We got into our biennial toasted-cheese-sandwich obsession last weekend and while we were on top of a kitchen cabinet hunting down the toastie maker last weekend, we found a tub full of old random cheap cutlery.

We’ve acquired these random odds and sods over the years but they were superseded a couple of years ago by cutlery that

1. hangs from a little hook thing because we don’t have any drawers in the kitchen, and
2. doesn’t bend when eat something as solid as, oh, soup.

They’ve mostly got plastic handles but of all different colours and styles from different sets. I suspect the best thing I can do with them, even in their wonky bent state, would be to give them to a charity shop or Freecycle them but thought I’d see if anyone has any cool ideas for other reuses for them first. So suggestions?

(Photo by Gastonmag)

We bought a flat-packed side table from Ikea a few weeks ago (to be my home office so my junk doesn’t pile up right across the living room) and its individual flat pieces were wrapped in thin sheets of foam to stop them scratching each other in transit.

The sheets are about 50cm wide and 1m in length, but only about 1mm thick so pretty see-through.

We don’t really have anything we need to pack up at the moment and while I’m not opposed to keeping it around until we have something to pack, if we can use it for anything else in the meantime, that would be good. So any suggestions?

A few weeks ago, I wrote a how-can-I on those solid, upright toothpaste tubes and one of the commenters, Cadan, asked what about squeezy toothpaste tubes instead.

So what about squeezed squeezy toothpaste tubes?

They used to be metal (like tomato/garlic puree ones still are) but now toothpaste tubes – or at least the ones we used – seem to more plasticky instead. The plastic ones look like they might (MIGHT) be easier to refill – anyone got any suggestions on what they could be refilled with? The metal ones though have a tendency to weaken at the edges when they’ve been utterly squeezed dry and rolled up so I doubt they can be refilled – does anyone know if they can be recycled?

(Photo by stocker)

I’ve a few old jumpers (aka sweaters, pullovers, woolly warm things) that aren’t really suitable for wearing any more by me or anyone else. I’ve either shrunk them a bit in the wash, or they’re stretched and baggy, or are stained in parts or are, frankly, a bit stinky in (under arm) parts.

I know that you can unpick old jumpers for their wool – but only if they’ve been knitted as a jumper, not if the different parts have been just cut from one big piece of cloth and (I forget the right term for it) kinda stuck together at the sides – if you unpick tops like that, you just get thousands of little pieces of wool, just one row in length rather than one piece of very long wool. Unfortunately all the woolies in question are of the latter, unpickable variety.

So given they’re not really any good for going charity-shop-ward and I can’t unpick them to feed my newfound knitting addiction, any other suggestions of things I can do with the cloth? Some of them have sleeves that are ok but the bodies are too far gone; on others the bodies are fine but the armpits and cuffs matted – so any suggestions for using up the different bits of them?

(Photo by fugue)

John used to play drums back in the day and has just started to pick it up again so has been cleaning/refurbishing some of his old kit.

He used to specialise in hitting them awfully hard with sticks so the “skins” are a bit knackered – especially since he uses brushes on them now, therefore needs them coated so they sound right … or something (my musical skills begin and end with the swanee/slide whistle).

Anyway, we’ve now got a couple of old drumheads lying around the house now – they’re not torn, just not worn out. For those as musically challenged as me, they’re, well, like floppy-ish frisbees: round and flat (funnily enough), with the edges curved around about 1.5cm (3/4 inch). The skin is thin plastic and, as I said floppy.

Presumably with all the musicians out there, there are thousands of these things discarded every week – so any suggestions what people can do with them? And what about if the skin is torn – any suggestions then?

(Photo by Vierdrie)