7 useful ways to reuse everyday items

Sometimes good things come brand new, but one man's trash is another man's treasure. Instead of throwing perfectly good, used things away, give them a new purpose in life by implementing these tips for reusing everyday items.

Stained oven mitts are eyesores in the kitchen. Before you toss them, though, throw them in the washing machine one more time. Store them in your garage where they'll come in handy to pick up hot engine parts like mufflers, pipes and radiators.

Your dry cleaner sends you home with protective plastic over your newly cleaned clothing, and you promptly rip off throw the plastic and stuff it in the garbage. Next time, carefully remove the plastic and tie a knot in the end where the hanger poked through, and you'll end up with a free plastic garbage bag.

After you've enjoyed the last drop of soda from those plastic 2-litre bottles, rinse them out and let them air dry. They're the perfect size to place inside your expensive leather boots so the boots will keep their shape during the seasons when you're not wearing them.

Plastic grocery bags can serve many more uses before you recycle them. In the winter, secure them around your car's side mirrors to keep ice from forming. Use rubber bands to wrap plastic bags over door knobs and handles when you paint a room. Use a plastic bag to protect your hands when handling greasy messes in the workshop. For easy access, store a supply of plastic bags inside an empty cardboard tissue box.

Cracked dustpans may not hold swept-up debris from your kitchen floors, but they make great scoops for sandboxes or cleaning up pet waste in the backyard.

It seems like pantyhose always get runs in them eventually. Before you discard them, remember that they can be used as effective ties for securing tomato plants to stakes.

We end up wasting lots of food in the kitchen when we throw away vegetable peelings. Save your onion, carrot, garlic and other food peelings and end cuts inside the freezer in a plastic freezer bag. When the bag is full, you'll have the makings of a delicious vegetable stock. Just simmer the cuttings in a large pot of water for one or two hours. Strain the peelings and save the remaining nutritious broth for use as the base of any kind of soup.

With these tips to use items that you might have thrown away, you'll end up buying fewer things, and save more money over time.