All The Amazing Ways You Should Be Using Clothespins In Your Home And Garden
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The wooden clothespin is a surprisingly dynamic object that can be used in various applications around your home and in the yard. It can be repurposed to hang things other than just clothes on a laundry line (and one clothespin hack will even make your bathroom smell amazing). A clothespin can be disassembled and reconfigured to become the building block for an entirely new and useful household item. And, unfinished wood clothespins are neutral in color, which means they work as they are in many different home design styles. But they can also be easily decorated and customized to more specific aesthetics. Perhaps what makes clothespins most appealing as a DIYable project is how affordable they are. If you don't already have a bag of them tucked away in a drawer, you can pick up a bag of 24 standard size clothespins for just $1.25 at the Dollar Tree. You can also get 45 mini clothespins for the same price.
Simple to work with and easily accessible, clothespins can be transformed into myriad projects that require low effort and little cost. See how you can use them for both decorative and functional purposes around the house and garden.
Make a trivet for hot pots and pans
Clothespins quickly and easily transform into a stylish trivet for the kitchen or dining room. First, separate about 22 standard size clothespins, removing the metal spring. Then, turn each piece of the clothespins so that they lay the same way on their side, and use a hot glue gun to adhere them together along the edges that taper to a point. As you glue, the pins will fan out into a circular shape, which you can then use to protect your countertops from hot pots and pans. Try using smaller clothespins to make coasters in the same pattern!
Create coasters to preserve your countertops
Clothespins also make great coasters that will protect your home surfaces from hot cups or condensation rings. After taking apart nine clothespins, glue the flat sides of each half together to create a tapered shape. Next, hot glue each new pair in alternating directions to create a rectangular pattern. To take this DIY the extra mile, use a sealer -– like Krylon's Make it Last, which can be found on Amazon -– to make your coasters even more long-lasting.
Revive an old mirror frame
If you have an old mirror that could use some new life, clothespins may be just the thing to give it a revamp. In this DIY, TikToker @courtni..thompson covers a rectangular mirror frame in burlap, and then hot glues separated clothespins on top of the fabric, around the entire perimeter. On the inner frame border, she also glues beaded ropes. If you don't have burlap on hand, you could use any other spare fabric. But if you want to get the exact look, you can find burlap fabric rolls for a good price, like these at The Home Depot.
Display your best memories with a photo garland
If you have printed photos you want to display at home, use clothespins to hang them together in a charming display. First, label the clothespins with stickers of your choice. From there, string the pins along a piece of yarn or twine at intervals, and clip in your photos. This creator appears to use a Cricut Easypress Mini, available at Michael's, to heat transfer printed labels to sticker paper, to then apply to the pins. But in lieu of the Cricut, you could hand-write labels using thin markers, or use individual letter stickers for a similar effect.
Attract wildlife with easy to make bird feeders
Using card stock or cardboard, some peanut butter, and birdseed, you can repurpose clothespins to create a bird feeder that attracts beautiful birds to your garden. First, cut any shape you'd like from the card stock and glue that shape to the top of a clothespin. Smear the shape with peanut butter, top with birdseed, clip to a branch, and enjoy the wildlife it summons to your yard. And to prevent spreading illness to your newfound feathery friends, be sure to replace your bird feeders every two weeks or as soon as the birdseed is gone.
Build a napkin holder for your dining table
Clothespins can become an unexpectedly stylish napkin holder on your dining room table. Hot glue separated pins together on their flat sides to create leaf-shaped pieces. Then, glue those pieces together to create two fanned out semicircles. Using additional pin halves, build a bottom shelf that connects the semicircles. This will act as the place where the napkins will rest between the two sides. You could easily double this DIY in length to create a piece that can hold magazines, paperwork, or any other likewise item.
Create a multipurpose decorative jar
Clothespins can be used to create decorative jars that house anything, from small plants or pens to candles and paperclips. To get the look, use separated clothespins to glue around the outside of a short glass jar. Then, use two pieces of twine laid into the pin indents around the jar, and glue them into place. If you don't have access to a glass jar, you can try using a small, empty can or even a rigid plastic cup.
Build a planter to show off your houseplants
Create a clothespin planter to show off small plants around your home. First, separate the clothespins from their metal spring and glue the halves together to create petal shapes. Place the petals side by side in alternating directions and adhere them together to build up the rectangular sides of the planter. For the base, this DIY uses unfinished rectangular wooden tiles, such as these Meriglare wood carving blocks from Walmart. Stain all of the wooden components in a finish of your choosing, assemble with more glue, and place your plant inside for a decorative touch.
Dry herbs to save for later
Clothespins can be used to hang bunches of herbs out to dry, so you can use them later in your kitchen. Simply bind an herb bunch together with an elastic band, and slip the band over a clothespin to attach the herbs, upside down. Then, clip the clothespin to a hanger and allow the herbs to dry for two to three weeks. Process your dried herbs into powder or flakes using a food processor or coffee grinder. You can then buy unlabeled spice jars to store your home-dried greens, preserving their flavor for future cooking.
Dry out your damp dish mat
This hack uses Command strips and a couple of clothespins to dry out a damp dish mat. To try this simple DIY, cut a hook and loop Command strip in half lengthwise, and apply each half to the back of two clothespins. Then, place the clothespins parallel to one another on your refrigerator or kitchen wall, leaving enough space between for the width of your dish mat. Then, just go ahead and hang up your mat. You can easily find the picture hanging strips used in this project at Amazon.
Hang playful wall hooks in any room
This simple but versatile project uses jumbo-sized clothespins to create wall hooks that can be used in basically any room of the house. Just take a large clothespin and secure it to the wall using two Command strips side by side. These hooks can be used to hang bags or light jackets in the entryway, towels in the bathroom, or aprons and oven mitts in the kitchen. You can find these jumbo, 6-inch clothespins at Amazon. For an even more dramatic version, you can try out the 12-inch options, also available at Amazon.