What do you use clothes pins for other than hanging clothes on a clothes line?
I use clothes pins to close potato chip and snack bags, chocolate chips, etc. They are less expensive than the plastic ones. They take up less space it our camper, too. I love using the snap clothes pins for re-closing bags. I would never spend money on those 'bag clips' sold in stores. The clothes pins are so handy to use, and being "inexpensive" is my favorite reason!! Another great use for them is to close frozen veggie bags, just twist the top of the bag after you have taken out the portion you want and put the clothes pin on to hold it in place. - Michelle, Carol, Diane, Mike & Evelyn (07/27/2001)
By ThriftyFun
I use pinch clothespins for closing bread wrappers, pretzels or chips. Also for hanging skirts on hangers. Try it. (07/30/2001)
I use a clothespin to clean the lint screen in my dryer. Using my fingers always resulted in "sanding" the edges of my fingernails. - Harlean (07/30/2001)
By ThriftyFun
For a very inexpensive way to hang curtains, nail twine or even fishing line to your window facings, then using clothespins, hang your curtains at the window. Use a color that matches the room, or a contrasting color for interest. Red, white & blue look really cute in a childs' room with a nautical or patriotic theme. Or pretty pastels in a litte girl's room to coordinate with her bedspread. - Barb (07/30/2001)
By ThriftyFun
Clothespins make very good clamps for small gluing projects. Also when we used to make big pots of tea I would clip one on the tags so the bags would be more easy to get out of the pot,less burned fingers are always a good idea. I love the clothespins with hooks on them. I hang loads of things besides laundry with them. Pot holders calendars pictures craft projects wet scouring pads & dish cloths Recipe cards Towels & wash cloths in the bathroom Printouts in the computer room. Like I said:The list is based on your needs & imagination - Linne (07/30/2001)
By ThriftyFun
I also use them to hang up skirts and pants on hangers. They are easy to use and the kids can use them too! - J Leary (07/31/2001)
By ThriftyFun
Short on cupboard space? - remove some of those less than full bags of cereal from the box & clip a clothespin on the folded over bag top.
Clip different color clothespins on certain bills to keep them together & easy to find - i.e., red/utility bills, green/mortgage(rent), blue/chg.cards, etc. (you get the idea).
Crafters - keep pattern sheets/pieces together, use as clamps for small, lightweight objects.
Bookmark for magazine/book pages.
Clip a note to: lampshade, purse strap, article of clothing, etc..
Keep gloves, mittens, socks, etc. together.
By ThriftyFun
Make a small line & use the pins to hang messages on! Or glue a small magnet (available at craft stores or dollar stores) & use them as fridge magnets to hang messages, coupons, etc. on the fridge or metal filing cabinet. - Alekscat the frugal feline in Richmond, VA (07/31/2001)
By ThriftyFun
A fun way to use a wooden clothespin is to pour some heavy cream into an old clean mayonnaise jar with a lid. Add a clothespin and seal the jar tightly with the lid. Have the kids take turns to shake it until it turns into sweet creamy butter. This is especially good if they are baking bread at the same time, or before toasting it over the (camp)fire. It takes a while..but it is a fun way to help kids learn where food comes from, and tastes great. Margaret (08/01/2001)
By ThriftyFun
I use a nail brush or sponge on my lint screen & also use clothes pins to pin quilts up in my windows in winter & of course to pin the curtains across in winter too. - Linne (08/01/2001)
By ThriftyFun
When my son was in preschool he came home with loads of art work everyday. Instead of putting these masterpieces in a box, I hung them on clothes pins that I painted (different colors and designs) and hot glued to the window frames and created a very unique window treatment. ~Lynn R~ (08/02/2001)
By ThriftyFun
I hammered a thin nail (so as NOt to make a very large hole in wall) in one side of the clip clothes pin and them hammered them on the wall and hang all the baseball caps on them. Also painted them to match the kids room. Great way to hang their pictures on the wall without the use of tape, glue, etc. Makes a nice little display area. (08/02/2001)
I have an in the house mail drop. but when I want to mail something, I use a clothes pin to clip the mail to the flap of the in the house mail drop. Works great ! - Geraldine (08/03/2001)
By ThriftyFun
At a craft fair I saw a clothespin with a washer glued on it. It was labeled "Redneck Washer & Dryer". I'm pretty sure Margaret means to use the kind of clothes pins without the metal thingy to hold them together when making butter. I would be scared to use the other kind, don't know what the reaction might be. - Linne (08/03/2001)
By ThriftyFun
Paint two clothespins a pretty color with leftover paint. Carry the clothespins in your purse or pocket. Now you can turn a large dinner napkin into a 'bib' for children by clipping the napkin (or two together) to their clothes or around their neck. - Burnice (08/10/2001)
By ThriftyFun
When the wick of a candle has burned down low into a jar, tear a match from a match book and before lighting it, pinch the very end with a clothes pin and then strike the match. This way you won't burn yourself when holding the candle up and at an angle to light it. After you finish, clip the clothes pin to the matchbook to have it handy the next time. Leigh (10/10/2001)
By flaws5
Use clothes pins to reseal chip bags, etc. Also keep a few extra with you in a diaper bag and use in place of a bib. Just clip on a napkin with the clothes pins and you have a throwaway bib. (04/09/2004)
By Connie
Instead of buying the "fancy" clip bag closures to close up the potato chip bag, use a "spring-type" clothespin instead. Serves the same purpose and is cheaper!
By Mary (05/07/2004)
By ThriftyFun
When packing for a vacation, throw 3 or 4 clothespins in the suitcase. You will find a use for them! You may need to wash out a clothing item and hang it in the shower at the motel room - you may need to pin the motel room curtains together to keep the gap from letting in light. You may want to use a clothespin to hold the map folded to the page showing the area you are traveling. I have never yet not needed them! (05/07/2004)
By Becki in Indiana
My sister-in-law took the hinges out of wooden clothes pins and glued the halves into a miniature rocking chair and put a little teddy bear in it as a gift to my daughter.
Add a small bag of them to your camp gear, along with a small piece of rope. You never know if you need to hang dry something.
Use them to clamp electrical cords together. If they aren't too thick or too many of them it should hold well.
(05/07/2004)
By Tawnda
There is an enamel spray you can buy to spray over it. Look near the spray paints in the store. (05/26/2004)
By Tawnda
This is a really obvious tip but maybe not everyone has thought of it. When we open a bag of something in the kitchen (e.g. bag of nuts, packet of rice) but don't use all of it immediately, I keep a strip of cardboard with wooden clothes pegs on it in a drawer and we use one of those to close the bag - easy, frugal and they last for years!
By Gill (06/14/2004)
By ThriftyFun
I use a cigarette lighter to burn the paper off to make a U shape from the wire. It makes great hangers for salt-dough ornaments or polymer clay figures.Just stick it into the top of the ornament. You can get two hooks from one twist tie. Saves lots of money on wire. (06/18/2004)
By Ruth I.
(b)Clothes Pin Match Gun(/b)
Does anyone know how to alter a clothes pin to light and shoot a wooden match? It's a neat little trick and I can't remember how to do it. (07/02/2004)
By Steve O
Hey guys I found it!
.deuceofclubs.com/randumb/clothespingun/clothespingun02.htm (07/02/2004)
By Steve O
Keep a few extra with you in a diaper bag and use in place of a bib. Just clip on a napkin with the clothes pins and you have a throwaway bib.
- Connie (07/07/2004)
By ThriftyFun
If a candle has burned down low in a container, pinch a match with a clothes pin, and carefully strike match. This will give you an extra 5 inches and you'll be able to light the wick without getting burned.
By Flaws5 (07/07/2004)
By ThriftyFun
I keep a clothespin clipped on my sun visor in the car. It comes in handy every so often for this-and-that!
(10/06/2004)
I have a cocker spaniel dog that has long hair on her ears. When I give her a bowl to lick clean her ears drag in the bowl. Taking a clothes pin and clipping her ears above her head keeps the hair on her ears clean. Once the bowl is licked clean I remove the clothes pin. (10/16/2004)
Put those old clothespins to use. Instead of bread ties to keep your bread closed use clothespins. Also works well for keeping frozen french fries closed in the freezer and a multitude of other things. (11/08/2004)
By ThriftyFun
I use one on my mailbox (I live in the city and have a box that is hanging on my house) when I have outgoing mail, I clip it with the clothespin so it doesn't blow away!!
(11/09/2004)
By sarah_b.
I use clothes pins as a classroom pass for my students. My name is printed on the pin . When a student has permission to leave the classroom, they take the pin as proof they they have business outside the classroom. (11/13/2004)
By Joe
Plastic clothes pins do just as good a job as a chip clip as do the special clips at keeping your frozen food closed and chips fresh. They cost far less, too!
By Robin (11/22/2004)
By ThriftyFun
I use clothes pins to close my chip bags or any other kind of snack foods, even some refrigerator items, like a bag of salad. They are so handy around the house. They come in large quantities and don't cost very much.
By Daisy (12/09/2004)
By ThriftyFun
A bag of plastic clothespins from the dollar store has so many uses. I keep a handful in the kitchen to re-close opened bags of veggies.
By Linda (01/11/2005)
By ThriftyFun
My kids (3 year old and 5 year old) have several matched sets of clothes where the pants and shirts match. Regardless of putting them in their drawer together, they never managed to come out with a matching pair. Recently, I've started folding their clothes and then clipping the shirt to the pants with a clothes pin. When they get dressed, they come out with a matched set and know to put the old pin back on the counter to be used next time I do laundry. (01/11/2005)
By Beth Ann
If you put a clothespin on each of your fingers and keep them there for a little while such as a minute is is supposed to give you more energy. Stop if there is pain or numbness of course.
Clothespins used to be dropped in a milk jar that was empty as a target game for kids.
Matching cups and colored clothespins can be a learning game for kids.
I like them for hanging wet paintings on a line outside to dry,
Also they can be a reminder to take pills every day if you place the clothespin on the basket the pills are in after you take them. One color for morning one color for noon dosages and one color for night doses.
(01/11/2005)
By Racer
Uncommon Uses for Clothespins
Clip for a quick pick. Keep a bag of clothespins in the laundry room. When you have an item that needs special attention before it's washed, clip a clothespin to it. That way, if you forget, you'll be reminded as you start to put it in the washer.
Keep fingers from getting burned. If you put a match into a spring-type clothespin to light charcoal, candles, fireplaces, etc. you'll have a little more safety distance between your fingers and the fire.
Ensure your privacy. Carry a few clothespins when traveling. If you get a hotel room with drapes that don't quite meet, just pull the edges together and clip them. You'll keep out any distracting outside light as well as unwanted peepers.
Make handy holders. Attach a row of clip clothespins to a closet wall with a glue gun. They make convenient holders for scarves and gloves.
Use all your toothpaste. It's frustrating to throw away a tube of toothpaste when you know there's more inside. A clothespin can help hold the back of the tube flat as you use up what's left in the front of the tube.
Keep snacks fresh. Clothespins are perfect for re-closing bags of potato chips, crackers, cookies, etc.
Don't cross your wires. If you change your own spark plugs, you might get confused about which wires go to which spark plug. You can fix that by writing numbers on wooden clothespins with a marker and clipping one to each wire.
Spread them. If you want to encourage the branches of your young fruit trees to spread out, clip a couple of spring-type clothespins together, and wedge them into the fork formed by the branch and the trunk.
Excerpt from FC&As Uncommon Uses For Common Household Products
(01/11/2005)
By racer
I clip one to my car antenna when at the mall so I can find the car. I sometimes make them with ribbon streamers, but a bright colored one works just as well. (01/11/2005)
By
Get a dollar store bag of plastic clothes pins and keep a bunch in the kitchen. I use them to reclose bags of frozen veggies, bread bags and chip bags. I like to use them to clip my coupons together, too.
By Linda (06/13/2005)
By ThriftyFun
Use them as weights when you have a tablecloth on a table outside and the wind is kicking up. (06/13/2005)
By Melissa Vera
I have used the spring type clothespins to hold my hair back away from my face. The first time I did this my husband didn't even notice the two clothespins on top of my head. His excuse for not commenting was he thought I was losing my mind! (06/13/2005)
By it's.only.me
Well, the only one I didn't see was to put magnets on the back of them and use to clip things to fridge! I use them all the time for this! (06/14/2005)
By imhiz4eva
We use a clothes pin to show are location in the building. We have a chart hanging outside our classroom door. Also for regular straight clothes pins; I have made worry dolls with scrapes of fabric and yarn. gail2656 (07/19/2005)
If you are shopping and you can't hold all your bags and you have ice cream, take the clothespin and clip it to your jeans, and you can eat the ice cream with both hands! (12/03/2006)
By Mahum
While teaching younger children grammar (even older ones love this), we put a different punctuation mark on each clothespin. For example, a period on one, a question mark on another, one side of a set of quotation marks on another ("), and so on. then I write sentences in big letters on long strips of paper, give them the clothespins and they simply clip the punctuation where it belongs. It's a great way to teach them higher levels of writing with out all the writing, which can be hard on their hand and attention at younger ages. I love it. They love it. I hope you'll love it. (08/29/2007)
By mindy
If you don't have skirt hangers, simply use clothespins to clip the band of the skirt to the upper part of the clothes hanger.
This works great for two-piece dresses also. Clip the skirt on the bottom part of the hanger and then hang the blouse on the hanger, keeping both pieces together. (07/02/2009)
Another way to make a gun to shoot matches with clothespins. This one is a little trickier then the one above but it is fun.
(08/05/2009)
By mike
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