If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you probably already know how much I dislike clutter. When I have a lot to get done, cluttered surfaces and disorganization frustrate me to no end, and that’s especially true in the kitchen.
One area of my kitchen that is a constant source of clutter is my utensil drawer. However, I have found that prioritizing utensils with multiple uses allows me to keep the overall number of items in the drawer low, thus making clutter less of an issue.
That’s why I have so much love for my kitchen tongs — they’re handy for turning meat, tossing salads, and sautéing vegetables, but they’re also capable of so much more! Here are 8 useful tips that will have you reaching for your tongs more often.
8 Clever Uses For Kitchen Tongs
1. Turn A Pan Or Dish In The Oven
The long handle on your tongs makes it easy to turn a dish in the oven without removing it entirely, preventing you from burning yourself or losing too much heat while the oven door is open.
2. Extend Your Reach
If you can’t quite get to the top shelf of your spice cabinet without a step ladder, tongs can help. Use them to retrieve small items that are just out of reach.
3. Dry Kitchen Gloves
Turn your tongs upside down and put one wet glove on each side to let them drip dry. You can do this with reusable food storage bags as well.
4. Grease A Hot Grill
Keep your fingers safe while greasing a hot grill by using your tongs to hold an oiled paper towel. Swipe the oil over the grates, then toss the paper towel — no brush to wash!
5. Dust Your Blinds
Use rubber bands to attach a microfiber cloth to each end of a pair of tongs. This handy tool will dust both the top and bottom of each slat at the same time and cut your dusting time in half!
Related: The Best Way To Clean All The Blinds In Your House
6. Squeeze Juice Out Of Citrus
If you don’t have a citrus reamer or don’t want to get it out, use your kitchen tongs instead. Just cut a lime or lemon in half, clamp it in your tongs, and squeeze over a bowl. The added pressure from the tongs will help get more juice out than you would it you squeezed it by hand.
Related: These 9 Affordable Alternative Kitchen Gadgets Will Save You Money
7. Retrieve Hot Toast
I used to scald my fingers frequently when retrieving toast that had just popped out of the toaster, but I finally wised up enough to start using my tongs to grab hot toast instead. My fingertips are grateful!
8. Scoop Ice For Drinks
Next time you put an ice bucket out for guests at a gathering, place your tongs near the ice. Guests can use them to grab ice cubes for their drinks without worrying about the cleanliness of their hands (or anybody else’s).
What other ways do use tongs?
More Ideas You'll Love
I use my waffle iron for cinnamon rolls — Cinnawaffles. Take premade cinnamon rolls like Pillsbury, and separate them as if you are going to put in a baking pan. Do not add the icing yet! Spritz the iron with oil in a homemade sprayer — regular or flavored oils are fine. My waffle iron has 4 sections so I put one roll in each section — about 2″ apart. You want plenty of room for them to enlarge outward. Push the lid all the way down, but if yours has a lock don’t lock it. Wait for them to stop steaming as you would a regular waffle. Peek to see if they are brown enough for your taste. Gently lift out with a waffle tool or a fork. Spoon on the icing — you have plenty of holes to fill and little crispy bits in between! Extra Variations — Sprinkle with finely chopped pecans before baking. Use caramel ice cream topping instead of icing. Top with raisins after removing cinnawaffles. Sprinkle with sprinkles after applying the icing.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What unique ideas you’ve come up with Jillee. My favorite one is using them to clean blinds. That is brilliant. All of your ideas are good though. Thank you!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use them to transplant small cacti. Saves the fingers big time.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What a good idea!! Thanks.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I love this idea, Barbara! :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We use straight bamboo tongs for getting hot toast – they are just the right size.
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