7 Creative Uses for Pipe Cleaners

As a kid you may remember playing with pipe cleaners. These colorful, fuzzy sticks can be used for so many fun crafts. But did you know they have other practical uses as well? It’s true! Pipe cleaners are inexpensive and can be found at your local dollar store, so go grab a pack and take a look below at these 7 Creative Uses for Pipe Cleaners that you should try! You will never want to be stuck without a package of them again.

7 Creative Uses for Pipe Cleaners

1. Use them for car detailing. A pipe cleaner is just slim enough and soft enough that you can use it to clean out tight spaces in your car. Use it to fine tune and detail your car as it can slip into tight spaces and loosen up any dirt or gunk.

2. Tie up food packages. Don’t you hate it when you lose a bread tie? You can use a pipe cleaner to keep any of your food packages closed up tightly. Just cut a pipe cleaner in half and twist it until it is securely in place. This works with packages of cereal, marshmallows, and other dried goods too!

3. Tie back curtains. You can make simple tie backs from pipe cleaners, which works well when you are in a bind or if you don’t want to invest in expensive tie backs. A pipe cleaner can wrap around most curtains (sheer especially) nicely and twist to hold the curtain together.

4. Make quick and easy napkin rings. If you want to fancy up dinner without a hassle, just wrap a colorful pipe cleaner around each napkin. This is a quick and colorful way to make napkin rings and you can easily match your color scheme with the appropriate pipe cleaner. Kids will love this!

5. Craft wine markers. You can take all different colors of pipe cleaners and use them to make wine glass markers as well. Each person gets their own color, which eliminates confusion. Just take a segment of pipe cleaner and twist it around the base of the wine glass where it will stay secure.

6. Make count down chains. If your children are excited about an upcoming event, you can make a countdown chain to help them anticipate it. Just create loops with the pipe cleaners and intertwine them to make a chain. You will make one loop for each day leading up to the event. Take away one loop per day until you have one left. Kids will love this count down activity and you will love that it doesn’t require cutting and pasting like most chains do.

7. Play games that encourage fine motor skills. You can create rings out of pipe cleaners and try tossing them over bottles. You can let children sort pipe cleaners by length or color. You can let them write their name in sand with them as well. There are so many ways to use pipe cleaners when encouraging fine motor skills so it is always great to keep a bag on hand!

Are you inspired to start using pipe cleaners yet? Hopefully these 7 Creative Uses For Pipe Cleaners have inspired you and you will give a few a try!