Using things for a purpose other than for the intended purpose for which they were sold

Thank you Esmay. ?

Maytime 2 that's a useful tip of yours.... to clean the grass from underneath the lawn mower with an old credit card. I shall use it next time I cut the grass.

A treadmill as an… item to hang my clean washing waiting to be ironed on..

That one gave me a good laugh!!

Seen on Facebook -

IKEA dolls' beds used as cat beds.

My hands get very sore so I always wear rubber gloves for washing up etc. Also when I’m gardening. But when it’s hot my hands sweat and the inside of the gloves are horrible ( I had no idea that hands sweated so much). But I realised I had those thin cotton gloves that you put in at night to help your hand cream moisturise your hands better, so I’ve started wearing those with the gloves. Ok they also get wet by my hands don’t feel so clammy and, unlike the rubber gloves, I can wash them.

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Using rivers as sewage dumps.

Wash rubber gloves frequently for your health's sake . You simply turn them inside out, wash, rinse, hang to dry, then turn them the inside in.

We do this too pearl

Craig - I don't think many of us would use Damascus steel to do paint jobs or even jobs round the garden ... but maybe Allsorts' gutting knife (with presumably a curved blade) is particularly useful. It may not be an expensive hand-forged knife.
OR it may be a hand-me-down knife that reminds her of someone and is re-purposed for "old times sake"

We have an old curved Opinel garlic knife that's useful for all sorts of things it wasn't intended for - both in the house and the garden.

An old lace tablecloth which we repurposed for lace curtains.

I use the same fishing tackle box as Georgiejg for my watercolour paints.

A friend told me to use deodorant sticks on itchy insect bites rather than aero guard or whatever you use from the chemist and that works. Cheaper too.

VioletSky

Potato peeler to slice cheese

I do that too.

My daughter and I put together countless things, including bunk beds using a potato peeler (and lots of swearing)

I've got a cheese slicer, very nifty, had it years but I can't remember where I bought it. Probably TK Maxx. I haven't used it for slicing anything else though so it has no place on this thread!

I had a cheese slicer, and an egg slicer.
Then a boy moved in, and that was the end of them. (The slicers, not the boy)

Not exactly different, but later used for something we’d never imagined at the time.
Bought well over 30 years ago, a very simple double sofa bed, no arms, folds down instantly, bought for a spare room that wasn’t big enough for a double bed and dh’s desk. Used only very rarely when we had a real houseful, since we had other room for guests.

That is, until we had Gdcs coming to stay - and I was 67 by the time the first arrived. By the time 1 and 2 were 2 and 3 (now 6 and 7) it was perfect for them to share - very low, so no danger even if they did fall out.
Used so much in recent years!

puppy training pads from poundstretcher, B&M, are a lot cheaper than expensive items from boots, for inco pads on beds, seats, or for any discharge.

Callistemon21

I've got a cheese slicer, very nifty, had it years but I can't remember where I bought it. Probably TK Maxx. I haven't used it for slicing anything else though so it has no place on this thread!

I have one, given by a Swedish friend - much more of a thing in Sweden from what I’ve seen there - very thin slices shaved off a block.
TBH I’ve very rarely used it.

Also late to the thread.
Since my H died I no longer buy wine by the case so a wine rack I don’t need now makes a very useful shoe rack in the corner of the bedroom.
Holds lots of pairs.

Oh, I may have bought it in Finland along with an excellent potato peeler when we visited Fiskars.
The potato peeler may have gone out with the peelings or could have run away with the apple corer. Both are missing

My mum bought stuff from the Betterware catalogue, because she felt for whoever was selling it.
We often got things that we had no idea how to use, or what for.

My MIL loved Betterware.

In fact, I have some of her gadgets which I still use. The jar opener is very good.