Creative, Effective Uses for Flexible Straws

As a kid I can remember using these for just about everything that I drank. I still use them to this day. But you can use these flexible straws for so much more than just drinking. Here are some of the creative things that you can do with flexible straws.

Creative, effective uses for flexible straws: Prevent tangles

Use flexible straws to prevent your jewelry from becoming tangled. Simply slip the chain in the inside of a flexible straw and then close the clasp. Now you can safely store the chain in your jewelry box without fear of future tangles.

You can also prevent a tangle from happening on the string on a child's pull toy. Just slip a flexible straw over the string and knot the end. Next time your child goes to play with his favorite toy, you have to worry about spending precious time trying to untie a knot.

Creative, effective uses for flexible straws: Unclog a ketchup bottle

How many times has this happened to you, you go to pour out ketchup from a freshly opened bottle when nothing budges? You can easily unclog the ketchup by inserting a flexible straw into the bottle to allow air into the bottle and getting the ketchup flowing.

Creative, effective uses for flexible straws: Help with a flower arrangement

I can't count how many times I have done this, got a beautiful bouquet of flowers to put in my favorite vase, only to realize that I cut the stems to short. Now the stems aren't long enough for the vase. You can fix this problem by inserting the stems into some flexible straws to elongate the stems so they fit perfectly in the vase. Just make sure that when you fill the vase with water, that you fill the vase high enough for the water to reach the stems.

Creative, effective uses for flexible straws: Create your own eyedropper

This is a really great trick; you can create your own eyedropper with a flexible straw. Insert the flexible straw into the liquid and cover the open end of the flexible straw with your finger. The liquid will stay in place until you are ready to release you finger. Just remember to do this with a clean, sanitized straw. You don't want to get an eye infection because of a dirty straw.

Creative, effective uses for flexible straws: Make croquet wickets easier to see

Sometimes while playing the game croquet, the wickets might be hard to see. Make them more visible by running the wickets through a flexible straw before inserting them into the ground. Now you will be able to take aim better because you can see the croquet wickets easier.

If you have some flexible straws lying around in your home, use some of these strategies to make your life a little easier.

Sources: Reader's Digest, Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things book