10 Novel Uses for the Classic Clothespin

If you frequent antiques markets or secondhand shops, you may have a few vintage frames (sans glass) lying around waiting for inspiration. With some twine and a few clothespins, you can create a canvas upon which to perch notes, photos, and other small objects that move you. 

When you start seeds from scratch, marjoram looks no different from mint until the plant finally breaks the soil and takes shape. Until then, to identify your greenery, write the names of your future herbs on common wooden clothespins and clip them to the planter rims.

The cat may be disappointed, but you’ll be purring with pleasure at the sight of your tidily stored yarn, string, and ribbon. Just wrap your yarn (or other easily tangled supplies) around a closed clothespin and tuck the loose end inside the clamp.

We’ve all banged a finger or two trying to drive an itty-bitty nail into its final resting place. Again, the ever-adaptable clothespin comes to the rescue—use it to steady your nail and keep your fingers at a safe distance while the hammer does its job.

These adorable turkey place cards would love a seat at your Thanksgiving table! To assemble, cut red and yellow silk flowers in half, then glue two of the halves together to make the colorful turkey “feathers.” Cut out a brown felt turkey body and glue it to the feathers. A clothespin, glued to a wooden block for weight and clamped to the tail feathers, provides the perfect spot for a guest’s name.

The possibilities are endless: mark your last page in a novel, hold a cookbook open, keep your place in sheet music at the piano. Clothespins do the trick when you need to read hands-free.

What the dryer swallows up, it eventually spits out—and when it does, here’s how you can make sure your single socks meet their match. Glue some decorated (or not) clothespins to a painted piece of wood, a chalkboard,

or even the top of an old holiday popcorn can, and you’ll have a designated spot for socks to await their sole mates.

Coil, clip, categorize…done. Use clothespins to organize stray cords from your computer, DVD, TV, monitor, printer, smartphone, and more.

Pull together a few pieces of wood, some nails, a handful of clothespins, acrylic paint, and some holiday spirit…and you’ve made yourself a charming DIY clothespin tree from which to hang your Christmas cards.

Related:  5 Creative Ways to Display Your Holiday Cards

If a project is relatively bite-size, who needs a vise grip? Clothespins are great for securing the various stages of small household repairs and crafts.

If you are interested in more repurposing projects, consider:

5 Things to Do with… Empty Wine Bottles

20 Clever Ideas for Repurposed Storage

5 Things to Do with… Beadboard