Your turn: Creative uses for...the binder clip

I love "new uses for old things" -style tips. The cheapskate declutterer in me can't resist a) reusing an item I already have and/or b) avoiding buying another "unitasker" which will eventually make its way into the giveaway pile.

As I've been sifting through the archives for book research, I've discovered that we've got the makings for just this sort of list. Certain items are so multi-purpose they make their way into all sorts of hacks.

Take the binder clip. Useful for soooo much more than clipping together piles of paper.

A few examples:

• Clip blankets to stroller for a quick sunshade
• Wooden match lengthener so kids can light candles
• Chip clip (of course)
• Bookmark
• Wine glass ID (if you use multicolored binder clips)
• Pacifier tether

Rich Sipe (whose photo appears here) made an iPhone stand out of binder clips.

Help me find more uses! What's the most creative use you've seen for the binder clip?

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Comments

[aprilshowers]

I clipped one to the side edge of my desk and pass the ends of my chargers through it so I don't have to keep picking them up off the floor every time they fall.

[Erika]

Razor cover for traveling (got that from Pinterest!)

[Asha Dornfest (Parent Hacks)]

Aprilshowers and Erika: Already I'm smacking my head with how smart those ideas are.

[Katie]

I use them as emergency hair clips. I've also used them to fashion a makeshift bib by clipping a small towel my my daughter's shoulders.

[Lou @ Mommy Sanest]

I use them to help darken my daughter's room during naps. I use a couple of clips to secure a blanket over the curtains :)

[Catherine]

Closing chip bags. Making homemade clipboards with a piece of cardboard. Securing friendship bracelets to a book cover while you're working on them.

[Lisa Christopher Grimes]

I use the big ones to clip the tablecover to the tailgating/picnic table.

[Megan]

Like the bib, but backwards-I use it to secure a towel for makeshift cape when I cut my kiddos hair. Also use a larger one for outgoing mail on our small mail box (attached to our house, so no flag)- I've seen smaller ones on postal slots as well.

[Jenny Butler]

I use them for squeezable yogurts. My kids can never open the yogurt tubes on their own so I open them before putting them in lunches and close them with a binder clip which the kids can easily remove.

[Ed]

Use a carabiner, keyring, or something similar to attach the binder clip to the handle of your dog's leash. After picking up your dog's *ahem* "waste", twist or tie off the bag, and pinch it off with the clip. Now you have one less thing to fumble with, and the smell is controlled.

[Marla Lipshin]

I use a large one at the end of the toothpaste tube. Hubby uses a small one as a money clip. My daughter has used the small ones to display a row of photos - she ran a string along the wall, tacked at each end and clipped on a row of photos - simple and elegant!

[M. Franklin]

If you don't have a binder clip (or don't have enough binder clips) a clothes pin will work for many of these hacks.

[Tamrah T]

I have been far behind on scanning my children's progress,report cards, etc. So in the meantime, the papers need a little organization with binder clips. We have designated a cork board for their school art, teacher memos, and the like. It's there they wait on a binder clip for scanning, hanging on a push pin.

[Hillary]

I used binder clips to hold my work pants closed in the early stages of pregnancy!