Unusual Uses for Peanut Butter

What's everybody's favorite fatty edible food spread made from pulverized roasted legumes?

If you said peanut butter, then you came to the right place!

Everyone (allergic people aside) loves eating peanut butter. Peanut butter goes well in and on just about anything: toast, cookies, icing, celery, crackers, pretzels, sandwiches, brownies, bananas, bagels, ice cream... you get the idea. Peanut butter makes the world go 'round.

But wait.

What if you could use peanut butter for so much more than just eating.

I know, right? Mind blown.

What follows is a list of incredible uses for that creamy dreamy love of your life that make peanut butter perhaps the most glorious substance on the face of the planet. While peanut butter may not always be the most effective solution, it'll do in a pinch. Besides, who doesn't need an excuse to add a couple more jars to the cart on their next shopping run?

So grab a big jar of your favorite creamy peanut butter and read on.

Everyone's tool belt or toolbox looks a little different. After reading these ways to use peanut butter, you may just consider tucking a jar into yours:

• Put some peanut on a soft cloth and spread it onto the surface of your leather or vinyl furniture. Use small circular motions to work the oil into the surface, then buff with a clean cloth to give it a nice shine.

• If you're out of WD-40, spread a little bit of peanut butter on squeaky door hinges or stuck drawers to lubricate them.

• Peanut butter can also help revitalize tools and old lawnmower blades that need a little love.

• Got gum stuck on a carpet? Rub a little bit of peanut butter on it then wipe it clean with a soapy cloth. The oil in the peanut butter helps decrease the stickiness of the gum and it should come right off.

• Just like with the gum, the natural oils in peanut butter are perfect for removing stubborn price stickers and labels on containers.

• Sap, smashed bugs, and other gunk will wipe come clean off your car's windshield with a little bit of peanut butter.
• Peanut butter can also clean excess polish and tar off of your vehicle.

• Rub some peanut butter into your scuffed wooden furniture and floors. Leave it sit for an hour then wipe it clean, and the scuff marks will be gone.

• If you just found your favorite CD or DVD, only to discover that it is scratched beyond playability, try rubbing some peanut butter on it then wiping it clean. The natural oils will temporarily fill the scratches, giving you at least a couple more plays.

For all you animal lovers (or haters) out there, there's something to be had for you, too:

• Have a pet that won't take their medication? Just coat it in a little peanut butter and they won't even notice it's in there.

• It turns out there's one thing that mice love even more than cheese. Yep, you guessed it - peanut butter. Next time you set a trap, replace that wedge of provolone for a spoon of peanut butter.

• Peanut butter also works well to attract ants and roaches. Just put some on an insect trap and watch it work it's magic.

• Take a pinecone, coat it in peanut butter and birdseed, then hang it in a tree as a little treat for your birdie friends.

• If you can't handle the thought of using worms or grubs or other wriggling, squirming live bait to go fishing, consider using peanut butter instead. Fish supposedly love peanut butter, so put a little bit on your hook, sink it, and wait for the big ones to come biting.

I could list tens of thousands of recipes that include peanut butter in them, and all of them would be delicious, but they would defeat the purpose of this Ible. So here's just a couple ways to get creative in the kitchen.

• If you're cooking with onions, garlic, fish or something else that has a really powerful smell, put some peanut butter in the pot or pan once your done using it and it will clear out the smell.

• Peanut butter can also clean your hands of the same smells. Just rub some into your hands then wash them clean.

• You know when you're eating an icecream cone and the darn thing starts leaking everywhere out of the bottom and makes a big mess? Just stick a little bit of peanut butter in the bottom of the cone before putting the icecream in and you'll have a perfectly leak-free cone!

• Peanut butter, believe it or not, can be used as a 1-to-1 substitute for butter when making lots of different foods. Next time you're cooking or baking, try replacing the butter with PB for a nice nutty flavor.

Beauty and fashion are two of the most expensive industries known to man. Enter peanut butter - one of the cheapest beauty/fashion products ever made:

• Scenario: You have a date and you go to shave before so that you'll look nice and fresh for. You head to the bathroom, only to find you're fresh out of shaving cream. What do you do? Solution: peanut butter. Just slap some peanut butter on those cheeks and shave away. The oils in the peanut butter have the same effect as shaving cream, preventing your from nicking yourself. And an added bonus: you won't have to put on cologne or anything. I mean, come on - who doesn't love a date that smells like peanut butter?

• One of the oldest peanut butter hacks in the books: If you have gum stuck in your hair or on your clothes, rub some peanut butter on it, then wash it.

• If you have leather shoes, purses, or belts that have gotten scratched or are a bit dull from use, try rubbing some peanut butter into the leather, then buff them until they shine!

• The oils in peanut butter are a great moisturizer. Next time you shower, try rubbing some into your scalp, then wash your hair normally. Once your done, your hair should be nice and shiny.
• The same goes for your skin - the natural oils are perfect for getting shiny, clear skin.

You may notice this section to be a bit on the slim side. Doctors have pretty much abandoned the use of peanut butter as a medical instrument, but there may be a wee bit of hope for those desperate to hold on to it:

• According to a study done by researchers at the University of Florida, peanut butter may actually be able to be used to confirm early stages of Alzheimer's disease. The researchers found that those with developing Alzheimer's could not smell peanut butter as well out of their left nostril as they could out of their right. So if you're ever wondering whether someone might be developing Alzheimer's, before going to the doctor, you may want to try a little pb sniff test.

Armed with a jar of peanut butter and all these nutty uses for it, get up off your lazy butt(er) and go restore peace and order and spread love around the world. Some people may act salty and treat you like a nutjob, but you're unstoppable - nut'in can come between you and your destiny. Except maybe a-nut-ter peanut butter pun. Okay, I'm done. :)

Thanks for taking the time to read my Instructable! If you liked it, show some love by leaving a comment or voting for me in the Fat Challenge by pressing the "Vote Now" button. If you try any of these unusual peanut butter uses or have some of your own, I'd love to see them! Post a comment or an "I made it" down below to show how you got creative with peanut butter. Also, kudos to the best peanut butter pun in the comments - I'll be watching :D