I’m always on the lookout for new ways to use products I already have – especially if those products don’t have chemicals or toxins in them.

But when it comes to dusting, I don’t even bother with products. I just use an old sock. Sure, this gets rid of the dust, but our furniture never shines or gleams.

I decided to see if there was a natural alternative to all the dust-busting sprays out there. And I found something even better – more alternative uses for that product!!

An article at curbly.com reports that you can mix olive oil with lemon juice and use a soft rag (old sock, maybe?) to polish your furniture to a beautiful shine. This article also suggests polishing brass with olive oil.

I’m really surprised I hadn’t thought of, or heard of this before. I’m all for alternative uses for kitchen products.

But I only had one use for olive oil – butter knife de-gunker

Our butter knives never come out of the dishwasher looking clean. The little serrations always look gunky. Sometimes even hand-scouring won’t do the trick. I tried rubbing them with a little olive oil, and they looked so much better. They even stayed clean after 2 or 3 washes.

An interesting blog called The Olive Oil Sources reports that olive oil is great on squeaky hinges. This blogger suggests putting the olive oil in a spray bottle for this application.

All of these uses make sense, but there are some that I never would have come up with on my own.

An article on Associated Content claims that olive oil can treat ear infections. They recommend warming a teaspoon of olive oil (not too hot) and putting half a teaspoon in each ear and sealing with a cotton ball.

Have dandruff? The Dry Skin Care Guide recommends massaging a mixture of olive oil and almond paste into your scalp.

Olive oil can also help with another heady problem – lice. Head Lice Info suggests using it as part of a 5-step program. The olive oil can help suffocate lice.

Got a mole problem? Just put an olive oil-soaked rag down the mole hole. According to a different article on Associated Content , the moles will leave because they do not like the smell of olive oil.

While olive oil isn’t loved by moles, an article at Heart of Wisdom reports that it can help your cat avoid hairballs.

I had no idea this tasty cooking oil was so versatile away from the kitchen? Have you tried any of these uses for olive oil? Know of any that I didn’t find?