Tennis balls are not quite as easy to recycle as your regular plastic bottles and cardboard boxes – you need special recycling programs for these rubber balls. If you have some old tennis balls that aren’t really in use anymore, there are a few clever ways for you to repurpose them and use them in interesting ways that will not only help you, but the environment too.
Video Instructions:
Ideas by Kipkay Youtuber.
- Doorknob Cushion
It’s always a little disappointing when you find a design flaw in your house, even if you’re just renting. If you have a doorknob that, when the door is swung open, bangs right into a wall, you can make an easy tennis ball stopper. Simply cut off a top piece of the ball and then place the larger part over the doorknob to protect the wall.
- Car Stopper
I don’t know about you but I’ve always had a bit of paranoia when it comes to the possibility of the garage door closing down on my car. Well, you can set your mind at ease with a tennis ball, some fishing line or string, and two screws. Pull your car in to your garage where you know you’ve cleared the door, then make a pencil mark on the ceiling roughly in line with your windshield. One screw goes on the mark and the other goes into the tennis ball. Attach the string to both screws; next time you pull in, when your windshield hits the ball, you’ll know your car is safe.
- Remove Broken Light Bulb
If you’ve ever had a light bulb break in a fixture, you’ll know that getting it out can be quite a dangerous task. Instead of cutting your hand to pieces, simply place a tennis ball over the broken bulb and unscrew – the furry material will grip right onto it.
- Open a Jar
When a jar lid is on too tight, or if I just can’t get a good grip on there, I absolutely hate the thought of that old stereotype of a woman who can’t open a jar, so here’s a handy little trick. Using a sharp knife, carefully cut along the white seam of the tennis ball; you can then place half of the ball over the lid to give you that grip to pop the jar right open.
- Piggy Bank
When you cut a two inch slit in a tennis ball, it’s practically invisible until you squeeze the ball to reveal the opening – this makes the ball a perfect little hiding spot. You can slip some coins or other small items in there for safekeeping. When you want to get them out again, just squeeze and pour out. An old pill bottle also makes a great storage vessel for little things.
There are so many more ways to reduce waste by repurposing old or broken items, so let your creativity wander before simply tossing something in the garbage can!
Jeff
This really helped me
Sarah
I saw some cute tennis ball towel holders on the net somewhere. They had made a slice about 1/3 of the way into the ball. This made a mouth. They added black dots (paper? Sharpie?) for eyes. They opened the mouth up to stick a screw and drill the screw into the wall to hold the tennis ball in place. When they let go, the mouth closed up again...It made an adorable towel holder. You sort of squish the sides of the ball to open the ball to put the towel in the mouth and when you let go and the mouth closes, it holds a towel.
I made one for just outside my back door to hold my dog towel. It helps keep my floor clean since I now always have a handy towel to wipe my German Shepherd's feet after he's been outside! Here's a link with a photo. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/29695678762632373/
Marilyn, retired but still learning!
The school I volunteer at uses tennis balls in a great way. It was new to me until I began volunteering there. They put them on the bottom of the legs of students' chairs! The chairs don't screeeeeeech when moved on uncarpeted floors with the legs fixed like this.
There's a slit in the tennis ball just barely long enough to enable squeezing the bottom of the chair leg into it. A slit too long will allow the ball to come off too easily. This defeats the "re-purposing" of the tennis balls.