine to have endless wires gathered in a corner. Though they’re necessary, they look bad and make my life difficult when cleaning.
Instead of allowing the chaos of cords to happen in the corners of your home for your internet, TV, or phone, use clothespins to clip them together and tame the chaos.
9. Closet Organizer
Have you ever noticed how it’s the little things in life which can throw things off kilter? For instance, when you walk in a messy closet, it isn’t usually large items which create the clutter.
Instead, it’s the small items. Don’t let your closet be taken over by the small things. Glue clothespins to the walls and hang up your gloves and scarves to keep them off the ground.
10. Don’t Toss the Toothpaste Yet
When I was a little girl, I’d go to my great grandmother’s house for the summer. I remember using her toothpaste and it having a clothespin or a paper clip at the bottom.
It wasn’t until I was older, I realized she did this to squeeze the last bit out of the toothpaste tube. Clip it at the end to force the remaining toothpaste to the top of the tube.
11. Seal Your Snacks
My great grandmother was a young woman during the Depression. She was utilizing clothespins before most of us even thought of it.
She used her dishwasher as a pantry (instead of for washing dishes), and she’d seal her snack bags with clothespins to keep them fresh.
12. Trash Bag Holder
It’s annoying when you try to throw something in the trash can only to have the trash bag slip down inside the can and lose everything you tried to toss in it.
Stop this annoyance from occurring by using clothespins to hold the trash bag in place. Clip the bag on the sides of the can, and it should be held tightly, ready for the next item.
13. Don’t Lose Your Dryer Sheets
When you do laundry, you most likely use dryer sheets to avoid static in your clothing and give them a fresh scent too.
These dryer sheets can be tricky little things which get lost in the chaos of laundry. If you’d like to be able to find them, attach a clothespin to them.
14. Stop the Slip ‘n Slide Game
If you try to hang a shirt, dress, or any pants on a hanger and they’re made of slippery material, they’ll slide right off the hanger.
Stop your clothes from ending up on the floor by placing a clothespin on them. This will keep them on the hanger.
15. Don’t Lose Your Mail
Do you ever worry your mail driver will lose your mail when placing it in their car? They’re human, and things happen, but this can be bad if what you’re mailing out is important.
Bind all your mail together with a clothespin when placing it in your mailbox. This will allow the mail carrier to keep everything together, and they can put the clothespin back in your mailbox when done.
16. Clothespins Are the New Paper Clips
You have papers which are to be filed, but they haven’t made it to your filing cabinet yet. What do you do with them to assure they don’t become lost in the shuffle?
The easiest solution is to reach for a clothespin. Clip everything together to keep designated papers together to make for easier filing.
17. Attach to Your Car Visor
It can be hard to stay organized when running errands, but clothespins can make things easier for you. Let’s say you need to drop off the dry cleaning and make a bank deposit.
To ensure you don’t lose your bank deposit items, put everything together in an envelope and use a clothespin to attach it to your visor. It’ll be easily accessible when you arrive at the bank.
18. Clothespins Are the New Post-It Notes
When you need to remind yourself of something or send an easy note, Post-It notes are a great choice because of their sticky nature.
However, you can easily make a note on a small piece of paper and use a clothespin to attach it to your purse or bookbag to make sure the note gets to where it needs to be.
19. Display Your Cards
I don’t like receiving cards in the mail because (unless they’re a DIY project) I view them as a waste of money because they usually end up in the trash. I’m not being mean. I don’t have any way to display them.
But I won’t have this excuse any longer thanks to clothespins. You can hang a string across your mantle and use a clothespin to display the cards you receive neatly.
20. Get Crafty
There are many clothespin crafts. You can make cute butterfly snacks for kids at school. You can also turn clothespins into Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer around the holidays.
If you’re a crafty individual, you’ll love all the unique ways you can utilize and transform clothespins into adorable crafts.
21. Mark Your Place
I love to read. If I’m relaxing, it’s common to find me curled up on the couch with a cup of coffee, a blanket, and a good book.
But don’t spend a fortune on a bookmark. Instead, use a clothespin to mark your place when you must put your book down.
22. Mark Your Plants
There’s nothing more frustrating than planting your garden, waiting patiently for the plants to grow, and forgetting what you planted and where.
Don’t fall victim to this when planting your garden. Instead, make adorable clothespin plant markers. They’ll save you a great deal of headache.
23. Tie Storage
Ties are a frustrating article of clothing to store when not in use. The reason being, the material they’re made from causes them to slide off a hanger.
Instead of battling ties laying all over your closet floor, use a clothespin to attach them to the hanger. This will make for easier storage and keep them organized.
24. Piece Together an Outfit
This is one of the main ways I use my wooden clothespins. When you’re going somewhere special, it’s normal to piece your outfit together ahead of time.
I’ll use clothespins to attach the jewelry and any other accessories I may use to the hanger the outfit is hanging on. This keeps everything together and allows me to see what it looks like before putting it on.
25. Organize Your Shoes
If you have children, you know how they flip their shoes right off their feet. If this happens in a closet, you could be searching for a missing shoe for days.
Avoid this headache by using a clothespin to clip the tops of larger shoes (like boots) together or clip the sides of flip flops together. This should stop the hunt for missing shoes.
26. Prevent Freezer Burn
Don’t you hate when you open a bag of frozen vegetables, don’t use them all, put them back, and when you go to use them again you realize the bag wasn’t properly sealed and everything has freezer burn and peas are all over the place?
Next time use a clothespin to make sure the bag closes. This should help avoid any waste from taking place in your freezer.
27. Organize Your Gloves
When wintertime hits, it’s vital to keep up with the smaller essentials such as gloves. This can prove difficult if you have small children.
Instead of chasing down gloves when you’re running late, be on top of your game with clothespins. When the gloves are taken off, hold them together with a clothespin before storing.
28. Free Hands
Have you ever noticed how hard it can be to cook and hold your place in a cookbook? What about when you’re playing the piano and trying to hold the songbook open?
Avoid having to grow a third arm by utilizing clothespins. You can place a clothespin in the center of the book and allow the clothespin to slide over the cookbook holder or music stand too. This will keep the book open and free up your hands to do what you love.
29. DIY Apron
You’re in the kitchen and cooking a delicious meal. Suddenly, the food starts to splatter, and you know your clothes are going to get it if you don’t cover them up.
If you don’t have an apron, don’t panic. Instead, place a dish towel around your waist and attach it to your pants with a couple of clothespins.
30. DIY Bib
When babies are small and learning to eat whole foods, things can get messy in a hurry. If you don’t have a bib on hand, don’t stand back while their clothes get ruined.
Reach for a clothespin and a napkin. Place the napkin into the top of their shirt and hold it there with a clothespin.
31. Don’t Boil Over
Whether you’re cooking chicken or potatoes, it often happens that the water boils over and spill onto your stove.
If you’d like to stop this mess before it happens, attach a wooden clothespin to the side of the pot. This creates enough space between the pot and the lid to allow the steam to escape and stop the boiling over mess.
32. Under the Sink Organization
Underneath my kitchen sink can become a disaster zone if I’m not paying attention. This is where our dish soap, cleaning supplies, and a few other household items are stored.
To stop chaos from ensuing under my kitchen sink, organization is key. Clothespins can help. Attach them to your cabinet door with glue and use a clothespin to clasp a tea towel or a pair of rubber gloves.
33. Save Your Thumb
If you’ve spent much time hammering at all, you’ve probably already experienced a world of pain when the hammer misses the nail.
Save your thumb and use a clothespin to grip the nail when hammering. This keeps your hands further back to avoid the wrath of the hammer.
34. Take a Stand
Do you enjoy cooking? Do you still find it helpful to use a recipe when cooking? I use them regularly too, and I especially love using recipes saved on cards from my mother-in-law’s recipe box.
Seeing the recipe can prove difficult when you’re cooking from scratch. Use two clothespins turned upside down to form a makeshift stand to hold the recipe card.
35. Place Card Holder
The only place I normally go which requires seating arrangements is to a wedding, but whether you’re hosting a special party or hosting a wedding, you may need place card holders.
Don’t spend a fortune on fancy name card holders. Instead, use a clothespin to mark your guests’ proper seats.
36. Save the Coupons
Success in life has a great deal to do with organization. It’s hard to move forward with anything when everything is a jumbled mess.
Yes, this even trickles all the way down to saving money at the grocery store. Use a clothespin to gather your list and coupons, clip them all together, and attach them to the inside pocket of your purse. This little tip can be a first step in the right direction.
37. Make a Vase
Do you enjoy yogurt? Don’t toss the container when you’re through. Instead, clean it out and save it for this awesome flower vase.
It requires only a few basic steps of gluing clothespins to a yogurt cup to make a neat vase. It’s a great way to decorate your home on a budget.
38. A Yardwork Buddy
Trying to rake leaves from the yard by yourself can prove quite tricky. All is well until you try to hold open a trash bag and rake the leaves in.
Instead of fighting a trash bag, use a clothespin to attach the bag to a hard surface. This will hold the bag open and allow you to get the leaves inside it without a ton of fuss.
39. Hold Steady
Are you one to decorate heavily for Christmas? If you enjoy stringing lights everywhere, you may be interested to know clothespins can help keep your masterpiece in place.
Instead of letting gravity destroy your Christmas, you can use clothespins as extra support.
40. Bulb Marker
Springtime arrives, bulbs begin to sprout out of the ground, but some don’t. What should you do to know where to plant in the fall?
Reach for your clothespins, of course. Place a clothespin in the ground where a bulb didn’t sprout to let you know where a new bulb should be planted.
41. Finger Paint
Letting kids finger paint is a fun experience for them, but without proper planning, can be a nightmare for the adults.
Stop some of the mess by using clothespins. Attach cotton balls inside the clothespins and use them to dip into the paint. This will allow kids to paint without making a tremendous mess.
42. Hold Your Delicates
When doing laundry, it’s common for women to avoid drying their stockings or bras in the dryer because it can damage them.
Instead, use a clothespin to attach them to a string where the items can air dry. You could also attach them to a hanger to keep them in place while they air dry.
You now have 42 different ways to use clothespins aside from line drying your clothing. Hopefully this will give you a new appreciation for the humble clothespin while making your life quite easier in the process.
