DIY Life

Just in case you haven't filled your quota this month for things you can do with packing peanuts, here's one more idea that just might do the trick.

My wife has discovered that when it's time to pedicure her toenails, placing packing peanuts in between her toes works better than using cotton balls as toe separators. She finds that while cotton balls tend to fluff out and get in the way of the project, the packing peanuts don't have that fuzz which can get in your way. She also says that the peanuts hold the toes farther apart and that they are easily adjustable, while cotton balls seem to always fall down on the job.

One other measurable advantage to using packing peanuts to wedge apart your toes is that cotton costs money and once you have stuffed it between your toes, you take it out and throw it in the trash. Packing peanuts on the other hand, generally come to us free of charge and in a pinch, you could always wash them after plucking them out from between your toes and reuse them as packing peanuts. I myself, wouldn't recommend that. Not to mention that many varieties of packing peanuts these days are in fact biodegradable.

The instructions I have for you here represent one of the easiest bird feeder kit designs I have ever encountered. This is not my own original design but when I came across it I immediately recognized the sheer brilliance of it. The engineering of the Peanut Butter Jar Bird Feeder will astound you with its classic simplicity and timeless design.

• Materials: Peanut butter jar, any size; Coat hanger; One stick similar to a pencil.

• Time: Approximately one hour

• Tools: Modeling knife or utility knife. Heavy wire cutter (optional), Drill and bits (optional)
  

• Steps:

1. Begin by separating the jar from the lid. Put a hole through the center of the lid, just large enough to fit the coat hanger wire through. You may use a drill or just wing it.