How do you transport weeds, pruned branches, and rocks from your garden? We bet you use a wheelbarrow, but there’s no need to spend money on a pricey wheelbarrow that’s heavy and unwieldy, especially on hills. Instead, you can simply re-purpose your kids’ flying saucer sled. Simply attach a rope to one handle and you’ll have a steady sledge that pulls easily across grass and paths.

2. Golf Gear

If you possess an old golf bag on wheels, use it to store and caddy long workshop or garden tools, which fit neatly in the main compartment, and hand tools, which can be clipped on to the outside. The pockets can hold bolts and screws, or seeds, shears, and other smaller items. If you have spare tees, you can use them as color-coded markers for newly-seeded gardens.

Cover and empty paper towel or toilet paper roll with transparent tape, sticky side out, and hang up to help get rid of pesky flies and mosquitoes.

You can also use them to keep string orderly by cutting a notch into each end of a toilet paper tube. Secure one end of the string in one notch, wrap the string tightly around the tube, and then secure the other end in the other notch.  

4. Coffee Cans

If your basement or garage is too damp, try this easy-to-make dehumidifier. Fill an empty coffee can with salt and leave it in a corner where it will be undisturbed. Replace the salt at regular intervals or as needed.

You can also keep small items such as nuts, screws, and nails handy by drilling a hole near the top of empty coffee cans so that you can hang them on nails on your workshop wall. Label with masking tape so that you know what’s inside.

In the garden, lay down several sheets of newsprint over soil and cover with mulch; they’ll help to retain moisture and suffocate weeds.

You can also ripen end-of-season tomatoes by wrapping them in a couple of sheets of newspaper once they’re off the vine; store in an airtight container in a dark cabinet or closet, checking every couple of days.

6. Camping Mat

This is a low-cost alternative to gardening kneepads and will protect your knees just as well as the fancy models you can buy in gardening catalogs. They are tough, shock absorbent, and easy to clean with soap and water. If you or your grandchildren don’t have an old pad to cut up, check with your local Boy Scout troop or a university outdoor program.

You can make a bag dispenser by trimming off the bottom and top end of a 2-liter bottle. Once you have done this, you can mount the bottle upside down using screws. Fill it with recyclable bags.

Plastic bottles cut in half can keep craft or workshop materials organized, or they can make a handy, durable funnel for pouring paints.

You can also feed the birds by carving a large hole in a clean bottle, then filling it with birdseed.

8. Garden Tools

A secret weapon against dirty tools is the cooking oil spray that you can find in your kitchen cabinet. Spray a layer on a shovel or trowel before using it, and clay soil will slide right off. Spray the blades and underside of your lawn mower, and wet grass won’t stick to them.