Cotton balls are great for starting fires thanks to their flammability and surface area that allows them to easily catch a spark. Unfortunately, this surface area also means they soak up water like a sponge. Keep them away from water permanently with the drinking straw hack below.

Supplies you will need:
Soda straws
Pliers
Scissors
Lighter
Cotton balls

Step 1: Cut the straws into one inch pieces.

Step 2: Take a cut straw and hold it with your pliers, about 1/8 inch from the end. 

Step 3: Now use the lighter to melt and seal the straw on one end. 

Step 4: Use cotton to pack the straws. Twisting the cotton a bit allows you to easily get it into the straw. Use a small stick or the end of your scissors to pack the cotton into the straw.

Step 5: Using the pliers, hold the open end of straw, 1/8 inch from end, and seal the other side with lighter.

Images via DIY Ready

Thanks to this hack, you can store as many cotton balls as you may need indefinitely without any worry about them soaking up moisture on the shelf.

Another trick to make this more useful would be to roll the cotton balls in petroleum jelly before storing them in the straws. That way they will be flammable even if they manage to get wet when you remove them from the straw.

For more helpful tricks like this, go to DIY Ready.