To most people, ice cube trays are just another item amongst the myriad of kitchenware in their modern cooking palaces. Most refrigerators come with at least one, so even in stores, they are often relegated to the forgotten plastic goods sections. However, one thing that people need to learn is that they are more versatile than what they seem.

Apart from providing evenly shaped ice cubes for our drinks, ice cube trays can come in super handy for a myriad of tasks:

Portioning Cookie Dough

Dividing cookie dough is one task that even the most experienced baker may struggle to perfect, especially when they don't have a scooper handy. However, an ice cube tray will come in handy to divide the dough evenly. And that's not the only cookie dough hack.

Making a batch of cookies means ending up with cookies everywhere, a disadvantage when they're irresistible! So why not freeze individual cookie dough mounds in an ice cube tray and bake them on demand?

Frozen Garbage Freshener

According to Utah State University, vinegar and lemon are acidic and have the ability to neutralize alkaline substances such as scale from hard water. In the same vein, the combination is just the perfect solution for when the garbage bin starts to release unpleasant odors, and it's advisable to have it handy.

While vinegar is not the best thing to keep in the fridge, freezing it with small lemon slices will help keep the foul odor away and disinfect garbage cans.

The Perfect Summer Frappé

When summertime comes around each year, it's hard to keep away from refreshing cold drinks, and it's crucial to have them in the fridge, especially for the kids. For the perfect thirst-quenching smoothie, freeze some fruit juice in an ice cube tray and simply blend it when the sun gets too hot.

Better yet, the kids can do it for themselves but under supervision. Letting them learn important chores, such as preparing a snack, helps them grow into more responsible adults.

The Organizer

Research shows that disorganization leads to stress and anxiety. This is worrying, considering there's always that one disorganized drawer in any room in the house that no one ever bothers to arrange. That need not worry us now, as with an extra ice cube tray, disorganization can be a thing of the past.

Use it when organizing small items, or it could even be a makeshift jewelry box for storing beads, earrings, dainty pendants, and other accessories. No more worries about lost earrings!

Homemade Seedling Bed

Millions of people around the world are beginning to embrace gardening as a soothing, family-friendly hobby that also provides extra food. One look at the internet is enough to tell us the importance of gardens, and we do not need to worry about space when we have ice cube trays.

These ice makers are just the perfect size for seed starters. With a bit of soil and a drainage hole at the bottom of each compartment, we're ready to go!

Artist's Palette

Painting is a significant way for children to convey ideas and emotions, explore color, and unleash their artistic talents. This is why parents prioritize every item required for the craft, but who said they couldn't save some money with some simple ice cube tray improvisations?

Old ice cube trays make the perfect paint or watercolor holders as the compartments are deep enough to hold more paint without mixing the colors, something that often happens with expensive but shallow paint palettes.

Neverending Herb Garden

With the introduction of home gardens, we can now grow almost all the food we require rather than relying on grocery stores. Some common herbs, such as sage, rosemary, and thyme, grow easily in our home gardens, but the surplus could soon go to waste.

We'd be hard-pressed to find a better way to keep these herbs fresh once we pick them from the garden other than to freeze them in olive oil and butter, as the oil also assimilates the flavor.

Preserving Bacon Drippings

Bacon drippings are among the most delicious flavors, and we'd be lying if we said that we didn't wish we could always have them on hand. But what if we told you that we finally found the perfect solution to this annoying problem? Well, guess what? We found it in ice cube trays!

Pouring bacon drippings into an ice cube tray and storing it in the fridge or freezer ultimately saves money, as we don't have to cook bacon whenever we want it.

Watered Down Coffee? No, Thank You

Have you ever made a piping hot cup of java but needed to gulp it down? We bet you came up with the solution of cooling it down with ice blocks. But the ice simply watered down your brew. How frustrating!

We have the best solution. Just freeze coffee in an ice cube tray. Next time you need to cool down your beverage, the coffee cubes will do the trick without watering down the flavor! This could also be useful when making iced coffee.

Sushi the Modern Way

Most of us love sushi, but do you know that it was initially Japanese food, and the first time it was sold outside Tokyo was in 1970? It has now become a favorite delicacy in various places worldwide. The Japanese spend years perfecting the craft of making sushi, but who needs years when we've got ice cube trays?

Cover the tray with cling wrap, and add toppings, rice, avocado, and sesame layers before chilling and flipping the tray upside down.

Preserved Buttermilk

Baking would never be the same without buttermilk. Avid bakers can use cartons of this essential daily. But some recipes only call for a small amount, so the rest could go to waste if we don't find a way to store the leftovers. But why should it go bad when we have our trusty ice cube trays?

Filling the tray compartments with buttermilk while leaving ample space to accommodate expansion, then freezing it will ensure that we have enough supply any time we need it.

Chocolate Milk

The best chocolate milk is made by melting real chocolate in hot milk. A great way to store chocolate is by melting it, pouring it into ice cube trays, and freezing it. When the desire for hot chocolate arises, pop out a couple of cold chocolate cubes and add them to hot milk.

It looks aesthetically pleasing when the chunky chocolate cubes melt into hot milk. The cold chocolate will lower the temperature of the scalding milk so you can enjoy it.

Homemade Baby Food

Every parent wants the best for their children; there's no doubt about that. This is one of the many reasons most parents always prefer to make their babies' meals at home. However, sometimes they get busy, and there's no time to prepare a meal for the child.

Why not prepare for such situations in advance? Freezing portions of baby food in an ice cube tray ensures that all we have to do is warm it and add milk or water to thin it out.

Useful For Cooking or Cooling

Adding ice to wine, especially white, is common practice. Some people enjoy chilled red wine too. But the catch is that the ice waters down the vine as it melts. Now there is a solution to cool your drink as well as saving leftover wine from going to waste.

Simply freeze leftover wine it in an ice cube tray. You can use the cubes to cool your next drink, or you could add a few cubes of wine when a recipe calls for it without opening a new bottle!

Green Tea for the Skin

Green tea is one of the most relaxing types of beverage. Aside from calming our nerves, helping us lose weight, and providing antioxidants to help the body's immunity against diseases. We can also get more from it by turning it into ice cubes using ice cube trays.

Removing the cube's sharp edges and rubbing it on the face is guaranteed to address open pores and inflammation, as well as lighten dark spots that make some people self-conscious about their skin.

Guess the Fruit

Children love to have fun almost all of the time. It's no surprise, considering it encourages them to be kind and promotes good morals, as per Tribeca Play Therapy. As parents, we must always keep things fun, and one way to do so is by moving away from the regular ice cubes.

Before freezing water, we can add fruits to every compartment and watch kids try to guess which fruit they have in their cups before finishing their chilled beverage.

Mini Ice Pops

Summer is all fun and games, no doubt about that. Of course, this is only until it gets too hot to be outdoors. It's natural to sweat, but we also need to cool our brains and eyes with some cold snacks once in a while.

The good news is that we don't have to buy a whole tub of ice cream. Instead, we can use ice cube trays to make mini popsicles and have one every time we feel the heat.

Beautiful Cubes

Ice cubes are suitable for casual parties and other formal events, such as high teas, receptions, and baby showers. Here, capturing attention with the best elegant drinks is crucial, so how about adding some edible flowers to the water when filling the ice cube trays?

The only trick with this hack is to know the type of flowers to use. For instance, lavender is edible, but it's mainly known for its fragrance. We can try pansies, hibiscus, nasturtium, rose petals, lilac, violets, and more.

Colored Water

According to Healthy Children, children between the ages of one and eight should drink at least four to five glasses of liquid per day, preferably water. However, every parent knows just how hard it can be to convince a five-year-old to gulp even a single glass, but no more!

Children love colors. Adding natural food color to water before freezing in an ice cube tray may trick the child into thinking that they're taking another beverage, while it's just their daily dose of water.

Aloe Vera Cubes

Being in the sun for extended periods is something no one wants to encounter. The same goes for its effect; suffering from burned skin. Luckily, there are many proven ways to tame the inflammation, including using anything cool such as a towel, an ice pack, or cold water.

We also know that aloe vera works wonders for our skin. So why not hit two birds with one stone by freezing the sticky aloe vera mixture in an ice cube tray and freeze?

Fruity Frozen Yoghurt

Yogurt is among the most nutritious treats, and it's no wonder many health-conscious people add it to their diets. It contains calcium, vitamins, and probiotics, which help with gut microbiota. However, not all varieties are as healthy, considering some include numerous sweeteners and preservatives.

With an ice cube tray, that will be the least of our worries, as we can freeze a mixture of the unsweetened Greek variant blended with our favorite fruits to result in a nice healthy treat.

Crystal Clear Ice Cubes

Making ice cubes is a no-brainer for anyone. Just put water in an ice cube tray and place it in the freezer. However, most of our homemade cubes emerge opaque, which is a stark contrast compared with the ones we see in bars, but who said we couldn't make our own?

Bars use special machines to produce theirs, but we don't need that. Use a special tray that allows directional freezing. The simple solution is using distilled water that's been boiled, then cooled.

Jello Cube Shots

Parties are supposed to be fun, and our ice cube trays can provide endless possibilities. We can try making homemade jelly shots by dissolving the gelatin, pouring in our choice of alcohol, and then freezing it in the tray. The good thing is that these are less strong than cocktails, depending on the recipe used.

Still, no matter how cute the results are, they are out of bounds for children. They can try other fun tricks with their ice cubes.

Souvenir Candles

Apart from the usual plastic and ceramic ice cube trays, silicon, and stainless ones are also great at holding hot liquids. This includes candle wax to make fabulous tea-light candles without too much fuss.

The wax from old candles can be repurposed in this way, especially when we add color, pour it into the mold, add a wick, and let it set for a while. We don't even have to put it in the refrigerator because cooling leads to hardening.

Filling Pasta

Pasta is one of the world's most famous foods. While it has its origins in Italy, it is now a favorite meal for many people all around the world. Subsequently, there have been numerous pasta recipes invented but pasta with fillings still stands out, such as ravioli and tortellini.

It's easy to make, too; just lay the dough on an ice cube tray and add the filling. Place another layer of dough on top and cut it into smaller squares.

Taking Stock

Making stock from fresh produce is not only a great way to save money but also safer and more natural instead of artificial ones that are laden with preservatives. However, the issue lies with a large number of leftovers, so the trick is to freeze them for the following recipes.

After boiling, the fat should be left to solidify, the hard layer scooped off, and the ladle used for easy pouring into the ice cube tray. Now you have convenient measures of stock on hand!

Chewy Ice

As surprising as it may sound, there are actually different types of ice cubes, ranging from regular cubes to spheres. However, one variety that has gained popularity in the past few years is the chewy or nugget ice. As the name suggests, these are relatively soft and easy to chew compared to regular ice.

Apart from being interesting, it is also easy to make. Just get a nugget ice cube tray with smaller compartments, and fill it with carbonated water before freezing.

DIY Bath Bombs

The bigger old ice cube trays in our homes are perfect for making homemade bath bombs. Simply mix one cup of baking soda, half a cup of citric acid, half a cup of Epsom salt, half a cup of cornstarch, and a few drops of essential oil and water in a bowl and press it into the tray compartments.

After settling for a day, we can use them for our bath or even to keep shoes and carpets smelling nice.

Homemade Watercolor for Kids

Kids love to have fun whenever they are. At home, there's a myriad of ways to keep them engaged. Watercolor painting is one of those, but ice cube trays present the opportunity to take things up a notch by freezing the colors.

Just pour the various colors into the ice cube tray compartments, add popsicle sticks for little hands to hold, and freeze. Though it is an innovative and fun coloring material, be careful, so small children don't ingest it.

Frozen Yoghurt

During the summer, any opportunity to have a cold snack is more than welcome. Yogurt is one of the most nutritious foods, but most people still find it bland when plain. That could change if we'd embrace the new ice cube tray hack; just freeze it!

Frozen yogurt is irresistible and flexible as it can be added to milky beverages after freezing the thick delicacy directly on the tray. It's ready to consume as soon as it's out of the tray.

Egg Storage

Eggs come in handy when we're in need of a fast, simple meal. It's a pity that while we want to buy them in bulk, they don't always last forever. However, with the proper storage, they can. Just brush some oil into an ice cube tray, pour in the eggs, and freeze.

Remove them and store them in a Ziploc bag, and there's enough supply for about three months, according to Acouplecooks. Remember to defrost for 24 hours before consuming.

All for Halloween

Halloween is the best time of the year to be eerie, and everything has to be as spooky as possible. We have a great hack that could add to that involving ice cubes. Instead of the standard cubes, we can add a few creepy but edible crawlies.

During Halloween, the supply of gummy worms, spiders, and even gummy eyes is abundant. Take advantage of them by adding them to the water before freezing cubes for any occasion, especially for children.

Lemon Stock

Most fruits have specific seasons when they are in abundance, but lemons mostly grow throughout the year. That doesn't mean we don't have to stock the extra, as it is crucial to saving any supplies. But what can we do to keep lemons fresh for later use? Simple.

Just squeeze the lemon juice into a pitcher, slowly add it to the ice cube compartments, and freeze. Be careful not to overfill, as a single cube is too large for some purposes.

Mini Buffet

Healthy eating is essential to a child's growth and development. However, most kids are picky eaters, and parents have to find a way to get them to eat. The good thing is that they prefer to have several colors on their plates, so this ice cube tray hack will work perfectly.

Fruits and vegetables of several colors will appeal to young ones. They will be tricked into picking the appealing elements for them without knowing that it's also healthy food.

Rice Krispie Cubes

Humans are visual beings, which also applies to the food they eat. This mainly applies to children and their Rice Krispie treats. Parents may find it hard to mold the treats into different shapes that children will like, but with ice cube trays, there's no more worry about that.

Just make sure to spray a non-stick solution before adding it to the compartments. After forming, remove the blocks and arrange them in an aesthetically appealing pyramid that children will fall for.

The Perfect Dessert

Having a balanced main meal at least once a day is crucial to our well-being, and the right dessert after that is enough to fuel our minds. However, we don't have to go to a posh restaurant to get that, as we can make the popular chocolate-covered strawberry treat at home.

In an ice cube tray, add a mixture of melted chocolate and coconut oil, add a strawberry in every compartment, and extra chocolate on top, and we have our vitamin C-filled dessert.

A Dirty Martini

Staying at home doesn't mean that we have to miss out on all the fun. Most drinks are served with olives, especially the iconic Dirty Martini, but we can make it even better. We just have to poke each olive with a toothpick, put it in an ice cube tray compartment, and add our preferred drink.

Whenever anyone needs a drink, we can just pop a cube out, add it, and get praise for being the best dirty martini mixologist.

Garlic Butter

Cooking usually involves so many spices and accompaniments. One tasty addition to sandwiches or other dishes is garlic butter. However, we may not always have time to whip it up every time we need it, so we can as well make a batch and store it.

On an ice cube tray, just add a mixture of butter and finely chopped garlic and freeze. The solid butter can be stored in a plastic bag and tossed in the oven whenever needed.

Save the Lego Man!

Nowadays, most parents resort to keeping their children occupied with gadgets. This is harmful, as too much screen time impairs learning, makes them overweight, and leads to mental disorders. However, with toys, they can go through an excavation activity by simply freezing.

Freeze small parts of a Lego man with water in an ice cube tray, and let the children wait to discover where the different parts are once the ice melts. This will keep them occupied for a while!

Time to Clean the Drain?

Ice cube trays come in handy for making cubes for cold beverages. Although not everyone is a fan of chilled drinks, the trays are useful in many ways, so it's good to keep them filled. One reason is that we may need to clean a drain.

A 2022 TikTok trend showed that we could pour many ice cubes into the sink before opening the faucet. If the drain is dirty, the water gets murky, and we know it's time to clean.

Reheat the Rice

Typically, we all know that ice cubes come in handy when it comes to cooling down foods faster. However, what most people don't know is that we can also use them to heat rice. That's right! This is because the rice needs some moisture to heat evenly when put in the microwave.

The ice cube makes the rice fluffy by providing steam instead of melting into the dish. Just remember that reheating rice requires extra care to avoid overcooking it.

Hot Water Cubes

As surprising as it may sound, hot water freezes faster than cold water. In science, it is referred to as the "Mpemba effect," which happens because of evaporation, which leads to a decrease in the mass of the water. Moreover, hot water makes the best ice cubes!

Cold water has more dissolved air than hot water, which results in bubbles. However, hot water produces the best crystal-clear ice cubes, which are perfect for making cold drinks.

Dishwashing Simplified

Not everyone loves or can afford to have dishwashers in their homes. However, for those who do, here's a hack that will make the task of washing dishes easier and safer. Washing dishes comes with health concerns about the chemicals in most cleaning products, but not anymore.

All that's needed for the perfect DIY dishwasher detergent is half-lemon juice, essential oil, washing soda, citric soda, and sodium percarbonate. Again, ice cube trays come in handy to portion the solution and let it settle.