6 Things To Do with Drinking Straws

Don’t toss the straw after you’ve slurped up your smoothie! From organizing jewelry to improving flower arrangements, there are plenty of ways to put drinking straws to use all around the house.

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Use Drinking Straws to Make Easy-to-Carry Seasoning Holders

Use Drinking Straws to Make Easy-to-Carry Seasoning Holders

If you’re on a low-sodium diet and need potassium salt (which most restaurants don’t keep on the table), or perhaps you want salt and pepper to season your picnic lunch just before you eat it, straws provide an easy way to pack a small amount of seasonings. Fold one end of the straw over and tape it shut, fill the straw, then fold and tape the other end. Ta-da!

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Use a Drinking Straw to Get Ketchup Flowing

Use a Drinking Straw to Get Ketchup Flowing

Anticipation is great, but ketchup that comes out of the bottle while your hot dog or hamburger is still hot is even better. If your ketchup is recalcitrant, insert a straw all the way into the bottle and stir it around to get the flow started.

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Use Drinking Straws to Improve a Flower Arrangement

Use Drinking Straws to Improve a Flower Arrangement

Your flower arrangement would be just perfect, if it wasn’t for the fact that a few of the flowers aren’t tall enough. You can improve on nature by sticking each of the too-short stems into plastic straws, trimming the straw to get the desired height and inserting them into the vase.

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Use Drinking Straws to Keep Necklaces Unknotted

Use Drinking Straws to Keep Necklaces Unknotted

Fine gold chains always end up in a knotted, kinked mess when they’re stored in open-style jewelry boxes. Before storing a chain necklace or bracelet, run it through the inside of a straw, cut to proper length, and close the chain clasp before putting it away. It’ll always be ready to wear!

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Use Drinking Straws for Some Foamy Fun

Use Drinking Straws for Some Foamy Fun

To make enough cheap and easy toys for even a large group of children, cut the ends off some plastic straws at a sharp angle and set out a shallow pan of dishwashing liquid diluted with a little bit of water. Dip a straw in the soap and blow through the other end. Little kids love the piles of bubbles that result.

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drinking-straws-pull-toy-collector
Photo: Shutterstock

Use Drinking Straws for Make a Pull-Toy Collector

Pull toys are perennial favourites of young children, but you can spend all day untying the knots that a toddler will inevitably put in the pull-string. By running the string through a plastic straw (or a series of them), you can keep it untangled.

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