Unsung talents of aluminum foil!

Aluminum foil has been covering many dishes of food for years. Like a classic underachiever, it has many more capabilities than it’s been admitting to. I recently learned all kinds of things that aluminum foil can do, so before you throw away a used piece you no longer need, consider using it for one of these functions.

Use aluminum foil to:

Get rid of rust. Crumple a piece of foil and rub it over rust spots in metals.
Sharpen scissors. Fold a piece of foil into quarters and hone your scissors by cutting through the foil several times.
Speed up your ironing. By placing a piece of foil under your ironing board cover, heat will reflect and your wrinkles will press out in no time.
Make a funnel. Curl a piece of foil into a cone shape and secure it with tape. Use the cone to pour one thing into another with no mess.
Complete a battery connection. Fold a 1” square of foil several times and place it between the battery and the loose spring and it will complete the circuit.
Clean your grill. Crumple up a piece of foil and use it to scrub burnt bits off the grill.
Give your silver a quick cleaning. Line a glass-baking dish with foil, add 3 teaspoons of baking soda, and fill the pan with boiling water. Put your tarnished silver into the dish for a quick cleaning.
Soften brown sugar. If your brown sugar is as hard as a rock, wrap it in aluminum foil and bake in the oven at 300° for 5 minutes. It will be ready to use.
Clean the insides of your pots and pans. Crumple up some foil and scrub your pots and pans clean.
Clean jewelry. Line a glass bowl with foil. Add some Tide detergent and put your pieces of jewelry in and their shine should be restored.
Boost your wi-fi. Remember in the old days we’d wrap foil around the rabbit ears antenna on top of our old tube TV sets? Now, you can boost your Internet connection by bending a piece of foil into a curve and placing it behind your router on the antenna thingy.
Protect a piecrust from burning. Cover the edges of your piecrust with a ring of foil to keep the crust from getting too brown.
Conceal a credit card. The new chip credit cards make it possible for credit card thieves to scan and collect account information through your wallet. That does not necessarily mean they can get enough information to hack your account, but if you are nervous, wrap your card with a piece of foil to deflect the scanner.
Keep birds away from your fruit trees. Hang strips of foil in the tree and the reflective nature keeps birds away.