Growing your own plants can be a rewarding and fun hobby, but it does have some annoying aspects. One of the most irritating parts is managing birds and insects that tear up your hard-earned buds and leaves. Luckily, foil can defend your green bounties from all manner of pests. Light reflecting off strips of foil on branches can scare birds away from delectable fruits. A small mat of foil around your roots conserves moisture in the soil, keeps pests away, and balances out the temperature for your plants.

Over time, once beautiful silver jewelry can become dull and tarnished. Aluminum foil, along with some water and baking soda, can return your jewelry’s shine in a matter of minutes. Begin by lining a bowl with aluminum foil and boil some water. Add one tablespoon of baking soda for each cup of water. Place your jewelry in the foil and then pour in your mixture. Let it sit for up to 10 minutes and your jewelry will look as good as new.

One of the worst parts of cooking any meat is the grease that it leaves behind. Since grease can clog your drains, you have to clean your dishes in other, more difficult ways. However, you can eliminate the issues by lining bowls or other dishes with foil to catch the grease. Once the grease firms up, fold in the edges of the foil and toss the whole thing. No more messes!

Everyone’s purchased bananas only for them to turn brown seemingly immediately. But aluminum foil can extend a banana’s life! During a fruit’s ripening process, it releases ethylene. This ethylene affects not only the individual fruit but the fruits around them, as well. By separating each banana and wrapping foil around the stems, you prevent the ethylene from one banana from affecting the others. This makes them all last a little bit longer.

You probably know that aluminum foil is great for keeping foods like celery fresh, but it can also keep your chips and cereal from becoming stale. All you have to do is cut a strip of aluminum foil that’s slightly longer than the opening of your snack bag. Fold it over and then gently heat it with an iron to create a seal and keep your snacks fresh for much longer.

If you find ironing to be a bit tedious, speeding up the process will sound like a dream. Few things are as annoying as constantly ironing over the same spot to defeat a stubborn wrinkle. This happens because the board itself is absorbing a lot of the heat from the iron. Placing aluminum foil under your ironing board’s cover will prevent you from needing multiple passes to smooth out the wrinkles in your clothes.

Some plants can be pretty finicky, requiring more light and warmth than you can give them. One solution is creating a sun box out of aluminum foil. This reflects sunlight onto the plant and provides more warmth, allowing the plant to grow faster and healthier. Remember that not all plants need a ton of light, so make sure to do your research before trying out this trick.

Grilling is one of life’s greatest pleasures, but the cleanup can make you question if it's worth the trouble. After you take the last bit of food off of your grill, lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the rack to burn off some of the more stubborn bits of food. Then, once the grill is cool, you can crumple the foil up and use it as a scraper to remove any of the remaining bits.

Sure, you could buy a gadget or tool to sharpen your scissors. But why spend the money when you can sharpen your scissors with what’s in your cabinet? You can even use leftover foil, assuming it’s clean enough. Fold the foil into small pieces with multiple layers. Just cut through the pieces a few times and your scissors will be as sharp as the day you bought them.