Common everyday run of the mill bog-standard items you’ve been using the wrong way this whole time

Forks

Most people use forks to eat. But did you know forks were actually designed to become wind-chimes? To activate this latent feature, attach 6 – 11 forks to a wire coat-hangar with string. Hang the windchimes on the veranda or near an open window where the “forks” will catch the breeze and tinkle. Or, if you live in a windless land, put them in a doorway so people will bang into them and make the forks go.

Coathangars

See above.

String

See above the above.

Cheese graters

Hexagonal cheese graters have holes of varying shapes and sizes on each side to produce different sized bits of cheese. But on the inside they are also a clever Hall of Mirrors for mice. Lay the cheese grater on its side and invite a mouse to stand in the centre. The mouse will see distorted, holey images of itself reflected from the inside walls of the cheese grater. Mice find this quite funny and you can charge for the experience.

Ironing board

In the olden days, ironing boards were converted into beds come nightfall. That’s why ironing boards are padded, the height adjustable, and are narrower at one end (mimicking the shape of a human with no neck and their legs tied together). You can still use your ironing board as a spare guest bed now. Couples need to be carefully stacked.

Fruit bowls

A fruit bowl isn’t just for fruit! If you remove the fruit, you can use your designated household fruit bowl as you would any other bowl. For example a bowl may be used for cake mixing, hearty breakfasts or just turn it upside down and pretend it’s a very shy turtle.