12 Handy Ways To Repurpose Twist Ties Around Your Home And Garden

Reducing unnecessary waste is one way to keep your home and the environment cleaner. Unfortunately, sometimes it feels like the world is against you. Almost anything you purchase in a grocery store is made up of unnecessary plastic and waste, such as individually wrapped candies in a big bag, fruits with natural containers encased in another container, or extra-large packaging for a small item. Twist ties are just one more example. They're all over the grocery store, from produce bags to pastries. These twist ties are useful for a little bit, but every time you buy a new bag of bread or pastries, you end up with more. They also come in containers of small trash bags at certain grocery stores. 

If you don't toss them, your house can quickly end up overrun with these small ties, or at least a drawer somewhere in your home. However, it can be difficult to figure out what to do with them. Thankfully, twist ties are pretty useful items to keep around. They can be used to hang up holiday decorations, keep cords from getting tangled, and help you stay organized by attaching similar items to one another. By implementing a few of the practices below, you'll end up running out of twist ties in no time. These little pesky items will no longer be in your way, instead becoming a vital tool that you look for any time you need to organize or attach something.

If your home is cluttered with loose cords, this organizing tip from TikTok featuring craft boxes is useful. However, when it comes to cables you use regularly, you want them to be both organized and easily accessible. That's where twist ties come in. They hold the cords in place, and you can undo them with just a little twist. This is also a useful practice for packing, as it stops your cords from getting tangled and you can reduce the space they take up in your bags.

If you have a pegboard with hooks for tools or other materials, you probably know how annoying they can be. With the slightest touch or movement, they fall right off, sometimes taking important tools with them. To solve this problem, you can buy pegboard locks that keep those hooks in place. However, if you want a free, flexible option you likely already have on hand, a wire twist actually does a pretty good job. It's easy to make and adjust as needed, and you can add twist ties to support more weight.

Everyone has a few loose objects lying around their home with a mysterious purpose or origin. For example, if you have loose keys lying around, it can be frustrating to try to figure out what they're for. Instead of going out and buying labels for them, or spending money on a Bluetooth label maker to sort spices and other items, use twist ties to attach homemade labels so you can remember the purpose of items down the line.

Small items easily get lost, meaning you can never find paper clips, hair ties, or rubber bands when you need them. Part of knowing how to declutter your junk drawer and other spaces is keeping things organized. Organizers do the trick, but for a quick solution, just tie together all the small items you want to keep in one place with twist ties. It's easy to get one out if you need it, and it's much easier to find something when they're all joined together.

If you have somewhat lightweight items to hang up in your home, but you don't want to make holes in the wall, using a twist tie is a useful option. This is an especially great trick during the holidays. All you need to do is tie garlands or lights to other objects, like banisters or the frame of a mirror. That way, you don't need to staple or nail anything to the wall. You can even use them to hang ornaments if you've lost the string.

Unless you're someone who eats a whole bag of chips at once (no judgment here), you probably need ways to keep containers of food around your home closed. Bags of rice, chips, cereal, fruits, and vegetables all need to be sealed to prevent a mess and keep them fresh for as long as possible. Instead of buying chip clips, using a piece of tape, or doing some fancy bag-closing trick, use those leftover twist ties to keep your bags properly sealed. You can reuse them over and over again, at least until they break.

Twist ties are a cheap way to practice art and boost your children's imaginations. You can make everything from little dolls and animals to full art pieces with twist ties and just a few other items, like glue and paper — perfect for adding a more personal art piece to your home. Additionally, using twist ties can help children work on their fine motor skills by handling such small and thin objects.

Twist ties aren't only useful when it comes to storing unused cables. If you have a lot of cords around a TV or computer area, these tools can be repurposed to help keep you organized. Instead of having a tangle of wires embarrassingly stuffed out of sight, use twist ties to reduce the amount of loose cord by tying up any extra length into a neat coil. Additionally, you can keep your cords off the ground by tying them to stands, desks, and other wires.

Instead of buying specific products to help direct your vining plants, consider reusing all those random twist ties you have lying around. This is similar to a creative zip tie hack you can use in your home and garden, but if you have spare twist ties around, you might as well use them. They work great for smaller, lighter plants, and you don't have to go out and buy zip ties. The twists are easy to remove and adjust as your plants grow.

Using twist ties, you can stack several articles of clothing in one small part of your closet. This clears up space, and you can use it to place clothes commonly worn as an outfit right next to each other for better organization and an easier time getting ready in the morning. One warning is to avoid trying this trick with heavier clothes like jeans. They may be too heavy for the twist tie to support, so they should be put on the main hanger, and let the lighter material be hanging from the twist-tied hanger.

Plastic fences in your yard can be useful. Though they aren't super sturdy, they can ensure your pets stay out of your garden or keep animals like chickens contained in a small but adjustable space. Unfortunately, because they're flimsy, it's easy for them to get moved around or ripped away from posts. If your fence isn't staying where you want it to, a quick solution is to take a twist tie, slip it through the fence, and attach it to the pole for a sturdy and easy-to-adjust attachment that you can take down as needed.

Bows are a great decoration. They're most popular during the holidays, but there's no reason you can't have some all year long. By threading twist ties through the backs of bows, you can easily attach ribbons to presents, stairways, doors, and anywhere else. These cute decorations are also useful to close up gift bags on Valentine's Day or other events. Bows are versatile in their uses, and adding twist ties only makes them easier to use and place pretty much anywhere you want.