While searching for something entirely different, I came across this article on How Stuff Works about some alternate uses for salt. 

From How Stuff Works:

In the Garden

Kill poison ivy. A strong solution of saltwater can kill an infestation of poison ivy plants. Apply a mixture of 1 cup (236 milliliters) of salt with 1 gallon (3.7 liters) of soapy water to the leaves and stems with a garden sprayer.

Deter ants. Keep ants from congregating in your garden by sprinkling ordinary table salt in areas where ants tend to gather. This also works to keep ants from coming into your house. Sprinkle salt across the path where they’re coming in and they’ll be deterred from crossing.

Slug those slugs. Sprinkle slugs with a heavy dose of salt to kill them. Wait five minutes, then sprinkle them again.

Control cabbage worms. Cabbage worms eat garden cabbages, broccoli and cauliflower. To control them, dust their leaves with a mixture of 1 cup (239 milliliters) of flour and 1/2 cup (120 milliliters) of salt in in the morning or evening when they’re damp with dew.

Outdoor Gear

Deodorize canvas. Sprinkle salt inside musty-smelling canvas bags (or inside canvas shoes); zip up the bags and let them sit overnight. Dump out the salt the next day and let the bags air out.

Remove rust. Make a paste with 6 tablespoons of salt and 2 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice. Use a dry cloth to rub the paste on rusted bike handlebars, tire rims or other outdoor gear. Rinse and dry the areas thoroughly.

Health and Beauty

Exfoliate your skin. Salt makes a wonderful skin and/or face scrub. After you shower and while your skin is still moist, sprinkle salt onto your hands and rub it gently over your skin. The salt will remove dead skin and promote circulation. Sea salt is best.

Soothe itchy skin. Soaking in a tub of saltwater can be a great itchy skin reliever. Just add 1 cup (236 milliliters) table salt or sea salt to your bathwater to help soften your skin.

Cleanse and tone. Sea salt face toners are all the rage, but you can make your own by mixing 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon olive oil in a small bowl. Massage the mixture on your face and throat, being careful to avoid contact with your eyes. Follow by washing with your usual face soap.

Whiten your teeth. Don’t pay for expensive tooth whitener. Make your own with sea salt. It’s a natural abrasive, so it’s gentle at removing stains on your teeth. Just brush with it once a week.

Household Cleanup

Clear coffee stains. Add a mixture of 1 cup (236 milliliters) crushed ice, 1 tablespoon water and 4 teaspoons salt to your coffee pot and swirl the mixture. Rinse and wash as usual. Use the same method to get the stains out of your favorite coffee cups, too.

Deep clean oven and stove. Sticky spills are tough to remove from your oven and stovetop. Make it easier by sprinkling the spill with salt. Let it sit until the spill gets crisp and you can lift it with a spatula. You also can soak up liquid spills on the stovetop by sprinkling them with a mixture of salt and cinnamon. Leave it on the spill for about five minutes and then wipe away.

Sanitize the fridge. Just sprinkle equal amounts salt and baking soda on a damp sponge and wipe down the interior of your fridge.

Remove wine stains. Sprinkle kosher salt on the stain and let it sit for two or three minutes, then rinse with cold water.

Brighten your brass. Restore the shine to your brass and copper items by combining 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of flour with enough vinegar to form a paste. Rub the paste on any brass or copper piece and let it dry. Wash off with soapy water and buff to a shine with a microfiber cloth.

Erase watermarks. Make watermarks on wood disappear with a paste of 1 teaspoon salt and a few drops of water. Gently rub the paste onto the ring with a soft cloth until it’s gone. Follow up with a good furniture polish.

SOURCE: How Stuff Works.com By: Sarah Gleim

Continuing from FAMILY HANDYMAN:

Laundry Detergent Twine Dispenser

Prevent balls of twine from tangling up by making a twine dispenser from an empty plastic detergent jug. Cut the bottom off the jug and drill a hole in the cap. Screw the jug to your shop wall with the spout facing down. Drop the ball of twine into the jug, thread it through the hole and screw the cap on. — Paul Chupek

Furniture Stripping Helper

When stripping old paint or varnish, how do you get rid of the stuff once it’s on your putty knife? Cut a semi-circular opening in the side of an empty gallon jug, then clean the loaded scraper on the flat edge of the hole. When you’re done, and you want to reuse some of the stripper, upend the jug and use the neck of the jug as a funnel to pour the stripper into another container.

Plastic Bag Dispenser

To make it easy to stow and reuse plastic bags, make a dispenser from a discarded 2-liter soda bottle. Cut off the top and bottom with a razor knife. Trim any jagged edges so you don’t tear the bags when you pull them out, then screw the dispenser to a cabinet door or closet wall (or attach with hook-and-loop tape).

Water Bottle Nail Pouch

Make a nail holder from a plastic beverage bottle. Cut the top off an empty bottle, leaving a 3-1/2 in. tall container. File off any sharp edges or cover them with tape. Cut two 1-1/2 in. vertical slits 1 in. apart in the center of the side. Slide the end of your belt through the slots for a homemade nail pouch. — R. B. Hines.

Laundry Jug Watering Can

Instead of throwing away empty laundry detergent containers, rinse them out thoroughly and then recycle them for watering plants. Drill 1/8-in. holes in the top of the cap, and a 1/2-in. hole just above the handle to relieve pressure so the water flows freely.

Out with the Mustard, In with the Glue

I no longer put up with the messy “over-designed” carpenter’s glue dispensers. Instead, I use old mustard bottles; they don’t clog and they easily reseal between uses. — reader Richard Painter

Plastic Jug Planters

Those plastic milk jugs can be cut and used as planters. Try hanging them from a fence with wire coat hangers, as shown here.

Better Bucket Storage

Stacked 5-gallon buckets fit together so tightly that it’s almost impossible to pull them apart. Prevent the problem by placing a large plastic pop bottle (with top on) or milk jug between each pair of buckets. You can still nest the buckets together, but they won’t stick together anymore.

Better Glue Bottle Cap

Screw the flip-up, 1-in. inner dia. cap from your shampoo or liquid cleanser bottle onto your glue bottle. The 1-in. cap fits on every glue bottle we tried. Now:

You can’t lose the little cap.

Glue stays fresher because the cap snaps shut.

The cap’s small round hole makes it easier to control the size of the glue bead.

Glue doesn’t harden in the cap and require clearing before use. — reader Dorothy Nanchu

Instant Tool Holder

Store chisels, files, large drill bits, screwdrivers and other long tools so they’re both visible and close at hand. Simply cut off the top from a clear 2-liter plastic soft drink bottle, leaving a flap for hanging. Use smaller bottles, which are extremely common household items for smaller tools.

SOURCE: FAMILY HANDYMAN: Jenny Stanley Updated: Dec. 01, 2023

I found this article on Family Handyman that details some helpful and amazing uses for those plastic bottles you might have.

From Family Handyman:

Give those otherwise useless plastic jugs and bottles new life in your home or workshop. And the best part, these super-resourceful ideas don’t cost a thing!

Make a Paint Tray with a Handle

For small paint jobs, I find that a 4-in. paint roller works great with an old gallon-size iced tea jug serving as a disposable roller tray. I just cut out part of the plastic to create a place to dip the roller. It even has a built-in carrying handle. When I’m done, I just throw the empty gallon jug away. — reader Fred Thies.

Simple Skinny Funnel

If you’re in need an easy to make disposable funnel, we have the perfect solution for you.

Simply cut off the handle from a gallon water (or milk) jug, and use this to serve as a disposable funnel. This funnel will help you to drain anything from your left over wood glue to the old oil in your leaf blower. This handle funnel will help you get to hard to reach places and small bottle openings. When using this funnel to drain old oil, it directs the oil to the drain pan without spilling a drop. It’s also smart to use this disposable funnel for messy projects because you can just throw it away once you are done. It’s so simple and effective!

Soda-Bottle Bee Trap

My husband stumbled on this cheap, effective bee and wasp trap. (Never thought I’d be glad he drinks soda all the time.) Cut the upper one-third off the top of a 2-liter plastic soda bottle with a utility knife. Pour a few ounces of soda pop into the bottom, then invert the top of the bottle and nest it inside the bottom part. Bees and wasps are attracted to the sweet smell and find their way through the bottleneck but can’t find their way out. Eventually they get exhausted, fall into the water and drown. — reader J. Chamberlain

Tangle-Free Twine Storage

Can’t find your twine to bundle that pile of recyclables? Try reader Norm Hoch’s slick solution. Cut the bottom 4 in. off a 1/2-gallon plastic milk or orange juice jug and load the container with a fresh spool of twine that unwinds from the middle. Then thread the twine through the jug opening and tape the jug back together. Cut an “X” in the cap with a utility knife to keep the twine from falling back into the jug.

Portable Storage for Free

You can drop a few bills buying storage totes for supplies like nails, screws and plumbing parts. Or you can make your own with laundry detergent jugs and a utility knife. They’re big, tough and mobile—and they’ll make your workshop stink nice.

Touch-Up Bottle

When there’s only a little bit of latex paint left in the can and I want to save it for touch-ups, I put a half-dozen marbles in an empty water bottle and pour in the leftover paint. When I’m ready to do a touch-up, I shake the bottle and the marbles mix the paint. A roll of tape with a rag draped over it helps hold the bottle steady while I pour the paint into it. Just be sure to use a funnel or you’ll have a mess on your hands. — reader Ron Hazelton

Protect Sprouting Plants

If you cut an empty gallon jug (like a classic plastic milk jug) about two-thirds down the bottom, you can create an effective enclosure to protect planted seeds and new shoots from birds and rodents, which is faster and more effective than trying to use sprays and traps. For busy gardens, get a marker and write the name of the plant on the jug so you know what’s growing beneath without needing to check your seed packets: Remember to eventually take the jugs off as shoots develop to avoid mold. 

Oil Bottle Hardware Storage

Here’s a fun little project to keep your screws, nails, nuts and electrical whatsits handy and neatly organized.

Pet Food Scoop

I’ve read many hints that advise the reader to cut off the tops of gallon-size plastic jugs and use them for funnels. I’ve found that if you replace the cap after cutting the top off, you can use the top for a scoop for handling potting soil, fertilizer or pet food. The no-scratch plastic also makes the jug/scoop ideal for bailing water out of your boat. — reader Ray Dean

For this scoop, we used an empty half-gallon milk jug and angled the cut so that the side opposite the handle is slightly longer, more like a scoop than a funnel. However, as Ray notes above, this scoop can also be used as a funnel by simply removing the milk jug cap. It helps to draw the cut line with a marker first, and then clean up any sharp or rough edges with the scissors after the initial cut.

Dish Soap Glue Bottle

Reuse an empty dish soap container as a refillable glue bottle. The small size and screw-on top with attached cap are perfect for squeezing out wood glue. Be sure to rinse the inside of the container thoroughly (including the lid) and let it dry completely before filling it with glue.

Milk Jug Furniture Movers

When you have to move heavy furniture on carpeting, don’t just drag it around. That’s hard on carpet and you might damage the furniture legs. Make the job easier with these homemade moving pads. Cut the bottoms off four plastic water or milk jugs with a utility knife and rest each furniture leg on its own slider. The rounded, slippery bottoms make them perfect for furniture moving. Yes, you can buy fancier versions of these things—for 15 bucks or more! But these work just as well, and best of all, they’re free!

Tomorrow: PART 2

SOURCE: FAMILY HANDYMAN: Jenny Stanley Updated: Dec. 01, 2023