Have some extra sand lying around, either from your kid’s sandbox or an outdoor project? There are lots of useful things you can do with the help of a little sand. Check out some of the ideas from This Old House.

• Clean Up An Oil Leak: sprinkle some sand onto a garage floor spill and let the grains soak up the oil. Then you can sweep the mess away.
• Steady an Item for Repair: bury the bigger part of a broken item, i.e. a coffee mug, halfway in a container of sand to hold it in place while you glue it back together.
• Clean a Narrow-Neck Container: Mix a little sand and soapy warm water in your container, swish the solution around to loosen residue, and then rinse thoroughly.

For 7 more great ideas, head over to 10 Uses for Sand.