McGuyver Moments

[SiouzQ.]

When I got to the gym after work, I realized that I forgot to bring a clip for my insanely wild curly hair. So I rummaged around in my gym bag (which was my skate bag back in the day) and found an old nylon knee-hi, which made a very nice ponytail holder!

It got me wondering, what are some of your creative and frugal :idea:spur-of-the-moment fixes?

[redfox]

Twist ties, tape & safety pins are in every drawer in my house, it seems! They are my fav quick-fix implements...

[Jonathan]

We recently bought a new house. After moving partially in, I managed to lock us outside with all the keys inside. :|( Fortunately, the attached garage car door was open, so I went inside, shut the car door, then broke the single-pane glass out of the people door so I could get us back in. But that left a perfectly good door without a window in it (and it needs a window - the temp in the garage is in the 30's most winter days)!

So, off to the hardware store and purchased dual pane replacement window designed for broken exterior doors. After a bit of this and that with the router and a utility knife, the window fits door only to discover the company sends just 4 screws - enough to hold the frame together during shipment but no more. If I was actually replacing the window from the companies original door, I'd have the needed screws from the old window.

Call up the company and have them send me the necessary screws, but in the mean time I used masking tape to hold the window in place until I could get time to finish the install. Three months later I got it all finished, put in the screws, and presto, a slammable door.

But what made this so fun is the window we bought comes with a built-in blind. Now DW doesn't have to worry about pulling down the curtains that were covering the old window when she goes flying through the doorway with laundry baskets and whatnot... :D

The downside is I now have two more doors to perform this surgery too. This house leaks like a ...:help:

[mara61]

Our back door has that blind in the glass and I LOVE it! Wish all of our windows had it.

Tracy

[Mighty Frugal]

Once when I did some spontaneous baking (yeah, I'm weird like that) I was too lazy to go upstairs to the washroom for a hair clip so I clipped my hair back with one of those dollar store chip clips....worked great!

I also using a magnifying glass for small print...(I don't need glasses, I don't need glasses...)

I've used pieces of random business cards to clean my nails when I look down in public and notice they need a'cleanin!

Cannot find a FREE desk calendar for my desk at work so I McGuyvered my 2010 one. Typed out the 2011 dates, printed, cut out and taped it on top of the old one

[Mrs-M]

I'm the safety pin (diaper pin) queen of quick fixes, repairs, and temporary alterations! My favourite!!!

Sweat pants minus waistband drawstrings/cords, add a pin!
Old baby rubber pants that have been rinsed, washed, laundered, hung to dry, pulled off and on one too many times, and abused to the point of elastic waistband failure, tack 'em to baby's diaper using a pin!
Kids Halloween costumes, pin here, pin there... Good to go!

[SiouzQ.]

Winding the hair around a pencils or chopstick works in the kitchen when I'm too lazy to go upstairs for a clip.

When the little retainer strap thingy broke on my leather watchband (you know that part that holds the end down so it doesn't flap or get caught on stuff), I inserted a safety pin through the leather to create a way to hold down the strap. I then got about another year's use out of that thing ~ I just didn't feel like buying a new watchband at Target until I absolutely had to!

[Mrs-M]

Ingenuity at it's best! As a side note, safety pins IMO are the one of the greatest inventions ever to hit the market!

[Terri]

Once when I did some spontaneous baking (yeah, I'm weird like that) I was too lazy to go upstairs to the washroom for a hair clip so I clipped my hair back with one of those dollar store chip clips....worked great!

I skip the chip clips altogether, in favour of office binder clips (which I always have handy for reports, and also cost only about $1.50 for a dozen). But, probably wouldn't work as an emergency hair tie :D

ETA: I also superglued the straps of my purse down where they were starting to tear along the seam line. And superglued my sunglasses back together when one of the earpieces broke. Shopping for new ones was just too much hassle to contemplate.

[Gina]

I use wooden clothes pins for all sorts of things. Not my hair however. ;)

When I sweep the floor, I use a larger piece of card-stock junk mail as the dustpan, then toss it into recycling (just the paper).

I use the charcoal holding grate from the bottom of the small bbq to put over the stove burners to roast chili peppers, then skin them.

[Jilly]

Oh, I love the idea of using the bbq grate for that. Other racks just are not sturdy enough. Seriously brilliant!!!!

[beckyliz]

Hi, everyone! my first post on the new boards.
Actually, this came into play today! My daughter wants to make cupcakes, but we're out of cupcake/muffin papers. Quick internet search taught me how to make our own out of parchment paper! Yay! saved a trip to the store.

[Simplemind]

I have both a glue stick and a small mag light in my purse. I can't tell you the amount of times I have needed to use both of them.

[debi]

Instead of purchasing the whitening dental strips, brush your teeth and then swish and hold peroxide in your mouth for a minute or two. It'll foam in your mouth unless you do a water rinse afterwards. I do this on a weekly basis since I drink a lot of unsweetened ice tea and don't like the discoloration. Much cheaper than those strips (Walgreen's has been having their brand peroxide on sale for 3 bottles for $1).

[Gina]

Oh, I love the idea of using the bbq grate for that. Other racks just are not sturdy enough. Seriously brilliant!!!!

Thanks. I terminally warped a number of 'regular' kitchen grates before stumbling across that one. I even heat-twisted a grate specifically for roasting peppers from Williams-Sonoma. :)

The grates I use are the smaller ones from the bottom of a Weber Smokey Joe bbq. I've purchased them at yard sales for a buck just to get that bottom charcoal grill. (I grow a lot of roasting chilis.) I guess you could also use the upper, larger grill, but they dont fit as easily on the stovetop.

[CreekyAttic]

20 years ago I made the mistake of fixing the hem of my teenage daughter's skirt quickly before a band concert with stapler. All was good until the concert was over and she stood up. The staple got caught in her panty hose. It was all down hill from there....I ruined her life. We still are hearing about "the day". LOL

[Mighty Frugal]

Speaking of quick hems, I've used masking tape to hem skirts/pants. Oh and paper clips for missing buttons..oh and sharpie on a scuff mark on my black boots...I sound a mess don't I??

[Terri]

A paperclip for a missing zipper tab

[rosarugosa]

Terri, I use binder clips for chips, etc. too!

[CreekyAttic]

I used a small rubber band looped through the zipper pull of my jeans and then hooked over the button (then you button as normal) to keep the zipper up when it got to the point of slidding down all the time. Not noticable but does the trick!