5 Surprising Uses for Dryer Lint

One of the ways I get story ideas for this column is by making note of popular searches on Google. As you well know yesterday was Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday (today!) and the start of the Lenten season. So I'm not surprised that many people are searching on Google for information about Lent. What did surprise me was discovering that people were also searching for lint.

When I saw the word "lint" pop up, I figured it was just folks misspelling Lent. However, I soon learned there is a gaming and technology site with the word "lint" in it.

Nonetheless, my mind works in mysterious ways, and I found myself thinking about lint and creative ways you can use lint around the house. After some brainstorming and Google searching of my own, here are my 5 surprising ways to use dryer lint:

1. Use it as a fire starter. One of the dangers of lint buildup in your dryer is that it can catch on fire and burn down your house. That's because lint is incredibly flammable. It's another reason that lint make an excellent fire starter. Here is how I make my lint fire starters: I take an empty toilet paper tube and stuff it with lint from the dryer, and then use it in my fireplace. (IMPORTANT: Never start a fire without a proper firescreen in place.)
2. Give it to the animals. Birds will love you forever if you leave lint outside by your bird feeder. It's exactly the kind of materials that birds use to make nests. Similarly, if you have any gerbils or hamsters, they, too, will appreciate getting lint for nesting purposes.
3. Add it to potted plants. Lint lining the bottom of a pot will stop the soil from leaking out but will still allow for water to drain properly.
4. Pad boxes. When you need to ship something or store something in a box and want to protect it, you can use dryer lint for padding or in lieu of packing peanuts. (I find shredded paper works well in this respect as well.)
5. Make a draft stopper. You know those orphaned socks that always end up in the laundry room? You can take those socks and stuff them with dryer lint, then place them in front of doors with a draft. Since I would think that a draft stopper made of dryer lint would be kind of light and could blow around, you might want to add a few rocks to the lint in your sock cum draft stopper.

If you have creative uses for dryer lint, I'd love to hear them.