8 Clever Uses for Rubber Bands

Whether you call it a tie band, a rubber band, a minion band, a footman band, or a rubber band, all we can say is, bless the rubber band. Rubber bands are great for closing things and holding them together. I've a few other useful ideas on how you can use rubber bands in your home. So what can you use them for? They're not as elegant as staples, and they don't have the same repair ability as duct tape, but they're the perfect solution to many problems: Think about it: they're the simplest means of making an easy repair that would otherwise render an item useless. That being said, they're genius for storage and organization, they can be a wonderfully irreverent crafting material, and they're just a good all-around helper. There are as many ways to use a rubber band as you can imagine, but here are 8 already.

1. Make holder for your car visor
Tie a few rubber bands around the sun visors of your car. Now you have a handy place to stash toll receipts, directions, or your cell phone when it's off.

2. Thumb through papers with ease
Stop licking your finger. Just wrap a rubber band around your index finger a few times the next time you need to shuffle papers. But not too tight - you don't want to cut off the blood flow to your fingertip.

3. Wipe off your paintbrush
Each time you dip your brush, wipe the excess off the side of the can. Before you know it, the paint is dripping off the side of the can and the little groove around the rim is so full of paint that it splatters everywhere when you go to pop the lid back on. It's really easy to avoid this mess. Just wrap a rubber band around the can from top to bottom, across the center of the can opening. Now when you fill your brush, you can just tap it against the rubber band and the excess paint will fall back into the can.

4. Tighten furniture casters
Furniture foot rollers can become loose due to wear and tear. To fix them, wrap a rubber band around the shaft and replace them.

5. Gage your liquids
How much screed is left in the canister on the shelf? Tie a rubber band around the liquid containers in your garage or shed and slide them down as you use more. That way you'll always know at a glance how much is left.

6. Pump less save more
Are you wasting valuable - and expensive - soap, detergent or lotion? Control the portions of products dispensed through a pump, especially for kids who can't get enough. Wrap a rubber band tightly around the neck of the pump dispenser.

7. Keep track of wine glasses
Wrap a different colored rubber band around the stem of each glass at the next dinner party or other gathering. No more mixed up drinks.

8. Cushion your remote control
To protect your beautiful furniture from scratches and scrapes, wrap a wide rubber band around both ends of the tv remote. This way you'll also protect the remote control as it won't easily slip off the table and get damaged.