Squirreling along

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SQUIRRELING – Reduce, reuse, recycle

Listen, I know you’ve figured out by now that my brain bounces around pretty quickly and all over the place. This week, my squirreling went one place it likes to visit repeatedly… ways to use things that aren’t necessarily what they originally were for. Reduce, reuse, recycle, right? I got the wrong coffee filters, and didn’t realize it until I had opened and thrown out the packaging. What do you do with that?

So: 10 alternative uses for coffee filters that you may or may not have heard of before.

Use a filter as a paper towel or like a rag. They’re lint free, take up almost no space, and they’re dirt cheap!

Use a filter to keep bugs or insects off of your food when dining outside. Just use a filter to cover plates and bowls of food.

Speaking of plates and bowls of food… if the food is a dry food, like cereal or crackers, coffee filters can serve as fantastic bowl.

Keep the tiny hardware items organized! Nails, screws, and all kinds of fix-it items are important to have, but quick to end up a jumbled mess. Secure them in coffee filter DIY bags.

Did you know you could use a filter to clean your glasses? Some of those sprays will even mess up the coating on your glasses. Next time you need a cleaning, try a filter with some plain water. (They’re also useful for electronic devices!)

Need to protect cast-iron skillets from rust? Grab another filter. Place a coffee filter in your skillet while it’s not in use to absorb moisture and prevent rusting.

How did we end up running out of toilet paper? Tell me there’s not another shortage! But if there is… filters make a decent emergency stand-in for your tp. Just don’t try flushing a filter down the toilet.

One well placed filter across the bottom of a planter pot will keep your potting soil from leaking out but allow water to drain.

A coffee filter can become a make-shift cold compress. Soak filters in brewed tea or even just plain water and chill. Fold them up to make a compress when you’ve got a headache or a slight fever.

Make a stand-in for a bandage. A small cut or razor knick can be beat by applying a coffee filter and some light pressure to the wound.