What things do you reuse & how?

[shelbylovesmelby]

plastic butter dishes (& the like) ----- for left overs & as tupperware to send with dh for his lunches so I don't have to worry about them NOT being returned.

baby food jars -- craft project, storing odd lil things like pins & buttons.

plastic grocery bags --- I use them instead of regular garbage bags so I don't have to buy bags. Plus they are nice for those nasty poo poo diapers that have to get tossed asap or atleast 1x a day & I don't feel guilty about wasting a garbage bag.

dog food bags -- I use them as garbage bags too but they can't have anything that's wet in them or the bottom will fall out.

kiddie cups -- the plastic ones you get from a restaurants, for my oldest. I don't trust her with a glass one & it's not easy to find lil cups in the stores.

christmas cards -- can cut appart & use as post cards, baskets, gift tags, craft projects for dd

junk mail -- I used the envelopes for my grocery lists. let dd play post office with them, can use some of the paper in conpost

paper bags -- book covers for dc's books, a chew toy for a gerbil/hampster with then will turn into their litter , to wrap boxes for shipping

boxes -- to ship things in, a pretend car for dd, I use the ones from start sampling to send 4*6 pic's in, you can glue a cute pic to a thin piece and cut appart to make a puzzle for lil one

coffee cans -- use them to keep kitchen scraps in til I put them in the compost, dc's can use as a drum, dh spray painted one & uses it as his ashtray outside, I store my seed packets & gathered seeds in them.

that's all I can think of @ the minute.

but I'm always on the look out for new ideas

[baselle]

Re: What things do you reuse & how?

but I'm always on the look out for new ideas

Check out Real Simple Solutions. Its a pretty sturdy magazine/book format, and put out by Time Books. I found a copy in the grocery store. It might hit the library in the periodical section.

It has stuff like using fabric softener sheets as needle and thread detanglers and shoe freshners (wad, stick in the toe); gym socks as shoe scuff protectors esp in a suitcase; sugar and petroleum jelly as a lip exfoliator; ziploc bag as - pastry bag, nut cracker, bubble wrap substitute; vinegar ice cubes to freshen up a disposal.

[contrary1]

Re: What things do you reuse & how?

Great thread.......... I can't think of many this AM, but will keep the question in mind as I go through my day.
Bread sacks: either to put home made bread in, or to slip a bowl of leftovers in for the fridge
Old towels: cut up for cleaning rags
Old newspapers (other peoples, since I don't take a paper) Mulch for the veggie garden
Candles that are past their best: melt them down and re pour, with new wicks
Wax coated boxes from the produce dept/stand: cut them up into little 1" strips and use a couple to light my wood stove with
Old blankets: Insides for quilts, adds great warmth as well as weight

Looking forward to hearing others ideas

[acezz4e_tish]

Re: What things do you reuse & how?

egg cartons and dryer lint, gr8 fire starters for camping.

[Bluezy]

Re: What things do you reuse & how?

Plastic bags for trash in the bathrooms. Aluminium foil for baking, then throwing it in the recycle bin. Glass containers with good lids for jams, spreads and sauces.

[acezz4e_tish]

Re: What things do you reuse & how?

i have a cast iron wine rack, i saved my coffee glass jars and lids. i fill those with seperated by colors stuff for my daughters hair. it holds nine jars, and they are a little short, but still work. she has one with her twist curlers, and one for each main color, pink, blue, white, she combines black n yellow, her school colors. she decided to use one for her markers and crayons too.lol

[Ima saver]

Re: What things do you reuse & how?

I re use the margarine tubs. I use them when we travel for my dog food bowl and water bowls for my puppy. We tear up old t shirts and use them for dusting rags.

[frugalfarmwife]

Re: What things do you reuse & how?

I reuse margarine tubs for leftovers and hubbies lunches, bread/bun bags for sandwiches for lunches, plastic store bags for inside garbage bags, dog food/feed bags for garbage, coffee cans for storage, planting seedlings, etc. Soup cans for the same for spring gardening.

Not much doesn't have a second use here on our place, we use things up until there's nothing left

kj

[shelbylovesmelby]

Re: What things do you reuse & how?

fish tank water - when you change out the water pour it on your flowers.

the frames & bows to fresh holiday wreaths to save for next year or take silk flowers and make your own using the frame

old clothes, sheets ect for quilting

recieving blankets - when baby is older sew the individual blankets togeather & make a bigger light weight blanket for summer

dried out wipies - can be rewetted & used to dust or clean other misc messes

plates - (I saw this on a garden show) break them & use them to make mosaic patterns in home made stepping stones or break in half to use as a flower bed border

[Wringer-Washer]

- Plastic diaper pail I used when my kids were babies now serves as a kitchen garbage pail.

- Diaper pins are kept in my notions box in my sewing room and regularly used for emergencies or when I sew.

- Old leftover cloth diapers have been repurposed as window washers and dusting cloths.

- Made a few shower caps using old leftover baby rubber pants. LOL!

[GrimJack]

I use the trays that come with Mochi (I love the green tea ice cream) to help me sort different sized and colors of glass when I am filling molds for casting.

[amarowsky]

I often rinse, dry, and store old bottle caps, liquor bottles, and wine jugs.

You can resell them on craigs list as a good way to recycle them w/ out throwing out.

I frequently sell the Carlo Rossi (4 liter wine jugs) for $2-$3 each. I wait until I have a batch of like 8 and then sell them usually for $20.

I recall selling like 10lbs of bottle caps for like $40 on craigslist.

People will re-use the above for crafts, brewing, storage, or other purposes. My ability to generate tons of bottle caps and bottles has dwindled a lot though. My house use to be a party spot when I was single, now that I'm married w/o roomies, it has slowed down a ton.

Also if you drink glass bottles (Beer/Pop/Other) that are not twist-off tops, you can horde them (rinsed and stored dry) and sell them for generally more than the $0.10 deposit to people who need them for brewing. (I think grolsch bottles will get you nearly $1 each because of the convenient flip-tops).

[SavingMoneyGoals]

I buy ricotta in plastic tubs. I wash them thoroughly once all used and use them to freeze veggies.

[james.hendrickson]

This year we are reusing paper bags from the grocery store, they have some fun winter themes on them, so we are using them as wrapping paper for holiday gifts.

[chestynuts]

I don't throw the plastic bags used by laundry shops for our clean clothes. I reuse it for our garbage.