Reuse Old Wine Corks

Are you a wine connoisseur? What do you do with all those corks? You don't throw them away, do you? Because this article will show you several ways you can reuse them!

Steps

 * 1) Use the corks as a fire starter. Store corks in a sealed jar with rubbing alcohol. When it's time to light a fire, place a cork or two under kindling and newspaper. See How to Light a Fire in a Fireplace or How to Build a Fire.
 * 2) [[Image:Corkboard---Finally-Finished-7580.jpg|thumb]]Make a corkboard!
 * 3) [[Image:Box of cork stamps coming along 5355.jpg|thumb]]Make cork stamps. Carve designs into one end, press into an inkpad, and stamp away! Read How to Make a Rubber Stamp for Letterboxing for more details on technique.
 * 4) [[Image:Wine cork upholstered chair 2024.jpg|thumb]]Upholster. Admittedly, this is a wacky, ambitious project, but worth mentioning!
 * 5) [[Image:Presidential Wines 9240.jpg|thumb]]Make a miniature house or castle. Or a fairy house.
 * 6) [[Image:Cork birdhouse 4252.jpg|thumb]]Make a cork birdhouse.
 * 7) [[Image:Bull made of wine corks 5470.jpg|thumb]]Make a cork sculpture.
 * 8) [[Image:IMG_7518 9368.jpg|thumb]]Make a cork trivet. Buy a picture frame and glue the corks to it.
 * 9) [[Image:Wine and flowers 836.jpg|thumb]]Make cork art.
 * 10)  Cut a slit in them to use them as place card holders. For extra green points, make the cards from something you would've otherwise thrown away, like cereal boxes or greeting cards.
 * 11)  Put them in a blender and toss them in your yard. They can help retain moisture for your precious plants.
 * 12) *Avoid using plastic or rubber corks as mulch, unless you want a material that will not break down.
 * 13) Make key floats from them.
 * 14) Use them to hold sharp objects like pins, fish hooks, and earrings.
 * 15) Use them for cooking. Place corks under the lid handle of pots to easily pick up lids when cooking. Corks are heat resistant and you can put them in your dishwasher still attached to the lid.
 * 16) Use them for cleaning carbon steel knife blades. Wet the blade and one end of the cork, apply a little abrasive cleanser to the blade and rub the end of the cork over the blade. A little scrubbing will do the trick, but be careful! Hold the blade down onto something, so it does not move around.
 * 17) Stuff them in the ends of your bicycle handlebars. They are much greener and lighter than the heavy rubber ones that screw in.
 * 18) Use them as cat toys. They make great cat toys, especially if thrown on a hard floor. Or tie some string around the cork and hang it from a door knob or ceiling or just about anything.
 * 19) *Be careful and supervise your cat. Ingested foreign objects can be expensive to have removed surgically.
 * 20) Use them as bird toys. Birds have the need to shred. Birds can have fun shredding cork, and wine corks are just the right size for a medium or large parrot.
 * 21) Make fake facial hair. Burn it one end, put it out, cool it, then "write" on your face!
 * 22)  Make fishing floats out of them. Cut a slit down the length to the center of the cork using a razor blade or X-acto blade. Then place the cork onto the fishing line to the depth you want to sink your bait.
 * 23) Insert a cork onto the end of a knitting needle to prevent losing your work

Related Tips and Steps

 * How to Use Wine Bottle Labels As Art
 * How to Open a Wine Bottle Without a Corkscrew
 * How to Make Wine by the Bottle
 * How to Become a Wine Connoisseur