It seems like I’ve had more than my share of seemingly impossible-to-clean messes in my house—one particularly memorable one involved a Valentine’s Day dinner and glitter… so much glitter.
When even my vacuum cleaner seemed to be fighting a losing battle against all that glitter, I suddenly remembered my trusty lint roller. I don’t think our house is EVER without a lint roller, and in this case I was especially grateful for that.
And wouldn’t you know it, the glitter didn’t stand a chance against my lint roller. One swipe and the glitter was gone. It was a miraculous victory, and it got me to thinking about what else these sticky marvels could help me clean up around the house. Here are a few ideas!
13 Things You Can Clean with a Lint Roller
1. Crafting Debris
As I mentioned earlier, glitter is one of the hardest things to clean up in any room—it seems to stick to everything. But glitter and many other types of debris from crafting are easy to clean up with a few swipes of a lint roller.
Next time you’re faced with a mess of glitter, paper punch debris, confetti, or any other tiny troublemakers, grab your trusty lint roller and swipe them away.
2. Dusty Lampshades
Lampshades can be so frustrating—you can’t throw them in the washing machine, vacuuming them is tricky without the right attachment, and cleaning them by hand is time-consuming. Dusting lampshades is probably my second-favorite cleaning application for lint rollers—just roll one over your dusty or fur-ridden lampshades, and you’ll be amazed at how much dirt and dust you collect.
3. The Bottom of Your Purse
Where in the world does all that random debris that gathers at the bottom of our purses come from? It seems to collect down there no matter what I do!
Fortunately, a quick swipe or two with a lint roller will take care of it. It works just as well in diaper bags, briefcases, backpacks, and gym bags too.
4. Drawers
Drawers are another area where random debris can build up—all those dark, hard-to-clean crevices are perfect hiding spots for dust, hair, and other grime. A lint roller can come in handy here, too—just roll it across the bottom of dirty drawers to clean them up in no time.
5. Underneath Heavy Furniture
Sometimes you just need a really quick clean for furniture and carpets. Lint rollers can come to your rescue here, too — they’re great for getting lint and pet hair off the furniture, and they’ll even work on wood and glass. (A lint roller may even fit under your sofa couch and chairs so you don’t even have to move them—just swipe it underneath furniture to pick up dust and hair!)
6. Car Crevices
Like purses and drawers, cars have a lot of little crevices and hard-to-reach places (like wherever your phone ends up when you drop it.) A mini lint roller is perfect for cleaning those areas, and you can keep it in the glove box so it’s always handy when you need it.
7. Broken Glass
It’s almost impossible to clean up all those tiny (and dangerous!) shards of glass that get left behind after you’ve picked up all the big pieces after breaking a dish or glass. But you can carefully use a lint roller to pick up what remains after sweeping up the larger pieces.
8. Christmas Tree Needles
Needles from your Christmas tree may evade your vacuum cleaner, but they’re no match for a lint roller!
9. Loose Hair After a Haircut
No matter how well your shoulders are covered during a haircut, those itchy bits of hair always find a way to get onto your shoulders and neck where they can irritate your skin. Luckily, a lint roller can help you get those itchy bits off of yourself fast.
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10. Dusty Drapes
No need to make the trip to the dry cleaner—use a lint roller to get the dust off your drapes. It works like a charm!
11. Textured Ceilings
Got dust and fuzzies all over your textured ceiling? Here’s a trick: put a lint roller refill on each end of a paint roller with a long handle. Then you’ll be able to roll your ceiling clean.
12. Paint Roller Covers
Speaking of paint rollers—to get the smoothest finish when painting, go over your paint roller covers with a lint roller before you start painting.
13. Stuffed Animals
Lint rollers are a great way to clean stuffed animals—they’ll pick up any loose lint and dust that may have collected on the surface.
Bonus Lint Roller Tip: If you find yourself cleaning hair and lint off your furniture and carpets often, you might want to consider a reusable lint brush like this one. They’re easy to use, less wasteful, and they’ll save you money in the long run.
Now that you know some of the best ways to use a lint roller for cleaning, you may want to keep one at home, in your purse, in your car, and even in your desk at work!
Do you use your lint roller in any unconventional ways?
NEW! Can you guess the 5-letter word related to today’s post?
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Oh Boy! I love lint rollers.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I like to make DIY giant post-it notes (12″x 12″) with the sheets from a mini roll; cover the exposed side with wax paper until ready to stick. It works like a charm when hanging those self printed computer banners too.
Use as a sheet of double stick tape to test the look before using Mod Podge.
Make really good, temporary custom T shirts stickers. Print your design, back with sticky sheets, cover the exposed side with wax paper; cut out the design, peel & stick. Just make sure it is removed completely before washing & drying or it can get bad–trust me on this.
As a teacher I can list scads of uses. My favorite, for the glue impaired (which is 95% of ) middle school students, is making collages. It makes the homework collage a snap; especially if still assembling during breakfast (there is no drying time). It works well for mixed media art too; just be conscious of the weight of the item being attached.
Stick index cards with information just about anywhere, great for arrows pointing the way through a building or scavenger hunt.
I made a chart with samples of different grains & seeds attached.
To update the progress on one of those over sized thermometer goal charts.
Use it whenever you are out of/need a lot of double sided tape.
I’m cheap–I just wrap masking tape around my hand with the sticky side out and use it instead of buying lint rollers.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Where does one buy a lint roller with the long handle. What a great idea for my kitchen ceiling!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I bought my long handled washable roller on Amazon.com
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use a lint roller to roll my pastry cloth before rolling out dough for pies or pastries. Since pastry cloths are washed in the laundry, this is the best way to get rid of any residual lint.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I love my lint rollers! I use them for several tips above like cleaning my purse and lampshades. What a life saver. I also have a large one with an extension handle that I use for my craft room for thread, glitter, etc.. Between vacuuming and it’s great for delicate rugs too!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Brilliant! :D
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Wow, some fantastic ideas you’ve posted! I’m going to have to try some of them right now.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Great ideas! I am obsessed with my Bounce lint rollers, cleans up the messes and smells great.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use a lint roller to get crumbs off my tablecloths before treating stains & washing them. My family uses dining tables to study, etc. lint rollers help me get eraser bits,etc. up.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Those are great tricks. I love the one about textured ceilings! Do you have any tips and tricks for removing my hair from my desk chair? I know I need a hair cut, but my daughter and I are trying to grow our hair out to donate to locks of love (I always jump at the chance to do anything when my children WANT to help others). Love your tips :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have a dark blue bedspread in the guest room, and sometimes the white cat lays on it, right before company is showing up. Takes too long to do a load of laundry, so I go over the area with a sticky lint brush. Usually takes several sheets, but it is a great touch up!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Great tips! Thanks for sharing…Jennie
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Great tips Jillee! 2,7 and 19 are my faves! My mom got us each a 2 pack of lint rollers for our stockings and I thought ‘well these will be sitting around for a while!’ I’m off to roll my dusty lampshades I was just looking at last night and cringing over!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Lint rollers are also useful when you travel. BEFORE you roll your luggage into your room, pull back the sheets on the bed and roll the lint roller over the mattress, especially along the seams, to check for bed bugs.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Excellent tip Michelle! I’m totally packing my lint roller next time I travel!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Oh Michelle! This completely grossed me out. But I’m going to do it. That is, if I can ever sleep in a hotel bed again!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Because we have hardwood floors, we put felt pads under chair legs. But those same pads attract dust, hair, etc. Flip the chairs over on the dining table and lint roller to the rescue ! ! !
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use it to clean the cat hair off our microfiber couch. I like how the microfiber looks afterwards too. Like it has just been vacuumed. It almost looks brand new and all smoothed out. And it gets the cat hair and whatever little debris that has been on it too.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Wonderful thread! Great ideas.
My paper shredder got jammed so I had to turn it over to clean it out. The bag with the shreddings was also full thus I had little shreds of paper everywhere. I picked up my trust lint remover and ta-dah! … no more paper shreddings all over the carpet.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi Jill, Awsome you included rolling over the cat. I use it on my Pomeranian who sheds alot. Works great at picking up the hairs. Thought I invented the idea and was soooo clever lol
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Great ideas. Some of your ideas I’d already heard of. I love
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Lint rollers they’re amazing. One of my favorite uses for them
Is picking up pet hair. We went through a lot of rollers
When we had our CAT, picking up cat fur and the clumps of it.
Genuis ideas as always Jillee! Every day I wonder how you come up with this stuff :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.http://www.onelittleblackdress.com
I have a roller on an extended handle like a paint roller for ceilings that I use to clean the floor in my studio, between thread, glitter, tiny beads, and fabric snips, it picks up everything. I also use it on my design wall ( insulating foam sheets covered with white flannel) to remove the threads so it can be used as a photo backdrop. I was thinking of making a mixed media piece with the sheets titled “From the sewing room Floor”.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Need to find out more about the transfer tape hack.
Awesome! Thank you!!!
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