I first discovered how many things you can do with aluminum foil a few years ago on one of my favorite sites, www.care2.com. Author of the article, Katie Waldeck, arranged her suggestions into specific categories for our convenience. Since this is the time of year that this product tends to go on sale, I thought I’d share her tips, in case you’d like to stock up.

AROUND THE HOUSE:

Prevent Paint from Dripping on your Doorknobs. Wrap them (and hinges) in foil. You no longer need to remove them when you’re repainting a room.

Fix those Loose Battery Compartments. Can’t figure out why that flashlight isn’t working? The springs might be loose. Fold a tiny piece of foil and place it between the spring and the battery.

FASHION AND BEAUTY:

Iron Your Clothes in Half the Time. Place a long strip of foil under your ironing board’s cover. Replace the cover. Notice how the foil retains heat as you iron, which means you are basically ironing both sides at the same time! [THIS is my favorite idea!]

Protect Your Glasses When Dying Your Hair. Line the temples of them with foil to prevent dye from staining the frames. This way you can read while you wait for the dye to “take.”

Iron Delicate Fabrics. Is your silk, wool, or rayon garment getting wrinkly? As these types of fabrics can’t handle direct heat, you can still iron them at home and save money (avoiding a trip to the dry cleaners). Lay a strip of foil on top of the ironing board and place the clothing item on top of it. Move the iron back and forth, a few inches above the garment, a few times and watch how those wrinkles disappear.

FOOD:

Soften Brown Sugar. Foil works much better than a microwave for softening brown sugar. If you’re not careful, a microwave will actually liquefy the sugar. So instead of nuking that hard block of sweetness, preheat the oven to 300°F. Place the sugar that needs softening on a large square of foil, fold it tightly shut and heat through for about 5 minutes. You’ll have sugar that’s soft and fresh!

Frost a Cake. Who needs fancy pastry bags when you have foil around? Roll foil into a cone (if your brand isn’t very strong, do a second layer of foil.) Leave a tiny opening at the cone’s bottom, fold down the top of the cone to prevent spillage, fill with icing and start squeezing.

Keep Bread Warm. Don’t let those rolls go cold on the dinner table! First line a basket or bowl with foil and then place napkin-wrapped bread in it.

CLEANING:

Shine Up Your Metals. Line a large pan or bowl with foil, fill it up with cold water and add three teaspoons of salt. Place your rusty metals in the water and let them soak for about five minutes. Rinse the water off and pat them dry.

Extend the Life of your Steel Wool. That stuff’s expensive — don’t let it go to waste! Store your steel wool on top of a crumpled ball of foil. You can also wrap it in foil and store it in the freezer to lengthen its lifespan.

Keep Your Fireplace Clean by lining the bottom with foil. Forgot to do that? Talk about easy ash removal!

Sharpen Your Scissors. Keep them sharp by cutting through several sheets of foil every once in awhile.

Soften Your Clothes. Instead of using expensive and not-so-environmentally-friendly dryer sheets, use a 4-inch ball of foil instead. Either save clean pieces you’ve used for other things and form them into a ball over time, or cut enough foil at once to fashion into a ball. Then place the ball in the dryer when drying clothes.

The science escapes me, so I can’t explain how this works. But clothes that have tumbled around with a ball of aluminum foil come out nice and soft.