Alternative Uses For Aluminum Foil (Thrifty Thursday)

That roll of aluminum foil can be used for so much more than just wrapping food and covering trays when baking!  Here are some of my favourite uses:

Use Aluminum Foil When Baking

Take a sheet of foil the size of your muffin tin and place over the cups, cut an X in the foil over each cup and insert your liners.  Any spillage when pouring batter or those greasy marks left when the muffin top rises over the top will be left on the foil making it super easy to clean (yes I am that lazy, I hate scrubbing pans).

Baking a pie? Cover the edges of the pastry with foil for half the cooking time to stop them from burning or becoming too crispy.

Line the bottom rack (not the bottom of the oven) with foil to catch drips when cooking.  This works for the barbecue too.

Use Aluminum Foil To Clean Baked On Food

Have you ever ruined a perfectly good scrubbing brush/sponge trying to scrub off baked on food from a glass dish or oven rack?  Before using it, scrunch some foil into a loose ball and use it to remove the stubborn baked on food  by scrubbing in a circular motion.  Then finish the cleaning with your usual method.  This also works for the barbecue.

If you used a steel wool pad for cleaning, place a piece of aluminum foil under the steel wool to stop it from getting rusty.

Use Aluminum Foil When Painting

Door knobs and handles can be hard to cover with painting tape due to their shape.  Wrap them in foil instead and save the painting tape for edges!

Clean Jewelry & Silverware With Aluminum Foil

Place a piece of foil at the bottom of a bowl and fill with hot water mixing in a small amount of powdered bleach free laundry detergent.  Add your jewelry it soak for 1-2 minutes then air dry.  The foil allows for an ion exchange releasing dirt.

For silverware use salt instead of laundry detergent!

Use Aluminum Foil When Ironing

Place aluminum foil under your ironing board cover to reflect the heat (and some of the steam) back into the clothes, it will make ironing so much faster.

If you have delicate items that cannot be ironed, place foil under them at steam at the lowest temperature several times and the wrinkles will fall out.

Iron a piece of foil using steam to help get rid of starch build up on your iron, a few passes will help.  I use the foil under my cover after the weekly ironing.

Other Household Uses For Aluminum Foil

If your scissors are starting to dull, fold pieces of foil and cut through them several times

Moving furniture?  Place the foil dull side down under the legs to help move it with ease.  If the furniture is heavier, you will need to fold it into a thicker piece so it does not rip while moving.

Place a small folded piece of foil between the battery and spring when batteries in small household items become loose.

Make a funnel to transfer liquids to and from bottles.  Especially for thicker liquids that drain slowly through narrow funnels.

My favourite – scrunch into a ball and let the cat play with it!