Creative Reuse of Everyday Things

[decemberlov]

What items do you keep that most people might normally toss?

I've recently had an ah ha moment when I realized the little containers that the muffins I buy come in make perfect little green houses for starting seeds.

I always keep coffee cans because I can use them for so much stuff: pencil holders, I have one that I store plastic bags in, just cut a hole in the lid big enough to pull the bags through and re-use them for the dog.

Cereal boxes make great little magazine holders like these: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/organizing-on-a-budget-cereal-56152

What kinds of creative things to you turn your other-wise trash into?

[JaneV2.0]

The colorful little mesh sleeves some produce comes in, like garlic. If I don't use the mesh in some clever way, I hope to pass it along to an artist who upcycles.

[Florence]

Aluminum foil-I wash it and reuse it. Same for ZipLoc bags. I wash and reuse produce bags.

[Mrs-M]

I'm a pure traditionalist when it comes to reusing/repurposing.

- Old diaper pins sit ready in my notions box for emergency fixes/temporary alterations, and anything else I need them for. So handy!

- Employed two diaper pails when the kids were babies... a really big one... and a smaller version... Now that the diaper stage is in the past, I recycled the smaller pail into a cloth TP (pee-cloths)/feminine pad storage bin. Works super!

- Old used cloth diapers... hello household wipers (AKA household diaper-wipers)! Super-great for dusting, scrubbing, washing, and wiping!

- Once baby wash cloths... now turned pee cloths! Soft and comfy... and so absorbent, too!

[SteveinMN]

A pill bottle of the right size holds quarters for the car wash. Fill one and stuff it in the glovebox for when the opportunity arises.

I saw a tip for organizing cables/adapters/etc. by placing empty TP and paper-towel cores on end in a small box and then putting a cable/adapter in each one. I plan to cut one end of my cores on a bias so I can write the purpose of the cable near the top of the core.

Envelopes that hit the recycling bin sometimes are interrupted to become grocery lists. Similarly, newspaper (or the newsprint junk we haven't yet managed to excise from the mailbox) can become padding for boxes we send other people.

Cut down clean 20-ounce pop or water bottles to make a funnel good for adding oil to engines, etc.

We save sturdy tightly-closing plastic food containers from the grocery store (yogurt, dips, etc.) for leftovers -- particularly convenient for leftovers that go home with guests because no one has to worry about returning "good" containers. Many humane societies also will accept clean larger containers in which yogurt, sour cream, etc. is sold -- they put "starter" amounts of pet food in them for new adoptees.

Those little square tabs that they use to close bags of bread can be recycled as either cable tags for your TV, computer, etc. or attached to the end of a roll of tape to make it easier to pick up next time.

[Mrs-M]

Originally posted by SteveinMN.
A pill bottle of the right size holds quarters for the car wash.LOVE old plastic film canisters for change storage!

[Mrs-M]

- Old ice cream pails (the small ones with lids), great for storing flour, sugars (all kinds), cookies/baking (freezing), etc!

[Mrs-M]

- Old pantyhose... turned tomato plant holder-uppers (ties)! I remember this one from when I was a kid! Every neighbour (blocks around) had pantyhose tomato ties in their gardens!

[decemberlov]

.

Envelopes that hit the recycling bin sometimes are interrupted to become grocery lists. Similarly, newspaper (or the newsprint junk we haven't yet managed to excise from the mailbox) can become padding for boxes we send other people.



We do this a lot too! And DH wraps all presents with the comic section of the paper ...I usually paper grocery bags for mine and drawl on them. We never buy wrapping paper.

[pinkytoe]

I cut the top off of plastic milk just to make funnels for pouring cat food from large bags into container. I also use the backs of junk mail envelopes to make grocery lists and stuff with any coupons I might have.