10 Uses for Cat Litter Outside of the Litter Box

Ensure a Vase Stays Upright The bouquet you’ve set up in your living room looks gorgeous. Only the blooms are so top-heavy, the vase won’t stay up! The solution: Remove the flowers and dump out the water. Add a handful of kitty litter to a small sealable bag and place in the bottom of the vase before refilling with water and the bouquet. The litter’s heavy weight will keep the vase upright.

Banish Yard Pests in a Blink If destructive moles are digging holes in your lawn or garden, keep them away with kitty litter. Simply pour the litter around and down the entrance of every hole or tunnel you can find. Since rodents don’t like the texture or scent of litter, they’ll find somewhere else to call home.

Keep a Trash Can Mess-Free Yuck! The last time you pulled the trash bag out of your kitchen garbage can, you discovered something had been leaking out of the bottom. To sidestep this drippy mess in the future, spread a layer of kitty litter on the bottom of the can before adding the bag. (Replace monthly.) The litter will absorb liquids while its baking soda will nix unpleasant odors.

Entertain Kitty for Hours On days your sweet kitty is feeling a bit restless, add a little fun to her day by creating an easy cat toy. To do: Fill an empty childproof medicine bottle with 2 Tbs.of kitty litter and twist closed. Fluffy will love the sound of the rattling litter and have a blast batting the bottle around the house.

Fog-Proof Car Windows No need to slow down your morning commute by having to remove condensation from your windshield. The save: Fill a long sock with litter and tie closed, then place on your dashboard at night. The absorbent litter will soak up moisture in the air, ensuring your window will be clear come morning.

Deodorize an Old Book Effortlessly You can’t wait to dive into the vintage book you snagged at a flea market, but it smells musty. To nix the odor, place the book in a container with a cup of litter, cover with a lid and leave overnight. The litter crystals will soak up the moisture causing the musty odor.

Get Toned Without Spending a Dime The new fitness DVD you borrowed from your sister calls for hand weights, and you don’t have any! No problem. Simply use a funnel to pour kitty litter into two 16 oz.water bottles (filling to the top) and then seal shut. The 2-pound weights will be perfect for strengthening exercises to tone and sculpt arm and shoulder muscles in no time.

Dry Rain-Soaked Sneakers After getting caught in a rainstorm during your daily walk, your sneakers are now soaked. To dry them out, fill two old socks (or the feet cut off of a pair of pantyhose) with kitty litter, and secure closed with a rubber band. Then place one of the “sachets” in each sneaker and leave in place overnight. All of the excess water will seep into the absorbent litter, leaving the shoes dry and fresh by morning.

Soak Up Driveway Oil Spills with Ease Your husband just left to go grab some milk from the store when you notice his car left behind a wet spot of oil on the pavement. To keep it from staining your driveway, cover the area with a thin layer of kitty litter and let it sit until the next day. This will allow the litter to soak up the unwanted liquid so you can just sweep up the mess in the morning. No scrubbing required!

Help Keep Indoor Plants Healthy With the air in your house getting drier this time of year, you worry the new plants you bought will be extra thirsty even with regular waterings. What can help: Pot them with equal parts kitty litter (non-clumping) and soil. Since kitty litter holds on to water better than soil, it will slowly release the liquid as your plants need it. With just the right amount of dampness, you can skip constant waterings to keep them thriving.

This story originally appeared in our print magazine.  More from FIRST 5 Ways to Get Rid of That Annoying Pile of Leftover Plastic Bags Keep Your Car Windows Fog-Free With Just a Potato Attention Cat Owners: Here's How Often You Need to Clean the Litter Box