The Best Ways to Reuse Wine Corks Instead of Throwing Them Away

When we think of cork, the cylindrical stoppers in wine bottles probably come to mind first. But the sustainable material can also be used in other ways throughout a home, including as flooring, wall paneling, and in light fixtures—not to mention for a range of home repairs. With this is mind, why throw away your wine corks after finishing off a bottle, and waste of this durable, multipurpose material? Here are a few ways to repurpose them instead.

How to reuse wine corks around the house

First of all, we should clarify that we’re not going to be focusing on crafting today. Anyone interested in a wreath made out of used wine corks has probably made one already, and if not, can easily find instructions. Instead, here are some of the ways to repurpose wine corks at home:

Make a chip clip

Did you crack open a bottle of wine and a bag of chips, but only finished the wine? This previous Lifehacker post walks you through how to turn a cork into a makeshift chip clip.

Protect wood floors

Sure, you can buy those small circular protectors to put on the legs of your furniture to prevent them from scratching your wood floors, or you can make your own using wine corks.

Use a sharp knife to slice the cork into small circles, then use strong glue to attach them to legs of tables and chairs. To make sure you cut the cork circles uniformly, you may want to start by using a measuring tape to mark the cork every 1/8" (or your desired width), so you don’t have to eyeball it.

Fix wobbly chairs or tables (with thin legs)

Along the same lines, if you have a table or chair with relatively thin but uneven legs, you can slice a cork to the width you need and attach it to the short leg in order to stop your furniture from wobbling.

Pick up a hot lid

As Lifehacker Senior Food Editor Claire Lower points out in this post, you can wedge a wine cork—or a sparkling wine cork, which is her preference—under the metal handle of a sauce pan or stock pot lid so you can pick it up without burning your fingers.

Silence cabinet doors

When someone slams a cabinet door shut, it’s not only loud, but it can accelerate the wear-and-tear on the door. To avoid this, slice thin cork circles and attach them to the inside of the cabinet doors to act as a cushion.