Putting a cork in it.

I really enjoy organizing other people's space, which is usually not permissible except when visiting my parents' house. Last fall while organizing a kitchen drawer there, I collected a huge mound of old wine corks. Probably 25 years worth.

  Cork is a natural resource, so I knew it must be useful for something. I searched the internet for cork crafts, and this is what I found:

A wine-cork trivet! I finally got around to putting it together today.

There are more complicated and decorative ways to make cork trivets, coasters, etc. but I chose the simplest method for starters. I sliced a bunch of corks in half with a utility knife. Then I bought a ring clamp from the hardware store (the biggest size they had). Then I organized the cork-halves into a circle and filled in any big gaps with smaller slices of corks,  then tightened the clamp around the corks until I was sure none were at risk of falling out.

 You see here the clasp for the ring clamp--you just tighten it with a flat-head screwdriver. Easy!