Most people don't know how useful toothpicks can be. Here are 10 tips

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Toothpicks — those tiny slivers of wood designed to help clean your teeth — are useful for so much more due to their diminutive size. The sharp point helps you get in tight spaces, while the strength of the wood helps them hold up to pressure.
These 10 tips for using toothpicks around your home will have you digging out that old box of toothpicks for some creative household uses — when you aren't using them for their original purpose, that is!
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1. Extend your fire power
Don't you hate it when you keep burning your fingers trying to light a candle in a tight space? The wood of a toothpick burns differently than a candle. It will light a candle but doesn't create a flame that comes back toward your fingers. See how a toothpick lighter works here.
2. Check your plants
One Good Thing by Jillee recommends using a toothpick as a quick and easy way to see if your plants need watering. You simply poke it into the soil. When you remove it, check the condition of the toothpick. If it's wet and has soil on it, you don't need to add any water. If it's dry and clean, give your plants a drink.
3. Use it to apply glue
Glue can get messy quickly — especially if you're applying it to tiny surfaces. No matter the type of glue you're using, you can gingerly dot it on a space using the end of a toothpick.
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4. Fix a stripped screw hole
A stripped screw hole will no longer hold its former screw, but often the hardware attaching to the wood requires that specific screw size. It's a tough place to be. Something as simple as a toothpick may be your answer. Inserting it into the hole gives the screw new wood to attach to. Physics makes it work, and Living with Lindsay shows you how.
5. Fix a hole in wood trim
Chatfield Court understands how frustrating a hole in wood can be. Whether it came from a cord that was secured to a baseboard or from a garland nailed to the wainscoting, the remaining hole is unattractive. All you need are a few toothpicks, wood glue and scissors for a quick and effective repair.
6. Grow your own sweet potatoes
Sweet potato vines are a beautiful way to add greenery. They grow quickly and in almost any environment. You don't need to rush out and buy them — just reach into your pantry. With a few toothpicks, you can sprout your own sweet potatoes into new plants.
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7. Get an even bake
Baking potatoes in the microwave is the fastest way to a quick dinner. However, too often a potato cooks unevenly. This creative blogger figured out a quick fix to the unevenly cooked baked potato: toothpicks. She simply props her potato up on four toothpick "legs."
8. Mark the end of a roll of tape
You need a piece of tape, and you need it now. Murphy's law states that you'll never be able to find the end of a roll of tape in a hurry. Never lose your end again by using a toothpick. This tip recommends wrapping the end around the toothpick.
9. Keep cake fresh
Cake goes stale once it's cut. You end up wasting bits of it just to get to the fresh cake inside. Tidy Mom has the solution to this problem. She uses toothpicks to secure slices of bread to a cut cake. The bread gets stale instead of the cake.
10. Send a secret message
You can include a special message on a banana packed with a lunch. Use a toothpick to precisely poke and carve your message into the banana peel. Within a few hours those loving words or helpful reminders will gradually appear.
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As you can see, toothpicks have many uses that go beyond dental health. Share how you do it with your friends and family on Facebook.
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