Kids’ sleds
VADYM ZAITSEV/SHUTTERSTOCK
How do you move weeds, pruned branches, rocks and the like from your garden? No need to spend on a pricey pushcart or wheelbarrow that’s also heavy and unwieldy, especially on hills. Instead, repurpose your kids’ flying saucer sled. Attach a rope to one handle and you’ll have a sturdy sledge that pulls easily across grass and paths. If you have kids, come winter, this is one garden tool that will still find plenty of use.
Golf gear
ISTOCK/PIXFLY
If you have an old golf bag on wheels, use it to store and caddy long workshop or garden tools, which fit neatly in the main compartment and hand tools, which can be clipped to the outside. The pockets hold screws and bolts, or seeds, shears and other smaller items. And if you discover any tees inside one of those pockets, they can be put to use too. Wooden or plastic tees make great color-coded markers for newly seeded gardens.
Bottles
BIGNAI/SHUTTERSTOCK
Rescue these from the recycling; there’s plenty more you could be doing with them. Make a bag dispenser by trimming off the bottom and top end of a 2-litre bottle, then mounting it with screws upside down (put washers under the screw heads to keep them from pulling through the plastic). Fill with recycled bags (squeeze the air out of them first). Dispense twine the same way, using a 1-litre bottle and letting the cord come out the bottom.
Containers cut in half keep craft or workshop materials organised or make a handy, durable funnel for pouring paints. You can also feed the birds by carving a large hole in a clean jug, then filling with birdseed. Or you can create a watering can by drilling about a dozen tiny holes just below the spout of a jug.
Empty cardboard tubes
NAPARAT/SHUTTERSTOCK
Cover an empty paper towel or toilet paper roll with transparent tape, sticky side out and hang to get rid of pesky flies and mosquitoes. Or you can keep string orderly by cutting a notch into each end of a toilet paper tube. Secure one end of the string in one notch, wrap the string tightly around the tube and then secure the other end in the other notch. Do the same with holiday lights; or put small strands of lights or garlands inside cardboard tubes and seal with masking tape. You can also use cut tube rings as starting pots for seedlings. Finally, avoid scarring the trunk of a young tree when you are whacking weeds; cut a cardboard mailing tube in half lengthwise and tie around the trunk.
Cans
PEDROSALA/SHUTTERSTOCK
Use clean frozen juice cans to transform the deep, wide pockets of a nail pouch into a convenient tote for wrenches, pliers and screwdrivers. Remove the bottom of the can as well as the top and glue or tape the cylinders together to keep them from shifting around. Or try making backyard reflectors. Just remove the bottom of a large empty can with a can opener and take off any label. Then use tin snips to cut the can in half lengthwise. You’ve just made two reflectors.
Coffee cans
If your garage or basement is too damp, try this easy-to-make dehumidifier. Fill an empty coffee can with salt and leave it in a corner where it will be undisturbed. Replace the salt at monthly intervals or as needed. You can also keep small items like screws, nuts and nails handy by drilling a hole near the top of empty coffee cans so you can hang them on nails in your workshop wall. Label the cans with masking tape so you will know what’s inside.
Old newspapers
BILLION PHOTOS/SHUTTERSTOCK
In the garden, lay several sheets of newsprint over soil and then cover with mulch; they’ll help retain moisture and suffocate weeds. Ripen end-of-season tomatoes perfectly by wrapping in a couple sheets of newspaper once they’re off the vine; store in an airtight container in a dark cabinet or closet, checking every few days. Or add wet, shredded paper to compost to remove odour.
Camping mat
HALYNA PARINOVA/SHUTTERSTOCK
Here’s a low-cost alternative for gardening kneepads: Use a scrap from an old closed-cell foam camping mat. This will protect your knees just as well as the fancy models in gardening catalogues. It’s tough, shock absorbing and easy to clean with soap and water. If you or your kids don’t have an old pad to cut up, check with your local Boy Scout troop or a university outdoor program.
Garden tools
ALEXANDER RATHS/SHUTTERSTOCK
The secret weapon against messy tools is the cooking oil spray you keep in the kitchen cabinet. Spray a coat on a shovel or trowel before using it and clay soil will slide right off. Spray the blades and underside of your lawn mower and wet grass won’t stick to them.
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Source: RD.com