Steel wool is most often used in refinishing furniture and sometimes in the kitchen (in the form of the popular Brillo pad,) but those are by no means its only uses! Steel wool is an inexpensive and effective workhorse inside and outside of your home.

We recently moved into our new Studio, an old house built in 1939, and it was in need of a LOT of TLC.

One of our first projects was restoring our wood stove, and I don’t know what we would have done without steel wool to remove all the rust! After seeing the amazing results, I had to see what else I could do with steel wool.

In addition to removing rust, here are 9 other handy uses for steel wool:

• To sharpen your scissors, cut through a piece of steel wool a few times. I couldn’t believe what a big difference this made! Amazingly effective!

• Clean shoes by rubbing a wet piece of steel wool on any dirty rubber. I have used magic erasers for this in the past, but the steel wool worked much more quickly!

• Steel wool is great for sanding. More malleable than sandpaper, steel wool is easier to hold and molds more readily around awkward shapes. You can also use a finer-grade steel wool for burnishing.

• Tighten a loose screw. Wind a little steel wool around a loose screw before putting it back into a hole. The steel wool will tighten it up and keep the screw in place.

• To remove crayon from the wall, gently rub steel wool over the area. The crayon will rub right off! The same method will work for heel marks on…