18 Splendid Uses for Toothpicks You Never Thought Of

Here are 16 great tips that will undoubtedly prove to come in handy, be it for the home, cleaning, gardening, kitchen or just other random uses.

Use Toothpicks for Home Improvements

1. Touch up furniture and woodwork: Use a toothpick to add paint to small scratches in furniture, woodwork and cabinets. It's size is ideal to repaint a small crack and will help avoid getting paint on its surrounding area. It's cheaper than a paintbrush too!

2. Repair ornaments: Use a toothpick to repair figurines, statuettes or ornaments. It is especially useful when applying glue to small spaces and onto small surfaces.

3. Fill small holes: Toothpicks are a great way to hide accidental, exposed nail holes in wood. Just dab some glue on the toothpick and push it into the hold. Then break off the end, sand it down and add strain or paint if necessary.

4. Sew buttons: Keep a couple of toothpicks in your sewing kit, for sewing on buttons. Sewing experts often use toothpicks as a thread shank to create space between the button and the fabric. They will also prove to be useful in cleaning and repairing sewing machines.

Use Toothpicks for Hard-to-Clean Spots

5. Clean a keyboard: Keyboards have lots of tight, small spaces which makes cleaning them all the more difficult. But, a toothpick can be used in such hard-to-clean spots.

6. Remove grime from your fingernails: After gardening or dirty jobs, use a toothpick to remove the grime out from your fingernails - an area which is often pretty hard to clean even after washing your hands thoroughly with soap and water.

7. Clean your phone: Once in a while, our phones, due to their heavy use, do need  a good clean. But aside from wiping it down, toothpicks may also be used to remove dirt and grime in the receiver holes.

8. Clean cracks and gaps: Use a toothpick to scrape out dirt in cracks and gaps in furniture and gadgets. Just dip it in rubbing alcohol or another sterile cleaning solution.

Use Toothpicks in the Garden

9. Repair a bent stem: If your plant stem is looking a little droopy or bent, straighten it out by attaching a toothpick with tape. Once the plant appears to be growing again, remove the toothpick splint.

10. Test soil moisture: This test is similar to testing whether a cake is done, only in reverse for houseplants. To see if your plant needs water, push a toothpick into the soil. If it comes out wet and covered in soil, it's fine, but if it comes out dry, your plant needs watering.

11. Repair a garden hose leak: For a temporary plug, stick a toothpick into the hole of a leaking garden hose. The water will cause the wood to swell, allowing the toothpick to hold for some time.

12. Deter cutworms: Toothpicks are a great way to keep cutworms from curling around the plant and eating it. Just push three toothpicks into the soil close to the stem of a tomato plant or seedling.

Use Toothpicks for Random Uses

13. Fix broken glasses: As a temporary solution to broken glasses, use a toothpick. If you've lost a screw in your eyeglasses, align the screw holes and insert a toothpick. Break off the end and tape it into place. This ought to be enough until you get your glasses fixed.

14. Press the reset button: The best way to reach into those tiny recessed holes on many gadgets is through a toothpick.

Use Toothpicks While Cooking

15. Use toothpicks to design icing: While toothpicks may be used to test whether a cake is done or not, they may also be used to sketch out a nice design or words on a cake, before permanently applying your decorations.

16. Use toothpicks when marinating: If there are a couple of ingredients you wish to remove after your marinade is done, use a toothpick. They can be used on garlic cloves, for example, and many other items.

17. Cook potatoes quickly: Suspend potatoes on a toothpick, enabling them to cook quicker. It will also allow the potatoes to cook more evenly on all sides, including the bottom.

18. cook sausages: To cook sausages evenly insert a toothpick. This will allow you to easily turn them over too.

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