Maximize your dollar at home by reusing 3 everyday products

Busy with the details of our daily lives, we tend to not think about the little strategies we can employ to save money here and there. An effective one is reusing some of the products we buy for our homes. After they've served their intended purpose, you can put them back to work in myriad interesting (and fun) ways.

When you reuse a home goods product, you save what you might have spent on another. For example, using an old fabric softener sheet to ward off bugs (see below) saves you from buying bug repellent, citronella candles and the like. Whereas reuse doesn't yield savings in an obvious form, like a rebate check, it does indirectly impact your checking and savings account.

What, how to reuse

Here are some ways to get the most use out of three common household items:

1. Aluminum foil

Beyond cooking, use aluminum foil to remove tarnish from silverware. Line a large flat glass or metal container with an old aluminum foil sheet and place your silverware on top. Cover the silverware with water, then add two tablespoons of baking soda per quart of water. Let it sit, and any discolorations will disappear. On a related note, store your silverware so it lies directly atop a dry piece of aluminum foil to keep it shiny.

Remove grime from the bottom of an iron. Just pass the hot iron over an old aluminum foil sheet as if it were an article of clothing. Use a balled piece of foil dipped in water to rub spots off of chrome. For tougher-to-remove stains, use Coca-Cola instead of water.

Catch food splatters in your oven by placing a secondhand aluminum foil sheet on the rack (don't line the oven bottom!), under your pans and dishes, before cooking. Similarly, keep your fireplace or grill clean by lining the bottom of it with foil before starting a fire. (Dispose of the foil afterward.)

Sharpen your scissors with old foil. Fold a sheet over three times to get six to eight layers and cut through it a few times.

2. Cardboard tubes

The cardboard tubes found inside rolls of toilet paper, paper towels, wrapping paper, packaging tape and carpet are ideal for compact storage. The shorter ones easily hold electrical cords, Christmas lights, plastic bags, candle tapers, paintbrushes and other difficult-to-store items. The longer ones nicely accommodate posters and documents.

The tubes make handy fire starters. Loosely stuff one end with wadded newspapers, the other with dried leaves and twigs. Place it under the wood in your fireplace and light the newspaper end.

Cardboard tubes which are biodegradable are handy in gardens for planting and protecting seedlings.

In a pinch, use these tubes to create cardboard hangers, and ultimately prevent creases in your pants and other fabric items like tablecloths. Simply cut a medium-length tube lengthwise and slip it over a hanger's horizontal wire.

By squeezing the sides at one end, use these tubes as homemade funnels for dry materials, like fertilizer, birdseed and kitty litter.

3. Dryer sheets

Used fabric softener sheets are great repellents of bugs, bees and rodents. Hang or place them on your deck, in your attic or garage, at your picnic or campsite, even on your back when desperate--anywhere you need to keep away pests.

Dryer sheets are great for dusting as they lift debris particles rather than just move them around, and they eliminate static. They work well on television screens, computers, baseboards, ceiling fans, mini-blinds and more. They also remove pet hair from clothes, furniture and other places.

New dryer sheets clean mineral deposits off glass shower doors, and rings and buildup on fiberglass tubs and showers. Wet down the area to be cleaned and wipe with a dryer sheet. Swirl the sheet to get into nooks and crannies. Rinse.

For quick and easy paintbrush cleaning, put your paintbrush and a used dryer sheet in hot water. After soaking for awhile, rinse the paint out of the bristles.

Getting in the habit

When you're about to throw away any of these three objects, set them aside instead. (It helps to have a dedicated container for each in a convenient location.) Then, when you need to clean your car's chrome hubcaps, shoo away bloodthirsty mosquitoes or store excess computer cables, whip one of them out and put it to work, and congratulate yourself on another savings tip well learned.

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