73 things you should never throw out (and how to reuse them)

Lugging a heavy bag of seeds or lawn fertiliser out to the footpath is no fun, and it’s tough to spread evenly with a shovel or cup.

You get a clump in one spot and none in another, so you’re wasting both time and product.

Here’s a great solution. Make a ‘sidewalk salt shaker’ from a big plastic coffee container with a handle.

Poke 1/4-in. holes in the lid and fill it with sand, cat litter, seeds, or a mix of whatever you want and shake away! — Tony DeMarse.

If the yard has more weeds than grass, the simplest solution might be to dig it all up and start again.

To keep holiday lights from getting tangled and make it easy to string them around the yard next year, roll all the strings of lights onto a portable hose reel with wheels and a handle.

Fancy sprucing up your current hose reel? Build a latticed structure from treated pine to store a garden hose and reel, using it as a trellis to grow screening plants.

Forget the old coffee can filled with your lifetime collection of screws, washers and other hardware.

Take 10 minutes to organise the miscellany in ice cube trays.

Nail together a case from scrap plywood and carry it right to the job at hand.

Thanks to reader Leo McSherry for this extremely cool tip.

While you’re getting organised, create a basic DIY kit with these ten tools, including clamps and vices, ladders and hammers.

How many times have you stubbed your toe on your metal bed frame? Ouch!

Here’s a creative way to protect your piggies.

Cover the bare metal leg and wheel with a foam beverage can holder.

It’ll save your toes and prevent carpet dents and hardwood floor scratches to boot! — Vito Accetta

You can also create a handy storage rack for frequently used tools using polystyrene foam.

Reader Roy Allison found a solution for keeping his silverware drawer organiser from moving around each time he opened or closed the drawer: a pool noodle!

He cut the noodle to size, so that it fits snuggly between the back of the organizer and the back of the drawer.

You can use pool noodles for all sorts of things – this idea is just great!

Buckets are super helpful around the house and in the garage.

We’ve got a bunch of bucket hacks you can do.

Make a tough, self-filling dog feeder from a couple of buckets.

With a saber saw, cut the bottom off one bucket to create a serving tray, and cut a food dispensing hole in the food storage bucket (as shown above).

Cut part of the lip off the bottom of the food storage bucket to flatten it, then use silicone to glue the two pieces together.

NOTE: Don’t build this dog feeder unless your pooch can exercise some self-control. — Justin Moujoodi

Try these helpful tips to achieve a happy homelife for you and your pets.

There are several uses for paper tubes like cord storage or making your vacuum reach more places.

To make it easier to clean hard to reach spots use a left over wrapping paper tube as a vacuum cleaner extension.

Now you have 3 extra feet to clean ceiling fans and cobwebbed corners.

These common household products can help you restore, revive and clean just about every corner of your home.

Old toothbrushes are great at cleaning tough to reach spots.

Now that discount and dollar stores carry cheap electric toothbrushes, you can add a modern twist to routine cleaning.

Rapid vibration will quickly scrub out stubborn dirt, while the long handle can get to hard-to-reach places without all the elbow grease.

Plastic toothbrush holders can cost as little as $1 and are extremely handy for storing smaller tools in the workshop.

A tennis ball can help open a bottle or become a mallet in a pinch.

Did you know a tennis ball holds the secret to flawless vinyl flooring?

You don’t need to save all your milk jugs but having a few extra around can be a real blessing.