These fantastic elastic cords are useful for more than just tying down tarps. Here are 19 other ideas to wrap your brain around.
19 Bungee Cord Hacks to Get Hooked On
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Hold Buckets While Hauling
I use a lot of 5-gallon pails to store tools and other construction gear in my pickup. But I was frustrated because they were always sliding around and tipping, and I couldn’t always reach them without climbing up into the bed. My solution: Secure them in the pickup bed with long bungee cords. Now they stay put! — Tim Horky. Plus: Check out these really cool trailer upgrades you can DIY.
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Custom Cord Wraps
Make your own cord wraps using old bungee cords and synthetic wine corks. Drill two holes in the cork, thread cord through the holes and tie off the ends. You can make them as long or as short as you want. They're lightweight and work great for securing air hoses and other things, too. Plus wine corks can be one of those common household items that are plentiful.
Save some space with a wine rack that goes underneath cabinets.
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No-tip garbage cans
There really is a simple way to keep those garbage cans from getting blown or knocked over. For each garbage can, all you need are two 3/4-in. screw eyes and a 30-in. hook-end elastic cord from the hardware store.
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Store Paper Towels Between Studs
There are plenty of creative uses for bungee cords, and in my home, we were in desperate need for some extra kitchen storage space. We don’t have a pantry off of the kitchen and wanted an out-of-the-way storage solution to hold our extra paper towels.
We created this bungee cord napkin storage solution in our garage with four eye hooks, two long bungee cords and a wall with open studs. All you have to do is attach two eye hooks to the base of the wall and attach the other two hooks parallel and at the height of your choice. Now just stretch the long bungee cords to fit into the corresponding hooks, and they’ll hold a large stash of paper towel rolls out of the way yet within easy reach. — Mike Davenport
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2-in-1 Tarp Storage
As the owner of three ATVs, I use large tarps and bungee cords to protect them from the weather. When they're not in use, I store the tarps on lengths of 2-in. PVC pipe with two PVC end caps. I stick a cap on one end, put my bungee cords inside the pipe, snug on the top cap and roll the tarp around the length of pipe. Things stay orderly, and it's a lot easier to roll a tarp around the pipe than to try to fold it. — Gregory Jones
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Brilliant Way to Store Bungees
Bungee cords always seem to end up in a tangled mess. To keep them organized, screw a scrap piece of wire closet shelving to the wall and hook the cords along its length. It'll be easy to find the one you need. — Phillip McRae
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Build a Ball Tower
Some kids are into balls—any kind of balls. So they accumulate. It's hard to find a storage system to keep them all handy, including the ones on the bottom of the pile. Here's an ingenious system using bungee cords. They're firm enough to keep the pile organized, but stretchy enough that you can squeeze the bottom ball out. Need more storage in the garage? Build this super shelving system with pegboard.
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Handy Towel Holder
Here's a tip I learned from my father. Attach a roll of paper towels to the inside of your car trunk lid with a short bungee cord. The towels will be handy but won't take up space (or get wrecked) rolling around your trunk. — Donald Boland
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Tie Down Trash Bags
I am not a fan of bungee cords because they usually don’t hold well. Evidence of this is the number of cords that I’ve picked up along the highway during my runs. But I found a use for them as a means of holding trash can liners in place on my large workshop trash can. — Ed Hunkele
Simply overhang the trash bag along the top of the trash can and secure the bungee cord on top of the bag. You can hook two long bungee cords together, if one isn’t long enough to go around the top of your trash can.
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Painting Gear Organizer
I used to have a hard time keeping track of my painting tools, and I could never find what I needed. Then I drilled two holes in the side of a large plastic container and knotted the ends of a bungee cord in the holes. I stand up all my tools in between the cord and the side of the container. Now it's easy to see everything I've got, and I can grab exactly what I need. — Art DesGroseillers
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Elastic Tool Holder
Use elastic cords to make a portable tool organizer for chisels and other hand tools. Fasten one end of the cord to a 1x8 with an electrical staple, lay the cord straight without stretching it, then staple the other end. Add staples every 3 in. to create holders, leaving the staples just loose enough so the cord can still move. Then fasten the 1x8 to the wall. — Stanley Hushen, Jr.
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Safe Cord Storage
To store elastic cords safely and neatly, pull out the spine of an old three-ring binder. Punch out the rivets and screw the spine to the garage wall. The rings are the perfect spot to hang cords without dangerous tension.
Find out other helpful uses for a three-ring binder to help declutter. — Tim Groff
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No-Spill Grocery Bags
It's a pain to crawl deep into the trunk to get all the groceries that spill out of your bags on the way home from the store. Here's a simple solution using common household items: Run a long bungee cord through the bag handles and hook the ends to the sides of the trunk. Keep the bungee cord in the trunk so it's there when you need it. —Vern McMeans. Short on space to store food or want a pantry? Check out some pantry ideas.
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Under-Shelf Paper Towel Holder
Our laundry area is cramped, and the roll of paper towels we keep on the shelf near the sink kept falling into the sink. I solved the problem by slipping a bungee cord through the roll and hanging it from the wire shelving. Works great! — Robert Stambaugh
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Hang Gloves to Dry
It’s easy to rinse off grimy latex gloves and hang them over the bathtub to dry after a cleaning job, but I found the insides of the gloves would often stay damp and smell funky the next time I used them. Turning them inside out is a chore and can tear the glove, so I came up with this simple solution to let both the inside and outside dry at the same time. Place a binder clip on the neck of both of the gloves and loop a rubber band or a bungee cord through the clips. Next, use a pushpin in the wall to hang it up. Works great, and your latex cleaning gloves will be set to go for your next job! — Chris Register
Admit it—your house could be cleaner. That’s where we come in. Check out these 39 tips and hints to get your house clean and keep it that way.
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Make a Circus Train for Stuffed Animals
In 1880, a German company named Steiff became the first commercial company to create a stuffed toy—and kids have been cuddling them and collecting them ever since. If the kids in your life are like most, they have a lot of toys to cuddle—and stow. These circus trains are storage boxes in disguise. They can be used in two modes: Hooked together for play and stacked atop one another for storage. The bungee cord bars stretch to make it easy to slide toys in and out when playing or when the cars are stacked. It’s a great project to do hand-in-hand with kids.
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Bungee Cord Organizer
Elastic cords can quickly become a tangled mess. Find the one you need at a glance with this handy rack made from 3- or 4-in. PVC pipe. Just drill 1/2-in. diameter holes in the pipe to match the slightly stretched lengths of your cords. Keep it in your trunk or shop, out of the reach of children.
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Vinyl Siding Helper
Long lengths of vinyl siding can be tough to install by yourself, so I came up with this trick. I hung a bungee cord on the wall above the siding and used it to hold the siding in place while I nailed it off. The elasticity of the bungee cord made it easy to pull the siding down to snap it into place before nailing. Find out how to install vinyl siding quickly. — Michael Winter
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A Better Bungee Cord
When you have to tie something down — to the roof of the car, to a wall of the garage — you sometimes need a bungee cord without a rough metal hook at either end. Avoid the scraping and gouging with fasteners from the Perfect Bungee, which has an impressive array of cords with tough, gentle hooks and loops of molded nylon and polyurethane. Check out these 45 hugely helpful handy hints.
