If you happen to have a bunch of old credit cards, rewards cards, or used gift cards lying around, there are plenty of useful ways to recycle them. This is also a great way to make use of all those credit cards the companies keep sending you in the mail.
Gift Bag Hook Organizers
Emergency Interior Door Key
If all those little keys to unlock your interior doors go missing, just cut your own.
Makeshift Screwdriver
Sometimes you just need a tiny little screwdriver, especially for tightening or loosening the little screws on receptacle and light switch covers.
Replacement Battery Cover
We all have at least one remote control that’s missing the back battery cover. Just cut notches to slide into the holders and size it to fit and you have an instant sturdy replacement cover
Custom Bookmark
Some of those cards are really cute and would make a nice custom bookmark. You can cut two slits at the bottom to slide over pages. Or use a hole punch and add a fancy tassel.
Disposable Epoxy Or Bondo Mixing Spatula
If you’ve ever needed to mix up and apply a small amount of epoxy or Bondo for car body work, old credit cards make perfect tools. They are also great for smooth application. Just toss them out when you’re done. The only consideration is that the color on the cards will bleed after a while, so work quickly or avoid using when the compound’s color is important.
Organize Your Keys With Key Labels
Cut a card into 8 equal sections. Using a 1/8 hole punch, punch holes at the top and bottom corners. Add a loop ring to one hole and attach a key. Use a sharpie to write on the label, then hang up and organize your loose keys.
Add Texture To Cake Or Cookie Frosting
Add notches or soft curves to the wide end of a card, then glide it along a frosted cake to texture.
Earring Organizer Cards
Using a 1/8 hole punch, punch 2 small holes near the bottom of the card. Add another hole at the top of the card if you’ll be storing the cards on hooks. Or, cut out a hook at the top 1 1/2 inch of the card so you can hang the cards on clothes hangers.
Necklace Organizer Cards
Beginning at the middle on each sideof the card, cut a one inch diagonal downward notch. One quarter inch wide should be enough for most necklaces, but you can make some wider to hold chokers or pearls and beaded necklaces. Add another hole at the top of the card if you’ll be storing the cards on hooks. Or, cut out a hook at the top 1 1/2 inch of the card so you can hang the cards on clothes hangers.
Pasta Serving Measurer
Cut a 2 1/8 circle into the center of a card. When you’re cooking long pastas such as Angel Hair, Spaghetti, or Linguine, slide the uncooked pasta through the card until filled to determine each serving you’ll need to cook. A 2 1/8 inch diameter circle of uncooked pasta equals roughly 2 oz, which will equal 1 cup of pasta when cooked. One cup of cooked pasta equals one serving.
Bobby Pin Holder
If you have a bunch of bobby pins scattered around the bottom of a drawer, just attach them to a card to keep them organized.
Giant Paper Clip
Here’s a fun way to keep large pieces of paper together.
Spackling Spreader
Need to quickly fill in some small holes or cracks in your wall? Credit cards make quick work of spreading joint compound into small spaces smoothly, without all the cleanup afterward.
Garden Plant Markers
Cut a card in half diagonally to create sturdy little plant markers for your seedlings and smaller plants
Hanging Folder Tabs
They never give you folder tabs. Use an existing tab as a template and cut out your own from old cards. The insert tabs will be much sturdier. Just label them with a sharpie and you’re good to go.
Rubber Band Organizer
Borrowing from the shape of christmas tree light organizers, you can make a minature version to organizer all the loose rubber bands scattered around the bottom of your junk drawer.
Seating Placecard Holders
Won’t all your guests be impressed when they have their own seating placecards? Maybe…maybe not. Either way, they’re fun to make. Just fold a card in half, cut a 1 inch V slot at the bottom and a long notch at the top to hold the card. Give them a quick coat of spray paint to finish them off. These also make really nice little frame holders for displaying your favorite collectors cards.
Plant Card Holder
Make a greeting card holder that you can insert into a pot, which makes giving a plant as a gift so much nicer. Cut a 2 inch long stake, then add to 1/2 cuts (1 inch apart) at the top. Insert the stake into the soil and slide the card into the top slots. Voila.
Emergency Bra Strap Converter
Need to convert a regular bra into a racer back bra in a hurry. Old rewards cards (the thinner kind) can be cut so that they have 4 inverted hooks at the ends. Tuck your bra straps into these hooks and you’ll have an instant racer back bra.
Tree Labels
Cards that have a lot of shine to them work really nice for this use. Using a standard hole punch, add a hole to one corner. Use a Sharpie, the industrial kind that’s resistant to heat and fading,to write the tree type on the card. Thread florist or gardening wire through the hole and attach to the tree.
Caulk Leveler Or Scraper
If you suck at applying a nice, smooth bead of caulk, use a shaped card to do the hard work for you. Many cards already have slightly rounded corners that are perfect for small, tight caulk applications. You can also shape the rounded end to suit your needs for larger applications like around tubs. Just apply caulk from the tube as normal. Dip your card in a 50/50 mix of water/detergent. Then drag your card over the caulk at a 45 degree angle. As caulk starts to build up on the card, lift up and wipe clean. Dip the card into the water/detergent mix again and continue.
Emergency Protractor
Need to draw a perfect circle at a specific size for a woodworking or craft project, but don’t have a protractor? Just punch two holes into a gift card at opposing corners, spacing them apart by half of the diameter you need. So, if you need a 5 1/2 inch circle, space your holes exactly 2 3/4 inches apart. Use a nail or push pin to position the card in the center of your project. Then place the tip of a pencil in the other hole and begin drawing your circle
Pot Luck Food Labels
Food labels are always a good idea at pot luck dinners or gatherings. Most attendees aren’t going to have a clue what the mystery meal is inside that crockpot or casserole dish. Give everyone that brings a dish a blank food label so that all the dishes will be labeled. Labels are also a good opportunity to identify if a dish has an ingredient that might trigger a food allergy. To make the labels, just fold a card in half longways and give it a quick coat of spray paint. Since the labels are make out of plastic instead of paper, they’ll hold up longer especially if the gathering is outside.
Soda Can Tab Opener
Make opening soda cans a little easier, especially if your fingers (or fingernails) always seem to make it impossible. Cut a one inch wide strip off a card and fold it in half. Slide the card over the soda can tab and open to your heart’s content.
USB Cord Tamer
Excess USB cords have quickly become as annoying as all the other excess items that end up at the bottom of drawers. Some of them are for specific devices or uses, such as high speed. But they just become a tangled mess that no one every bothers with; which is why we call it the USB graveyard. To make them useful again, organization and labeling must occur. So, again borrowing from the shape of christmas tree light organizers, you can make a minature version to organizer and label all those jumbled,scattered USB cords lying around the bottom of your junk drawer.
