Don’t Throw It Out – You Could Use It

5 CONTAINERS YOU SHOULD NEVER THROWN AWAY

It may look like you have a lot of containers if everything falls out at you every time you open the cupboard door but maybe that’s because you haven’t figured out all the uses they could have – just maybe you need more containers!!

1. 5 gallon ice cream containers come in handy keeping foods like cereal, sugar or flour fresher for longer. You could also use them to store the half used bags of brown sugar, powdered sugar & coconut, etc.
2. Artificial whipped topping containers – use these to solve the medium size storage dilemmas such as freezing extra berries%u2026they even hold a few servings of leftovers depending on the size of your appetite.
3. Glass jars come in handy for quite a few things. You can use them to take soup to a pot luck dinner, store home made jams & pickled foods & you can also store your spare buttons, etc in them.
4. 16oz cottage cheese containers – they hold generous servings of casserole & soup. You can also store other things like craft bits & pieces too.
5. Baby food Jars – they hold quite a few different things including homemade vinaigrette, marinades, etc. You can even fill them with milk to take to work & school to have with your thermos of coffee/tea.

8 ITEMS FROM YOUR BIN THAT ANY PRE SCHOOL TEACHER WOULD LOVE FOR THE CLASSROOM

There are heaps of things that we throw away that we don’t think are useful but these items can be used & are used for craft in your local pre school & day care centres for craft time.
1. Plastic bottle tops from milk cartons, water bottles & soft drink bottles. These make good counters for a new board game a child has created or to help with someone who has just learned some maths.
2. Egg cartons come in handy for a lot of things. They can become dragons or alligators, even eyes for another animal. You can even start off your seeds in them with a little bit of cotton wool before plating them into the ground.
3. Baby food jars have thousands of uses like holding paint, glue, buttons & seeds.
4. Coffee cans store things like jig saw pieces & crayons. They can also become a child’s mail box or stilts for a child to walk on.
5. Cereal boxes & the bigger, the better. They hold construction paper, reading books & coloring books very neatly when cut on an angle.
6. Aprons & big old t-shirts can become painting smocks.
7. Oatmeal boxes hold art materials, found objects, paper scraps & flash cards. They also become great doll houses & teddy cars.
8. Plastic ice cream containers of all sizes come in handy for holding lost parts of toys, etc. The bigger they are, the more space is cleared as the containers are filled & labeled.

5 USES OF AN OLD SHOWER CURTAIN

A plastic shower curtain once dirty is tempting to throw out in the trash but if you clean it up with some bleach or full strength vinegar, it can be used again as the shower curtain or for the following other uses.

1. Place it over your wood pile to keep it dry when it rains or snows.
2. Use it as a ground cloth under your tent when camping or as an emergency rain shelter.
3. It makes a perfect cover for outdoor furniture when it rains – providing you can tie it down securely.
4. In your mudroom, place it under the throw rug to help protect the floor.
5. Line your car boot with it to protect it from stains.

10 LONG TERM USES FOR FAST FOOD CONTAINERS

Before you throw your plastic Chinese take away container in the recycling bin, consider how you can use them to organize your bathroom.

1. Talcum power
2. Cotton swabs
3. Loose band aids
4. Loose bobby pins, hair bands & ribbons
5. Cleaning sponges
6. Makeup
7. Combs & brushes
8. Extra toothbrushes
9. Rubber gloves
10. Spare shower caps

These containers can also have the short term use of taking your lunch to work or school in to save bringing & cleaning a plate. You can recycle it in the bin after it’s been used. This also saves your god containers from being lost or broken.

14 USES FOR THE COTTON IN MEDICINE BOTTLES

Drug companies like to provide us with extra cotton wool by stuffing medicine bottles with it so here are some uses for it instead of just putting it in the bin.

1. Makeup removal
2. Adding a pleasant scent to a room – just add a few drops of perfume to the cotton ball & place it in a heating vent.
3. Makeup applicators
4. Touch up shoe polish
5. Nail polish removal
6. Fill holes left by picture hangers
7. Ear plugs
8. Dust the top of the leaves of your plants
9. Stuffing for a homemade pin cushion
10. Dust your computer monitor & keyboard
11. Dip in vinegar & clean your phone
12. Stuff in the toes of shoes to adjust the size
13. Place between your toes when giving yourself a manicure
14. Create a snowman for your Christmas cards & decorations

5 USES FOR DRYER LINT

Thought it was destined for the bin? Try these uses first.

1. Packing material – Place the item you are sending in a plastic bag, then place this in a larger envelope & fill the extra space with the lint.
2. Draft dodgers – Stuff your extra lint in a leg cut off from a pair of panty hose & you have yourself a homemade draft stopper.
3. Doll stuffing – save up the lint for the next time you make a toy that needs stuffing. You may want to skip this if the child you are making the toy for has a sensitivity to dust particles. In this instant, use the cotton from aspirin bottles.
4. Clouds for that art project or diorama – add a little glue & the lint will stick just fine.
5. Shoe stuffing – are your shoes too loose? Do you have a sore toe? Try stuffing some lint into the toes of your shoes to solve the problem.

10 BOOKENDS YOU DON’T HAVE TO BUY

There’s no need to go & buy bookends, save your money as you may have perfect bookends in your house already.

1. Small jars filled with shells, marbles, beads, sand.
2. Decorative beer steins
3. Ceramic pitchers
4. Crockery
5. Duck decoys
6. Piggy banks filled with change
7. Small baskets filled with gourds (varnish the gourds to preserve them)
8. Door stops
9. Dolls or teddy bears – try the ones that are big enough to slide in the shelf in a sitting position with their heads barely touching the bottom of the shelf above
10. Stirrups

9 REUSABLE ITEMS FOR SORTING THINGS OUT

Do you find clutter creeping into your living room or family room? If so, contain it! There are quite a few items you can use to stash the things you don’t always use. The benefit is that the storage containers are decorative themselves & you can find things at a moments notice.

1. Old cigar boxes
2. Baskets that flower arrangements come in – remember to keep the lining as they are great for holding loose stuff.
3. Laundry baskets or other large baskets (wicker or plastic)
4. Old hat boxes
5. Old drawers from small pieces of furniture
6. Old jewelry boxes
7. Utensil holders made of wood or basket material
8. Large wooden bowls
9. Old bread boxes

8 PLACES TO TOSS LOOSE CHANGE

Where do you toss the loose change from your pockets that you have accumulated at the end of the day? Instead of scattering them on the table, put them in an interesting container%u2026here are some ideas.

1. Empty flower pot
2. Antique teacup
3. Candy dish
4. Old fashioned jelly glass
5. Porcelain soap dish
6. Ceramic ashtray
7. Large sea shell
8. Souvenir coffee mug