101 Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things

Unexpected New Uses for Kitchen Items

Gadgets that step up to the plate in less time it takes to heat up last night's leftovers

Unexpected New Uses for Kitchen Items
Mark Lund
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Wine Bottle or Cork
  • Use as bookends. A pair of bottles, with or without the contents, can hold a small library together.


  • Organize jewelry. Poke stud earrings into a cork and toss it in your travel bag.


  • Replace a rolling pin. Roll piecrust or pizza dough flat with a wine bottle.


  • Keep your boots up. Slide bottles into boots when storing them so they keep their shape and stand up straight.


  • Pack party favors. Send dinner guests home with some of your special sauce or cocktail mix in rinsed-out bottles; replace the labels with decals if you like.


  • Cap an X-Acto knife with a wine cork.


  • Stop scratches. Slice corks into disks and glue them to the bottoms of furniture or heavy pottery to protect delicate floors.


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