String theory: the breakthrough

OK, so a lifetime study of string tells me that if you want to avoid tangles, never EVER use string from the outside of the ball. No. Never. Not even in a rush. Always pull string from the middle of the ball, and it will not tangle. Well, not much, anyway.

Here at Hepworth Mansions the Decluttering Agenda is turning my shed into a ghetto of useful objects whose potential has not been realised yet, but will be. If I can still find them.

So this morning early, tinkering about in the shed, I was idly dismantling a refugee cafetiere, and realised in a flash that fame and fortune lay in the direction of recycling the plungers as string holders guaranteed never to tangle string. What's more, they are handily pre-drilled to accept string of various sizes.

Intrigued ?

Hah. Very few tools are required. Hang on to your hat. Here goes.

I had a prototype string holder which lives in the hall. It looks like this:

You can see the resemblance straight away. The cafetiere plunger is a dead ringer for a string holder. Why didn't I think of this earlier ? Doh !

All you have to do is clip off the spring that runs round the bottom of the cafetiere plunger, and you are good to go. The string sits very happily on the base, threads thorugh any of the holes, and emerges below. If you want to hang the thing up, just drill the ball at the top:

Stainless steel, elegant, durable. And free. Now come on. If that isn't great recycling, what is ? Whole job in ten minutes. Time taken to nurture genius, 65 years.

I am waiting for fame and fortune to arrive any minute now.