23 Rubber Band "Hacks" That I'm Kicking Myself For Not Knowing Earlier

I'm a sucker for a life hack, but most of them require super-specific items that you'd NEVER have laying around your house like pool noodles, spray paint, or a gallon of slime. I'm always on the lookout for practical hacks that don't break the bank. So without further ado, I present 23 life hacks you can do with the humble ~rubber band~:

1."We needed to disassemble a shelf in an office and we didn’t have a mallet. Rubber bands + hammer = mallet."

rubber bands over a hammer

2."Use two rubber bands to get every last drop of your sauce."

upside down can over a tupperware secured with rubber bands

3."Pencil has a lousy eraser? Use a rubber band tied in a knot."

knotted rubber band being used as an eraser

4."Put a rubber band around the inside of the pockets of your shorts and never have to worry about your phone or keys on a run."

rubber band tied to shorts

5."A magnet taped to a rubber band. It's been more reliable than any stud finder I’ve ever purchased."

arrow pointing to the rubber band holding a magnet against the wall

6."Reuse rubber bands from produce like broccoli to extend the life of your bar of soap."

rubber bands over a soap dish with the soap bar left on top

7."Tie a rubber band around bottle caps. The extra traction makes them 100x easier to twist open!"

rubber band over the bottle cap

8."I lost a screw in my glasses, so I used a few tiny rubber bands to hold the lens retainer down and a staple to hold the rubber bands in place."

rubber bands holding glasses together

9."Transport your knives with an empty paper towel roll and rubber band."

cardboard covering the blade and secured with rubber bands

10."Add rubber bands on the ends of hangers to prevent clothes from slipping off."

rubber bands on a hanger

11."Combine the not-so-frequently used items in your pencil case with a rubber band, so you can find the more frequently used ones (pencil, blue and red pen, eraser, etc.) easily."

rubber band holding pens together

12."Join an empty tissue box to your new one with some rubber bands for an instant used-tissue disposal."

rubber bands holding two tissue boxes together

13."I got tired of family members using a cup then abandoning it, so now we each have our own colored rubber band we put around whichever cup we’re using that day…and I end up washing fewer dishes."

rubber bands next to the glasses

14."You can make a water gun or spray bottle with a old water bottle and two rubber bands."

rubber bands holding a water bottle to a spray top

15."Kids using too much hand soap? Wrap a rubber band around the pump to limit how much comes out."

—u/NLS83

16."Do you travel a lot? Are you sick of the do not disturb sign falling off the knob every time you open the door? A rubber band from the business center will hold it back."

rubber band on a door handle

17."Virtually identical bottles messing you up? Put different colored rubber bands around the caps."

rubber band over a pill bottle

18."Rolled up sleeves keep falling down? Put rubber bands around the rolled up sleeve to keep them in place!"

rubber band over sleeve

19."No in-flight TV? No problem."

rubber band holding an ipad to the back of the seat

20."Chopsticks + two rubber bands = all the toothpaste in the tube."

rubber band and stick on a tube of toothpaste

21."You can use a rubber band to prevent a door from latching."

rubber band blocking the door latch

22.Now, here's a meta one. Make your own rubber bands. "I cut up a beyond-repair bike tire into small rubber bands. I even made a little rubber band ball :)"

diy rubber bands holding pencils together

23.And finally, not a hack, but look at how satisfying this rubber band caught in a shoe looks:

rubber band caught in a weird pattern on the bottom of a shoe

Now, it's your turn! What's a life hack you've learned recently? It can use rubber bands or not. Comment below!

Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.