Tuesday Tip - 8 Ways to Reuse a Dryer Sheet

Does anyone else find dozens of dryer sheets in their laundry room and all throughout your house as you fold and put away your clothes?  Charissa seems to think they are tissues and continually tries to blow her nose with them.  I applaud her ingenuity and her willingness to repurpose items to get more use out of them, but I think there are better uses for used dryer sheets.  Here's my top 8 list:

1.  Scented dryer sheets can be used in drawers, closets, at the bottom of a trash can and in shoes to help eliminate odors.  You can also get rid of that old musty smell books get by putting a dryer sheet in a Ziploc bag with the book for a few days.  And if your car stinks, put a few sheets under the seats and in a few days your car will be mountain fresh.

2.  Scented dryer sheets can also be used as a repellent for mice and insects.  If you know of a place they come in, put a few dryer sheets there and your problem will scurry away.  You can also put a dryer sheet in your pocket or belt loop (or anywhere else you want) to repel insects while you are outside.  I love this because I hate bug spray.

3.  Dryer sheets work great for dusting because they actually repel dust.  

4.  If you have any chrome in your house (or on your vehicle), use the dryer sheet to polish it up.

5.  When potting a plant, line the bottom of your pot with a dryer sheet to prevent the soil from falling out.

6.  Similar to a sticky lint brush, an old dryer sheet will remove pet hair from clothing and furniture.  

7.  If you collect enough dryer sheets, you can stuff a pillow with them.  Your pillow will smell great and won't be lumpy like with traditional synthetic stuffing.  

8.  A wet dryer sheet can be used in the shower to get rid of soap scum.  

Even though I'm doing a post on how to use dryer sheets, I just found a way to not use dryer sheets that I thought I should share as well.  All you have to do is take a small washcloth (like a baby washcloth) or a rag and soak it in fabric softener, then you let it completely dry.  Throw it in with your laundry and it'll keep your cloths soft load after load after load (I've heard it can last for 40 loads!).  This won't help your static problem, but you can always throw a balled up wad of aluminum foil in the dryer for that.  

Happy drying!