It’s more than office stationery. Beyond keeping your papers and files in order, this tiny tool can be used in a myriad of ways at home to save you time, energy basically make life at home much easier.
Here are 15 nifty ways to create more space, keep your home neat and live more efficiently using the humble binder clip:
READ MORE:
12 Clever Ways To Save Space In A Tiny Kitchen
20 Cute But Practical Items To Have On Your Work Desk
20 Genius Food Hacks That Will Change The Way You Eat (And More)
Real estate in the fridge is precious and the binder clip is a clever way to maximise vertical space. Hang bags of half-eaten chips or snacks like this, or use them as “stoppers” to prevent beer bottles from rolling around. Doing so lets you stack the bottles up like a pyramid so you will have room on the side for groceries.
Everyone has a different way of squeezing toothpaste. This hack will maximise usage and end arguments at the family sink: When a tube of toothpaste has been used past the halfway mark, push all the paste to the top and roll up the tube. Clip the “tail” to prevent backflow.
Extra Tip: For this to be more effective, roll the toothpaste from the bottom of the tube with a cylindrical glass before you clip it. This should give a few more squeezes of toothpaste.
Don’t pay through the nose for wallets and magnetic money clips because a 30-cent binder clip works just as well. With the tight grip of these clips, never worry about your notes slipping from you again.
Wireless earphones may be all the rage, but many people still use wired ones. A trusty binder clip can prevent wires from getting caught in door knobs or at the edges of chairs. Here’s how:
1. Place the cord inside the triangle of the clip and wrap the cord around the triangle.
2. If you are putting your headphones away, wrap the cord around the clip’s handles.
3. When using headphones, shorten the cord slightly and secure the clip onto your shirt.
A binder clip can help sort out tangled wires. Bundle cables together and secure them with a clip. Or fasten the clips to the edge of the desk so the wires have a place to sit neatly when not in use.
Wet dishwashing sponges can be hothouses for bacteria and mildew. A binder clip can help to keep them dry. Secure the sponge inside the triangle of the clip and use its handles to prop the sponge up. This helps the sponge dry more quickly than if it is left lying flat. Replace clip if it rusts.
READ MORE: The 10 Dirtiest Spots In Your Kitchen – Revealed!
Razors can cause nasty nicks when uncovered. By sheer coincidence of design, a binder clip’s triangle fits nicely over the razor blade – functioning as a safety cover. Replace clip if it rusts.
READ MORE: How To Prevent Ingrown Hairs, Rash And More When You Wax/Shave
Some keyboards have legs – but they can be fragile and break easily, resulting in a wobbly keyboard. Some remedies suggested on the Internet include creating a wedge using coins, folded paper or small notepads. But the best way seems to be replacing the legs with the handles of a binder clip!
Remove the clip’s handles by pressing in both sides of each handle. Then use the handle as a replacement leg for the keyboard. Use clips of the same size so the keyboard is balanced.
READ MORE: 7 Work Desk Items To Get For Better Fengshui
It is a nightmare when the trash bag slips down the top of the dustbin and rubbish piles up in the bin outside of the bag. Use a binder clip to keep the trash bag anchored in place.
Create a stand for the smartphone and watch videos hands-free. Just use two binder clips of different sizes, hold the smaller clip by its triangle and use the larger clip to secure its handles together. This creates a stand stable enough to support the iPhone 6S Plus in landscape mode.
Placed in portrait mode, however, the stand does not prop up the iPhone 6S Plus high enough. If you are more of a Facebook wall scroller at lunch, this is not for you.
No more lonely socks! The next time you pack for a holiday or organise your drawer, clip your socks together.
For some, telling their house keys from their office ones is easy. Others test key after key at the door or label keys with nail polish. Well, never confuse them again. Use binder clips as keychains and label them clearly.
Clip boxes of different sizes together to get your own unique storage units. Paint each of them a different colour, or decorate them individually with patterns and prints to have your very own customised wall feature!
Photo: Live Simply
Instead of using photoframes which may require drilling holes into your walls, why not just use binder clips which only need to be taped or blu-tacked on and can be easily removed, without damaging your walls.
Photo: Pretty Designs
Flies definitely won’t be able to attack your food with the binder clips in place. Simply clip two trays together like this to keep food warm and secure before a big party, potluck or BBQ. You can also put it in the oven like this!
READ MORE:
Last-Minute Speed Cleaning Tips Before Visitors Arrive – Plus More Kitchen Hacks!
Clever Ways To Reuse Empty Jars And More Home Hacks You Must Know
10 Ways To Update Your Look With The Humble Bobby Pin
Text: Benson Ang, The Straits Times & Domenica Tan, Home & Decor
Photo: The Blue Bottle Tree
- TAGS:
- binder clips
- home hacks