We always have at least 2 or 3 rolls of plastic wrap in our house as it comes in handy SO often (and not just in the kitchen).
My favorite type of plastic wrap is Glad Press ‘N Seal (which I included in my list of Favorite Things several summers ago because we use it so often!)
This stuff is amazing, and although it’s more expensive than traditional plastic wrap, I ALWAYS keep it in the house and I regularly come up with different uses for it. I’m sharing a few of my favorite uses in today’s post.
NOTE: this post is NOT sponsored… I just really REALLY like Glad Press ‘n Seal! 🙂
1. A Cover for Paint Brushes and Rollers
I do a lot of painting — walls, trim, cabinets, furniture, picture frames, etc. — so I’m often “in the middle” of a painting project.
Since I almost only paint when the kids are sleeping, it usually takes me a couple of nights to finish a project. In between painting sessions, I cover my brushes, rollers, and any other painting supplies with Press ‘n Seal wrap and they stay good for days.
This means I only need to wash out my brushes and clean up one time instead of every single time I finish for the day. I’ve been using this tip for YEARS and it’s a huge time and money saver!
2. Line Paint Trays so You Can Reuse Them
Paint trays are usually $5-$10 depending on what kind you buy. Then, the liners are usually around $1-$2 each. This might not seem like that much, but when you paint a lot with many different colors, that cost can add up.
Plus, for some reason, I seem to ALWAYS buy the wrong size liner for my paint trays!
Thankfully, I solved that problem about 8 years ago when I realized that Press ‘n Seal wrap was the PERFECT alternative to paint tray liners — and it only costs a few pennies per tray!
Simply line your paint tray with Press n’ Seal (pressing it down very firmly), pour your paint in, and you’re ready to go. When you’re finished, just pull up the Press ‘n Seal and toss it in the trash.
3. Keep Your Jewelry Tangle-Free
Whether you’re traveling for the summer or just bringing a change of clothes for an event after work, you can keep any jewelry you’re bringing along completely tangle-free, neat, and organized by laying it on a piece of Press ‘n Seal wrap and then putting another piece over top.
Simply press all around the edges of each jewelry item, then roll it up and place it in your bag.
Even though I don’t wear much jewelry (and I don’t travel all that much these days) this is an awesome trick that I’ve used a handful of times over the years!
4. Keep Refrigerator Drawers and Shelves Clean
If you are constantly battling sticky, dirty, grimy refrigerator shelves and drawers, try lining them with Press ‘n Seal wrap first. Then the next time you spill, simply pull up the plastic wrap and put another layer down.
Another refrigerator tip (while we’re on the subject) is to line produce drawers with a thin cloth or a layer of paper towels to soak up any juices from the produce. These can easily be washed or tossed (and replaced) after a few weeks to keep the drawers clean.
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5. Prevent Ice Cream Freezer Burn
We often have multiple varieties of ice cream in the house. We usually store it downstairs in our deep freezer as the deep freezer is better to prevent freezer burn, but once we open a container, we bring it up to the “kitchen freezer” as the kids call it!
When we do this, we often cover the surface of the ice cream with Press ‘n Seal wrap and then put the cover on. In my experience, this extends the life of our ice cream and prevents freezer burn. Plus, it only takes 5 seconds, so it’s totally worth it!
I also use this same method to keep avocados fresher longer. I cover any cut side of an avocado with Press ‘n Seal wrap and put it back in the fridge. It will stay fresh and green for a few days!
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6. Cover a Glass for a Small Child
For those of you trying to transition your kids from a sippy cup to a regular glass, this tip is genius (especially if you’re out and about or at a guest’s house where you don’t want them to spill).
Simply cover any drinking glass with Press ‘n Seal wrap and poke a straw hole through the center. They can sip away while you enjoy your time without constantly worry about them spilling.
7. Prevent Spills When Traveling
Have you ever packed sunscreen, lotion, or any other liquid item for vacation… only to discover the item leaked all over your suitcase?
If so, the next time you travel, take a few minutes to wrap the tops of your liquid items in Press ‘n Seal wrap and THEN screw on the top. You shouldn’t have any issues with spills.
8. Cover Seedlings to Keep Moisture In
There was a time, before we had kids, when I grew many of my flowers and vegetables from seeds. I would put them on heating blankets in our living room, cover them with Press ‘n Seal wrap, and put them by a sunny, south-facing window. It worked like a charm — and SO much better than any other frugal method I tried.
Someday, I’ll try this again — but it will definitely need to wait until we don’t have busy toddlers and curious babies around to play in the dirt!
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9. Cover your Smart Phone to Keep it Dry and Clean
When I’m painting, gardening, or going for a walk when it might rain, I’ll often wrap my phone in Press ‘n Seal wrap to prevent it from getting dirty, messy, or wet.
I can still use the touch screen even with the plastic wrap on top — and I like the extra layer of protection!
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10. Keep Your Bananas From Ripening Too Quickly
I read this tip a long time ago and although I don’t do it all the time (because we eat bananas so quickly) I will say that it DOES work.
If your bananas are going bad too quickly, give this a try. Or, you could always just toss them in the freezer for banana bread or smoothies!
There you have it, 10 of my favorite non-traditional ways to use Glad Press ‘n Seal wrap.
Although I try to use reusable products whenever I can, Glad Press ‘n Seal wrap is one disposable product I’m not willing to part with. I’m certain I use it at some point almost every single day because it’s just SO handy… and at roughly $3 a roll, it’s a pretty frugal “fix” for so many daily household needs!
debbie ann chirico says
You can use it to protect your couch arm on your sofa as a deter to cats.
Susan says
2 uses:
1). Bitty bug season ~ Cover spice containers & put on lids.
2). That fingertip hole in work & garden gloves? Lasts quite a while. Falls off with heat as in leaf burning.
Shelly Boyle says
Thank you. I’m looking forward to more ideas.
Andi Fox says
I, too, am an ardent fan of Press ‘n Seal. But you gave me several new ideas. Thanks!
Teresa says
Use on your toddler as a bib, when they are done eating just peel off and throw away, the toddler is clean.
Andrea says
great idea!
Cynthia Anderson says
Would love to know if you make a smaller version of the press and seal. A compact size. My husband has ALS and it is great to press on his shirt when he eats. Easy clean up without making a mess on his clothes.
Helen says
I’m looking at buying this proxy to use the the OVEN to blind bake.. ive read it’s safe and I see Jamie Oliver use it. Has anyone used press n seal for this use?
Andrea says
oh wow — that’s cool. I’ve never tried it in the oven because I figure it would melt. You could always try it with a pan you don’t like very much and keep a careful eye on it??
Carolyn Jane Gillis says
Vanilla and Almond extracts seem to evaporate in opened bottles, even when they’re tightly closed. So I put Glad Wrap and Seal over their screw tops and close them, spreading the remainding Glad film down the sides of their bottles to protect their air tight seals.
Carolyn Jane Gillis says
Sorry, Press n Seal!
Andrea says
great tip — I honestly wouldn’t have thought of this!
Kathys Heart says
I use it as a temporary covering over the wall behind my stove when frying foods …
Abby says
Hi, so my husband and I are a bit if the engineering type. We use press n seal to protect our carpet when we roll the motorcycle inside to work on it. We also use it when we paint body panels and such. Anywhere we don’t want paint, press n seal it real quick. We save $$$ on blue tape and the press n seal CAN be reused and repositioned MUCH easier than painters tape
Andrea says
This is AWESOME! Thanks for sharing your majorly “out of the box” use for press ‘n seal wrap! I love it!
Bev Trovato says
cut in strips and use instead of (expensive) medical tape over gauze.
susan owens says
I’m trying a new idea for Press N Seal. I clean our bird bath almost weekly due to algae. So I cleaned it today, let it dry, and lined the concrete bird bath with Press N Seal. Filled with clean water. I’ll report if it “spooks” the birds and if it repels algae. If not, I can remove the algae PNS and replace it — much easier than scrubbing a bird bath on a weekly basis!
Andrea says
well that’s a good idea — one I’ve never thought of before as we don’t have a bird bath! Thanks for sharing — and let me know if it works really well!
BB says
OOPS!
Didn’t remember the link correctly, it is:
http://www.jennifermcguireink.com
Sorry!
Andrea says
haha — ok thanks!
BB says
For CRAFTING projects! I follow a cardmaker named Jennifer McGuire, both via newsletter (www.jennifermcguire.com) & YouTube. She makes the most magnificent cards and is SO good at teaching others how to do the cardmaking techniques she shows in her videos. Her HUBBY works for the company and HE INVENTED this product! Jennifer has displayed how to keep dies together with this to die-cut letters close together, as well as other techniques that hold several pieces of a technique together to do what you need to do with them. I have also seen other cardmakers in their videos using the Press & Seal for various similar techniques. So it is also very useful in the craft room, too. GREAT to see all the uses that others use this product for in these comments, too.
Debbie says
I am going to try the paint roller/tray idea, since I’m about to paint my son’s room!
We use Press n Seal a lot at work (I’m an Occupational Therapist at an inpatient rehab hospital) to cover surgical dressings and incisions prior to someone taking a shower, as well as to cover IV sites, etc. But we seal the edges with medical tape to ensure everything stays dry. After my mom had knee replacement surgery, I bought her a roll of Press n Seal to cover her incision when she showered at home.
Nancy says
Love the jewelry idea. Another medical use is to cover a cast. A nurse suggested it when our son broke his arm because even though casts are technically waterproof, they’re not all that great to deal with when they get wet on the inside. I wouldn’t count on Press n Seal to keep things completely dry in a pool but it worked well for a splash park and bathing.
Andrea says
good idea with the cast — thanks for mentioning that!
Caroline says
I just saw an idea to use this plastic wrap to cover your child’s shirt when eating something messy (rather than using a bib). Cover the shirt with wrap, then peel off and throw away when finished.
Andrea says
oh wow — I’ve never thought of that EVER! Thanks!
Sarah says
Not very enviromentally friendly tho!
Another Sarah says
Ooh I thought that too – so wasteful!
I’ve reduced our use of ‘single use plastics’ these past few years and feel lingering guilt about the nappies used for my eldest child that will never fully decompose. The fabric bamboo fibre washable nappies I used for my second child were so easy and minimal effort.
Keep a spare bib in the car, use a fabric jewellery roll for travel, line paint trays with foil that will eventually rot away etc etc.
Hope I don’t sound too preachy but especially since the Blue Planet series I can’t be casual about plastics any longer.
I haven’t tried the beeswax wrappers for food yet and would be interested to hear how others get on with washing and re-using them.
Debby says
OMG thanks so much! I am going to use several of these tips!
Andrea says
oh good — glad to give you some ideas!
Ann R says
Andrea,
Can the Glad Press n Seal be reused – if I use it for jewelry packing, can you open the “pack” wear the jewelry and then reseal in the same piece several times??
Thank you for any info you can share!
Ann
Andrea says
sometimes it rips when you peel it apart, but if it doesn’t rip, then I don’t see why you couldn’t reuse it.
Carla says
I use Press’n’Seal to store partially used batteries for Christmas decor (ornaments, candles, garland, music-playing stuffed animals, etc…). This works for “regular” batteries (like AA) as well as button batteries. I put batteries for each item in its own little Press’n’Seal packet, put each packet in a small ziplock bag, and label the bag as to what ornament, etc… it goes to. I store all the little packets in a plastic container in a cool place and pull it out when it’s time to decorate for Christmas. This way I can use the same batteries for the same item each year until the batteries wear out. This prevents me from wasting batteries, saves money, and ticks off other guidelines for storing batteries (store like batteries with like (AA together, button together), prevent positive and negative terminals from touching each other, store new and used batteries separately from each other, etc…).
I love the suggestion for using Press’n’Seal for travel jewelry!
Andrea says
great idea — thanks for sharing!
Linda says
Draw a quilting design on Press n Seal with marker; press on your quilt; stitch over design and tear away after stitching.
Andrea says
oh this is SUCH a great idea! Thanks for sharing Linda!
Karen says
Oooh. I tried that. Once. It was awful. I’m still picking teeny tiny shreds of that stuff off that quilt. It’s been washed a few times, and I still find them. Do a test before committing to an entire quilt.
I am going to try it with my paint brush and roller later today. (I have some left from a quilting project…) I use a rubber like paint tray and simply let the leftover paint dry, after pouring the bulk of it back in the can. Once the paint is dry, I add a little warm soapy water to soak a couple minutes, and essentially peel the dried paint out of the tray. Sometimes it all comes off in just two or three pieces. No liner with wet paint to deal with at all.
Andrea says
oh no! I’m not a quilter, so I’ve never personally tried it. The idea sounds great though! 🙂
Caroline says
While undergoing chemo, I used Press’n Seal to keep the lidocaine cream in place until it was time for my port to be accessed by the infusion nurse. The clinic did provid me with Tegaderm bandages, but my skin reacted to the adhesive. Press’n Seal was much easier to use and didn’t irritate my skin.
Sonya Ballard says
Thank you for this. My daughter has a port and does infusions twice a week. One of her illnesses is Mast Cell and is having such a bad reaction to the patches that we were struggling for the numbing cream to work. Once we get the last rash calmed back down so we can start infusions back at the port site, we are trying the press n seal!
Alison says
Use as a plastic cap for hair masks or dye.
Alison says
Apply pieces to exterior of windows to prevent bird strikes. (You may need to secure with tape) The birds see something solid there and hopefully turn away. Not very aesthetically pleasing, but worth saving the life of a bird!
Alison says
I should add that I only do this when there is heightened bird activity around my house. The press n seal comes down when the activity dies down again.
Gramma CC says
I use decorative vinyl decals for this.
sarah says
Line refrigerator shelves for quick and easy clean up
Andrea says
yes, that’s a good one too!
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields says
I wish I could say this is an original idea because it’s brilliant and has made my temporary situation more bearable. I’m on daily IV antibiotics which requires a picc line that must stay dry. I was muddling through sponge baths when a friend told me about Press ‘n Seal and how she’d used it when her mother was in a similar situation. Now I’m singing its praises. It creates a perfect seal in the shower. Wonderful product. One of these days I’ll try it on food. 😉
Melanie says
Love these ideas… we’re gearing up to do quite a bit of painting, so I’m excited to try this trick! You said you take multiple days to sometimes finish painting…how do you keep your rooms from looking like you’ve painted on different days? Are you always able to paint a full wall at a time? I’ll be painting during naptimes too 🙂
Debbie W. says
Great ideas! I never thought of any of these before, but will definitely be implementing many of them in the future. Especially the paint brush cover. I’ve been taught to use plastic grocery bags wrapped with a rubber band for the same purpose, but I think I like the press n’ seal better.
Library Momma says
Great paint ideas, and ideal timing I am about ready to start a paint project in three rooms and a vanity. What paint do you like to use? How overdue is Baby Dekker? Hang in there!
Jennifer P says
I have an elderly friend who was going on vacation with some family, so her daughter packaged up her daily meds in the press and seal. Then she labeled them by day and time; Monday morning, lunch, etc. It made it easier for her family to help her with daily meds.
My dog's mommy says
My little Schnauzer got a foxtail between his toes and we had to have a vet remove it. So he needs a bandage over the site, with antiobiotic cream, which he’d lick right off without a dressing. I used a combination of 2x2s, some 2 inch wide kerlex, and 2 inch wide stretch tape (like the stuff you get when they take an IV out.)
So it worked fine until for some reason we got a freaky rainstorm here and I needed to figure out a way to keep his dressing dry and still let him roam and sniff out back. I tried putting his foot in a Baggie and taping it and it was a disaster. Then read this post! Said to self, did I not buy some of that stuff many years ago and stuck it in the bottom of the bags and wraps drawer? Yep it was still there. Made a perfectly great boot for the teeny foot of my pooch. Today, it’s back to 90 and blazing sun so everything is dry.
Rain only succeeded in spotting the windows I just washed on Monday. Been checking back looking for arrival of baby! Well I’m off to do the windows again but hoping someone will post his arrival either here or FB. My baby girl was a week late and I was getting very very ready to pop her out. She apparently was also since I had a very short labor and five big pushes. Wishing you the best birth ever. Short and sweet!!
Thanks for the press n seal tip, we all thank you human and canine alike.
Laura says
I was just at the doctor and he said to use Press and Seal to cover an open wound to protect it in the shower. Just another random use!
Andrea says
cool! Great tip!
Jackie B says
While this tip isn’t something that I expect anybody on this site to use, I though it was such a unique use that I had to share it.
I work at a hospital and many of the kids have central lines (basically bigger IVs that can stay in place for months/years). The lines and the dressings can’t get wet, but the kids still need to shower, so we wrap Press n Seal around the lines! Most parents/kids prefer it other stuff, even specially designed medical shower barriers!
Andrea says
wow — that’s awesome Jackie! So cool that a common grocery store product is helping hospitalized children! I hope the people at Glad somehow see this post and read the comments!!
Jen says
I LOVE Press-n-Seal too! And, even though it’s more pricey, I can get it MUCH cheaper–and in larger rolls–at our local warehouse club!
And, while I love this post, I must admit, I keep checking in waiting to see Baby Dekker! 🙂
Andrea says
you and thousands of other people… everyone is waiting!
also, when you say “warehouse club” do you mean Costco and Sam’s?
Jen says
I’m sorry! I feel bad for you, knowing so many people are waiting! ACK! I didn’t even tell people (not even grandparents or anyone!) when I went to the hospital to deliver for that VERY reason. I couldn’t take the pressure! HAHA
And, yes, here in Baltimore, we use BJs, but it’s essentially the same thing and the Press-n-Seal is SOOO much cheaper that way and I can get two large rolls at once. Plus, unlike other warehouse clubs, BJs accepts manufacturer’s coupons. So, on the off chance I can snag a coupon (I don’t bother with them usually.), I can get it even cheaper. And, I can use TWO coupons since it’s a two-pack!
My only “beef” (and it’s silly!) is that the rolls are big and it’s a little tricky to get them in the drawer where I store all my wraps/bags/etc., but I deal with it. 🙂
Andrea says
we don’t tell ANYONE when we go to the hospital either — only my sister since she lives down the road and will be the one watching Nora and Simon. We don’t even call our parents until we are in the “recovery” room because I just like having a little time alone with the baby. Hopefully we can do it the same way again this time!
Ann says
Costco has giant packs of it! Totally one thing I get there.
lydia @ frugaldebtfreelife says
When moving you can wrap your clothes all together in the drawer to keep from having to box up all your clothes.
Dana says
Once, when moving across town, I simply put Press ‘n Seal over the tops of my dresser drawers and moved them with the contents still inside. Lazy, yes, but in my defense, I was 9 months pregnant when we decided to buy our house!
Andrea says
Yup, I’ve done that before 🙂 Not at 9 months pregnant either so I don’t even have that excuse!
Maria says
Hi Andrea! Do you have any thoughts on painting safely while pregnant? I have a number of painting projects I would love to get done before baby arrives. Thanks and love your blog!
Andrea says
Hey Maria,
I’m probably not the person to ask because I’ve never worried about painting or really doing any type of house project while pregnant. We’ve worked on massive house projects and done tons of painting through all 3 of my pregnancies with no issues. I know most of the paint out there today is SUPER safe for use around pets and kids so I’ve never been worried about it.
MrsD says
You are so stinkin’ smart!!!! I love all of these but especially the jewelry and kid’s cup ideas! Obviously, it doesn’t make your jewelry sticky either which is what I would have thought. Totally genius ideas here! This should be a sponsored post because I’m buying some of this now and never have. (and I’m pretty darn frugal)