by Plastic wrap—it’s a kitchen essential that most people have lying around. And whether you’re saving leftovers or packing lunches, plastic wrap always comes in handy. But there’s so much more you can do with it!
Christmas Tree Wrapping
Christmas comes and goes and it’s always sad when you have to take down the decorations after spending tons of time and money on them. But instead of getting rid of your tree, you can store it and keep it for next year, mess-free. All you need is plastic wrap!
Just wrap the entire tree, including the decorations, with plastic wrap. And when Christmas comes the following year, just remove the plastic wrap and your tree is already decorated!
Prevent Bottles From Spilling
Have you ever traveled with lotions, soaps, shampoos, and conditioners and had them explode all over your luggage? It’s just the worst, but leaky bottles are a thing of the past with plastic wrap because there’s an easy way to prevent them from ruining your vacation.
Keep Bananas Fresher Longer
Bananas are a staple in our house, but we always seem to buy more than we need and they go bad before we can get to them. While you could always make banana bread with bananas that are overly ripe, if you want your bananas to last longer, plastic wrap will do the trick.
Keep your banana green for longer by placing plastic wrap around the stems. Many grocery stores use this hack to slow down ripening.
Prevent Jewelry From Getting Tangled
Here’s another travel hack that you’re going to want to use, and this one has to do with jewelry. There’s a trick to preventing your jewelry from getting tangled and all you need is plastic wrap.
You’ve got two options: 1) wrap each piece of jewelry individually or 2) lay down one big piece of plastic wrap and place each piece of jewelry on it with space in between. Then, cover it with another piece of plastic wrap. Now, you can have all of your best accessories with you without worrying about them getting tangled!
Make Perfect Poached Eggs
While we usually associate plastic wrap with storing food, it can also be used in the preparation. And if you’ve ever poached an egg, you know how difficult it can be. But with plastic wrap, it’s much easier.
Start by covering a bowl with plastic wrap and then spray a little bit of nonstick cooking spray, to prevent the egg from sticking to it. Then, crack your egg on it and tie the corners of the plastic wrap into a knot. Finally, boil your water and cook your egg in it for about six minutes. After it’s cooked, remove it from the water, cut below the knot, and peel away the plastic wrap.
Keep the Fridge Clean
What if we told you there’s a way to prevent your fridge from getting messy? Well, there is and with plastic wrap, it’s so much easier to keep your fridge clean.
Follow ClutterBug’s tip for this hack: after you’ve finished cleaning your fridge, wrap your shelves with plastic wrap. This will collect any dirt and spills that would end up in your fridge. And when it gets dirty again, just take off the plastic wrap and replace it with a new one. It’s so much easier than scrubbing shelves!
Make a Spill-Proof Cup
Anyone who has kids knows just how messy things can get, especially when it comes to drinks. That’s where sippy cups come in handy, and you can create your very own with plastic wrap.
All you have to do is wrap plastic wrap around the top of the cup, making sure the sides are well covered and there aren’t any gaps. Then, just poke a straw through it. Not only is this a great hack for kids, but it’s also a way to create to-go cups.
Keep Pets Out of Plants
Why is it that our pets are more obsessed with potted plants than we are? They just can’t seem to stay away from them—and often end up attacking them. Well, this hack is similar to the spill-proof cup hack we just told you about.
Simply cover the top of your planter with plastic wrap, leaving just a little space for watering. This prevents your pets from getting to the plants or messing up the soil.
Create a Greenhouse
While there are people who like succulents and hanging plants, others want their backyards to have a garden. If you want to plant a garden, but live in a place that gets cold winters and are afraid your plants will die, you can create a mini greenhouse with plastic wrap.
To get started, get a few sticks or iron rods and stick them around your plant. Then, wrap plastic wrap around the sticks, making sure not to leave any space open and covering the entire plant. This hack will keep your plants warm when winter begins.
Keep Lettuce Fresher Longer
If you eat lots of salads, chances are you buy lots of lettuce. And the problem with lettuce is once you open the package, it starts wilting almost immediately. But with plastic wrap and a damp paper towel, you can make lettuce last longer.
Just put the lettuce in a bowl and cover it with a damp paper towel and wrap the bowl in plastic wrap. While this won’t keep your lettuce fresh for more than a week, it will be nice and crunchy for a few meals.
Make a Fruit Fly Trap
Do you have tons of fruit flies in your kitchen? They’re just so annoying! And while you can spray them with insect spray or kill them with your hands, there’s a better way to get rid of them and it involves making your very own fruit flycatcher.
Fill a bowl with a bit of juice, overripe fruit, and soap, and then cover it with plastic wrap. Then, poke a few holes into it. Fruit flies will be attracted to the smell and once they’ve landed inside, they’ll be trapped.
Prevent Mud From Getting on the Floor
Why is it only after we’ve spent hours cleaning the floors, someone will track in mud? Mud seems to get everywhere, but it doesn’t have to if you wrap your shoes in plastic wrap.
According to YouTube channel 4yourSole, all you need to do is keep plastic wrap by the door so that before you enter your home you can wrap it around your shoes to prevent mud from coming in. Make sure you remove the plastic wrap before you head back outside.
Elevate Home Décor
While there are tons of ideas for DIY home décor, it doesn’t get much easier than this hack, which requires a glass jar or container and plastic wrap.
Just take a transparent container and fill it with water and then place plastic wrap in it. This creates an ice-like effect on the water, making your decorations look really cool (pun intended). If you want to be extra, add fruits, flowers, or toys.
Get Rid of Blackheads
Blackheads are just the worst and they seem to happen at the worst time. And heyitsfeiii has a beauty hack that will help you get rid of them—all you need is plastic wrap and Vaseline. It’s a great DIY hack if you don’t have a blackhead mask or peel.
Rub a generous layer of Vaseline onto your nose and then cover it with two layers of plastic wrap. Make sure you leave your nostrils uncovered, so you can breathe. Let it sit overnight and then use Q-tips to press out the gunk in your pores.
Protect Your Phone on Beach Days
If there’s one thing we’ve learned from our many years on this planet, it’s that phones don’t do well at beaches. No matter how careful you are, they seem to get sand or water on them, which can completely ruin them. And even though most phones are waterproof, sand and dirt can still get into the holes of your phone.
If you can’t imagine life without your phone, you can still bring it to the beach as long as you wrap it in plastic wrap.
Keep Food Fresh
There’s no doubt that one of the best ways to keep food fresh is with vacuum sealers, but they can be pretty pricey and most home cooks don’t have them. So, the next best way to keep your food fresh is by sealing bags with plastic wrap.
Just place the food in the bag and get rid of as much air as possible. Then, wrap the bag with plastic wrap to seal the content and prevent air from coming in.
Create Marble Nail Art
Marble nails are super popular, but going to the salon and getting them can get expensive. And like many beauty trends, it’s one you can do at home, as long as you have plastic wrap.
Start by painting your nails with a base color and then let them dry. Then apply the second color and use plastic wrap to blot or rub it onto the surface to create a marble design. Repeat these steps on each nail and apply a top coat to finish off your DIY manicure.
Create Wall Paint Patterns
Do your walls need some sprucing up? Sure, you could paint them one color, but if you’re looking for something more unique, why not create textured patterns? And you don’t even need to be an artist for this hack!
Start by applying a coat of paint and then place plastic wrap on top of it and move it around with a paintbrush to create a cool pattern. After you’re satisfied with the design, pull off the plastic wrap carefully and apply a finished coat to get a smooth surface.
Keep Electronics Splatter-Free While Cooking
When cooking, we like to have our phones, iPads, or laptops out to look up recipes or watch videos. But sometimes, our electronics wind up with food all over them. To be honest, most of the time we’re not even sure how it happens but luckily, there’s a way to keep your electronics splatter-free.
Before you start cooking, wrap the device in plastic wrap. You won’t have to worry about grease, flour, or eggs getting all over it.
Stay Warm on a Snowy Day
Do you remember the good old days when you’d look forward to having snow days and playing in the snow? While it was lots of fun, what wasn’t great was when snow got into your clothes and made you ice cold. But with plastic wrap, this doesn’t have to ruin your snow day.
Wrap plastic wrap around your arms and legs over the first layer of your clothes and then put on another layer of clothing to retain the heat. Not only will this keep you warm, but it will prevent your clothes from getting wet.
Prevent Ice Cream From Getting Freezer Burn
And talking about the cold, there’s never a time of year where ice cream is off-limit. Ice cream is delicious even in the winter, but what’s not tasty is when it gets freezer burn—you know that layer of ice that sometimes appears on the top of the ice cream? But plastic wrap can keep freezer burn away.
After you’ve finished scooping your ice cream, cover the top of the container with plastic wrap before you put the lid on. This will keep your ice cream creamy and will prevent ice crystals from forming.
Transfer Silverware in Its Holder
Are you moving anytime soon? If you’ve moved before, you know just how hard it is to pack and those kitchen appliances are some of the most difficult, especially silverware. So, instead of packing each piece of cutlery one by one, you can pack them all together with plastic wrap.
When you’re packing, wrap the whole container in plastic wrap. Not only does this guarantee that no piece will go missing, but when it’s time to unpack, all you have to do is unwrap it. Plus, it will be clean, so you won’t have to worry about washing it.
Prevent Paint From Drying on Brushes
Have you ever painted your walls and taken a break for a bit only to find the paint dried up on your rollers and brushes? Well, here’s another plastic wrap painting hack, and this one solves that problem, so you don’t have to stress about taking breaks.
If you don’t intend to wash off your rollers or brushes right after you finish painting, just wrap them up in plastic wrap to prevent the paint from hardening.
Attach Onions to Your Foot to Cure Illnesses
When it comes to fighting illnesses, we’ll do just about anything to prevent them. While there are tons of home remedies out there, to be honest, most of them are a waste of time and don’t actually work. And even though we’re not sure about the science behind this one, apparently onions can cure illnesses.
According to folk remedy, if you come down with a cold or the flu, slicing a raw onion and placing it on the bottom of your feet with plastic wrap and leaving it on overnight, will cure it. We of course recommend always consulting a physician about the best cure for illnesses.
Roll Dough
Why is it that rolling dough is so much harder than it looks? Between tearing and sticking to the rolling pin, it’s a real nightmare and it can take the joy out of baking. And to avoid the mess, all you need is plastic wrap.
Before you start rolling your dough, lay a piece of plastic wrap on top of it. This makes rolling a lot smoother and prevents the dough from sticking onto your rolling pin.
Create an Icing Piping Bag
Icing cakes and cookies are more often than not pretty complicated and they almost never turn out the way you expected them to. Yet for icing, there’s actually more than one plastic wrap hack!
The first is the simplest and it’s cutting one end of the plastic wrap and using it as a piping bag. You can also place the icing inside plastic wrap before putting it into a piping bag, making the piping bag reusable. Lastly, you can place many wrapped icing colors into one larger bag to create a rainbow effect.
Clean the Stovetop
Have you ever spent hours scrubbing the grime and grease from your stovetop? Not only does it take lots of time, but it also requires muscles and patience. And to avoid this, just get ammonia, paper towels, and plastic wrap.
Keep Storage Bins Closed
Here’s another moving hack you’re going to want to have in your back pocket for the next time you move. This one has to do with moving storage bins. If you’ve ever moved storage bins you know how they are constantly opening and how your stuff ends up everywhere.
But if you wrap the bins in plastic wrap, it will keep them closed and the contents inside protected next time you have a big move.
Seal Windows for Insulation
Do you feel a slight breeze even when your windows are closed? Well, that may be because there are small gaps in them due to damage or aging. Plastic wrap can come to the rescue to prevent high energy bills.
Simply cover your windows with plastic wrap and secure them with double-sided tape. After you’ve put it in place, use a blow dryer to seal it. But keep in mind that this is a temporary solution until you can permanently close the gaps.
Mess-Free Painting
Regardless of how careful you are when painting, it’s pretty likely you’ll get a drop or splatter of paint in places you didn’t want to. To prevent this from happening, get a few rolls of plastic wrap.
Plastic wrap can be used to cover furniture or any parts of the room you don’t want paint on. Additionally, it can protect your floors. It’s never been easier to be mess-free!
Unclog Toilets
Dealing with clogged toilets sucks and what are you supposed to do when there isn’t a plunger and you don’t want to call a plumber? One DIY way to unclog your toilet is with plastic wrap and it’s simpler than it seems.
Just cover the entire toilet seat tightly with plastic wrap, making sure not to leave any space. Then, flush your toilet a few times, which should make the plastic swell. Finally, push down on it to create pressure to force the clog right through the pipes.
Get Rid of Hangnails
Even though we know that picking hangnails only makes them worse, we do it anyway. The problem is, before long, we’ve picked off a huge chunk of our skin and it becomes really painful. If you want to stop this from happening, you can use plastic wrap.
Prior to going to sleep, apply hand cream to your hangnail and wrap it with plastic wrap, leaving it overnight. This will soften the cuticle and make it easier to get rid of the hangnail.
Get Rid of Cork Taint From Wine
Even the best, most expensive bottle of wine can turn bad due to cork taint, which is a musty taste that comes from high levels of the chemical TCA that’s in corks. While it’s not harmful, the flavor isn’t nice and it may cause you to throw out your wine. A little plastic wrap can solve the problem, though.
Special Photography Effects
When it comes to hacks, photographs are pros at discovering them. Whether it’s creating DIY filters, reflectors, or flash diffusers, no household object is off-limits, which includes plastic wrap.
For a textured effect, wrap plastic wrap around your camera lens, leaving the center open. Additionally, you can scrunch up the wrap. And those aren’t the only plastic wrap photography hacks—you can also create colorful filters by covering the lens with plastic wrap and then coloring it with permanent markers.
Make Psoriasis Treatment More Effective
If you suffer from psoriasis, you know just how painful and itchy the red, flaky patches can be. What’s worse is it can last for weeks or months before clearing up and it can be expensive to treat. While we suggest seeing a doctor if it gets worse and doesn’t improve, plastic wrap can be used to make treatments more effective.
Apply a topical steroid cream to the affected area and cover it with plastic wrap, using tape to secure it. Let it sit for a few hours or overnight. The plastic wrap will help keep the moisture in, making the cream more effective.
Remove Labels From Bottles
We’re all about reusing bottles and containers, but when they have labels, they’re not always the most aesthetically pleasing. Plus, removing them is really hard. So, instead of just giving up and throwing them out, there’s an easier way to get rid of the stickers.
Start by soaking the sticker with a mix of dish soap and warm water. Then, use plastic wrap to cover the container and let it sit for five to 10 minutes before removing it. When the time is up, the label should slide right off.
Save Cracked Makeup
If you’ve ever dropped your blush, powder foundation, or eyeshadow and it’s completely broken, it’s pretty gut-wrenching because it usually can’t be salvaged. And with how expensive beauty products are, it feels like a huge waste to throw it. But with plastic wrap and a few drops of alcohol, you can fix it!
First, add a few drops of alcohol to the cracked makeup and then cover it with plastic wrap. Then, pack it back together with a small spoon, repeating the process until the makeup is no longer shattered.
Make Ointment More Effective
Do you remember the psoriasis treatment tip with plastic wrap? Well, here’s one that’s quite similar and it can be used for any ointment treatment.
Keep Flowers Fresh
Flowers can be pretty delicate and sometimes after you buy them and handle them, the bouquet ends up looking less than picture-perfect. To avoid this, make sure you have plastic wrap and a damp paper towel before buying the flowers.
Just place a damp paper towel on the base of the flowers and then put a piece of plastic wrap over it, wrapping it around the ends of the stalks. The last step is to use a bow or decorative paper to cover up the plastic wrap.
Cover Blenders and Mixers
Blenders and mixers can get really messy, and more often than not, it’s at the worst time, when you’re in a rush and don’t have time to clean up the splatters. However, to avoid the mess, you can use plastic wrap.
Before you start blending or mixing, cover up the top of the blender or mixer with plastic wrap. This will prevent a mess from happening and food won’t stick onto the lid.
Keep Meat Together
For some, tenderizing meat is quite therapeutic as it’s a great way to let off some steam, but for others, it’s stressful because the meat can go everywhere. To avoid this, just wrap your meat with plastic wrap.
This keeps everything in place, allowing you to pound and flatten the meat as hard as you want to, without worrying about it scattering around. Plus, it makes everything a lot neater and cleanup easier.
Easy Labeling
Labeling is so satisfying, especially if you’re a neat freak. Not only is it satisfying, but it also makes finding things a lot easier. Whether you’re labeling food or labeling boxes, you don’t need fancy label makers when you have plastic wrap.
Next time you’re organizing, moving, or arranging things, just cut out small pieces of plastic wrap and stick them to the object. Then, write on them. After everything is where you want it to be, peel off the plastic wrap.
Prevent Paint From Drying Out
It’s not uncommon to have leftover paint after you’ve finished painting that can be used for another project. But most of the time before we actually get to the next project, the paint has been sitting for a while and it’s dried up. To prevent wasting paint, cover the top of the cans with plastic wrap.
The plastic wrap will keep air from coming in and hardening the paint, making it unusable. It also keeps the smell of paint in the can.
Line Dishes
Washing dishes is one of our least favorite chores because it takes tons of time and energy. And if you don’t have a dishwasher, it can’t be avoided. While you could always use paper or plastic plates, it’s not great for the environment and it makes your food feel like takeaway. But those aren’t the only options.
You can line plates with plastic wrap before you put food onto them. When you’re done eating, all you have to do is toss it out.
Transport Drawer Organizers
Do you remember the packing silverware hacks we told you about earlier that involved wrapper the whole holder in it instead of the cutlery individually? Well, you can apply this hack to any drawer in your home when moving.
Plastic wrap can be wrapped around drawer organizers to make transporting easier. It will also keep all of the stuff in the drawer in one place and it won’t move around.
Keep Trashcans Clean
We’ve already told you that we’re not fans of cleaning dishes and if there’s one chore we can’t stand almost as much, it’s taking out the trash. We seem to fill it to the brim until we have no other option but to take it out. And when that happens, the trash ends up getting on the lid of the bin, which is really gross.
So, to prevent this from happening, follow Mood food with Anishka’s tip and line the bottom of the trash lid with plastic wrap. This will result in the plastic wrap being the only spot that gets dirty and no more messy lids.
Cook Baked Potatoes
Baked potatoes are one of the most comforting foods, but it can take about an hour to make them in the oven. Luckily, that’s not the only way to prepare them—because another great tip courtesy of Mood food with Anishka teaches us how to make them in the microwave in less than 10 minutes with plastic wrap!
Start by poking the potato with a fork a few times and then place it in a microwave-safe bowl covered with plastic wrap. Cook the potato for three minutes and turn it over and cook it for another two minutes. To see if it’s done, poke it with a fork and check if it’s soft inside. If it’s not, cook it for one to three more minutes.
Keep Moisture Out of Firewood
Have you ever wondered why small bundles of firewood come shrink-wrapped? Well, wrapping firewood in shrink-wrap is a cheap way to keep moisture out, so the fuel burns better. And you can apply this idea when you’re camping.
After you’ve collected firewood, to guarantee it stays dry, wrap it up with plastic wrap. This will ensure the firewood is moisture-free when it’s time to use it and your fire will be stronger.
Protect Keyboards
Do you have a computer sitting in your home office that’s just collecting dust and dirt? Not only is it not nice to look at, eventually, it can interfere with the signals to the keys and break down your keyboard. To keep it mess, free all you need is plastic wrap.
Just put plastic wrap over the keyboard to prevent crumbs, dust, and liquids from getting into it. You can also use this hack when you’re using your keyboard to prevent spills or sticky fingers from ruining your keyboard.
