Onions are great for sauteing, but the vegetable also is a cheap and effective green cleaner, mosquito repellent, and deodorizer — just a few non-cooking jobs onions can do.
1. Polish Cutlery
Give metal cutlery a new shine and remove rust by scrubbing with onion slices or a paste of crushed onion and water.
2. Clean Gunky Pots
Scrub a burned or gunky pot with half an onion, and then let it soak in the onion juice. Wash as usual and the mess comes up easily.
3. Shine Grills
Heat the grill, then spear a half onion with a fork and glide it over the grates to remove grease and charred bits of food.
4. Absorb Paint Smells
Place a bowl of sliced onions and water in a freshly painted room to absorb the stinky odor.
5. Repel Bugs
Rub a cut onion over your skin to keep bugs (and people) at bay. To make a non-toxic rose spray that repels red spiders and aphids, mix a mashed onion with equal parts water, strain, and spray.
6. Smelling Salts
When you feel light-headed, revive yourself with a whiff of cut onion.
7. Onion Bags
Never throw away onion bags, which are great as pot scrubbers, bathtub toy containers, suet holders that backyard birds can enjoy in winter, and dishwasher holders for magnets and other small items.
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