If you’ve been working to cut waste in your life, you’ve no doubt found more in the trash can than you’d like from time to time. Try as we might to avoid ‘single use’ stuff, it’s pretty much inevitable we’ll wind up with some items that can’t be recycled or composted.
With a little creativity, though, you can reduce how many of these things get only one use. It turns out that many ‘disposable’ items can get a second (or third) life as something else before heading to the landfill or recycling bin. From the box your cereal comes in to the glass jars from your organic chickpeas to the lids of your yogurt containers, you can find a number of ways to get a little more use out of many items before they finally get tossed.
Here are more than 20 things you can reuse in the garden and around the house.
Takeaway containers
Plastic takeout containers can get washed and have a new life storing leftovers. They’re great to have on hand if you’re bringing someone else food and don’t want to have to worry about retrieving your favorite storage containers or reusable food wraps.
You can also turn them into tiny countertop gardens and use them to grow microgreens or sprout seeds.
Old toothbrushes
Time to replace your toothbrush? Whether you’ve got a compostable bamboo toothbrush or a traditional plastic one, before you throw it in the trash, consider adding it to your cleaning basket. Old toothbrushes work brilliantly for scrubbing grout and tight places, like behind sink faucets. They’re especially useful if you have something extra yucky to scour and you’d rather toss your scrub brush instead of cleaning and reuse it.
Plastic jugs
Gallon jugs from milk or spring water make fantastic DIY plant cloches to protect tender garden plants from frost damage. Simply cut off the bottom and cover frost-sensitive plants in spring and fall. You can make smaller cloches from liter bottles as well.
If you cut off the top of the jug or bottle, the base can be filled with soil and used as a sprouter for seeds.
Plastic bottles can also be used for slowly watering garden plants by filling them and turning them upside down in the soil near the roots of your plants. They’ll slowly release their water, keeping the soil evenly moist.
Gallon jugs also make useful watering cans, or you can freeze water in them to make a long-lasting giant ice cube to keep food in your cooler cold on long trips.
Plastic dairy containers
Those yogurt tubs and containers from sour cream, ricotta, and cottage cheese are endlessly reusable. Bring them to your CSA or local berry farm for pick-your-own raspberries and cherry tomatoes, store leftovers in them, stow healthy snacks for the car in them, or use them in the garden as DIY bug traps.
Large tubs from ice cream or your favorite protein powder work perfectly for storing grains, flours, pasta, and more.
Plastic lids but also have many re-use possibilities. Keep larger lids handy to cover up those unfinished mugs of coffee or tea and put them in the fridge to enjoy later. They can also be used as makeshift coasters for drinks or houseplants.
You can cut a slit in them and put them under popsicles to catch drips. They can also work under bottles like honey or maple syrup to prevent messes in the pantry or fridge.
Or add them to the craft supply box and see what imaginative uses your kids come up with. Paint or collage them, then punch a hole and string them together to make a mobile or windchime. The possibilities are infinite!
Ketchup bottles
Squeeze bottles from ketchup can be cleaned and reused in a number of ways. Use them to reduce messes when you pour out pancake batter or paint.
Ketchup bottles also make great water toys. Kids love squirting water with them in the tub or kiddie pool.
Cleaner bottles
Finished up a spray cleaner you purchased? Save it and refill it with a natural homemade cleaner. You can easily make your own floor cleaners with vinegar and water, plus some essential oils for added cleaning power and lovely scents.
Glass jars
Glass jars work well for storing small amounts of leftovers, as well as homemade jams and salad dressing. You can also repurpose them for DIY gifts like sugar scrubs and bath salts.
Larger jars work well for storing pantry staples like dry beans, whole grains, and flour, while smaller ones can be put to use for herbal teas and spices. You can even upcycle glass jars to create an indoor herb garden.
Jars without caps also make useful flower vases, essential oil diffusers, or holders for cotton swabs, cotton balls, and other items in the medicine cabinet. Or use them to organize office supplies like rubber bands and paper clips, or display your prized collection of sea glass.
You can also use old bottles and jars for making fun DIY holiday decorations, like these budget-friendly Halloween decorations, as well as many more craft projects like DIY candles.
Cardboard shipping boxes and packing materials
Those cardboard boxes your Vitacost goodies come in have many possible uses before they get recycled. You can make all sorts of DIY cardboard box projects, from kids’ forts to creative upcycled Halloween costumes to a hideout for your kitty.
Cardboard boxes can also be flattened and used as an effective weed-smothering layer underneath your garden mulch. You’ll get much better weed suppression and need to use a lot less mulch each season.
The paper padding jars come wrapped in can be turned into attractive eco-friendly gift wrap.
You can also use bubble wrap as a frost blanket for your plants or to insulate food in your shopping bags or picnic basket. Bubble wrap also makes an excellent addition to the craft supply bin, lending fun texture to all sort of projects.
Shoe boxes are also terrific for storage, or you can decorate them to use as gift boxes.
Cereal boxes & bags
Cereal boxes can be repurposed for storage and crafting projects. Decorate empty boxes with pretty paper and use them for holding magazines or collecting valentines in classroom exchanges. You can also turn cereal boxes into gift bags or cut them up to make bookmarks, frames, or other cardboard crafts.
Cereal bags can be re-used to store leftovers or produce, or as a DIY piping bag for cake frosting.
Bread bags
Even if you love making homemade bread, sometimes we outsource our baking and wind up with a bread bag. Before you toss it in the trash, consider using it for storing homemade muffins or rolls in the freezer.
Bread bags can also be re-used for keeping garden veggies fresh in the fridge, as small trash bags for the car, or for containing smelly items in the trashcan.
Egg cartons
Did you know people with backyard chickens are often in need of cartons? They can be re-used for eggs a number of times, so start by seeing if anyone in your neighborhood would like yours. Some natural food stores also sell bulk eggs, so you can bring your empty carton and refill it many times, saving money and resources.
Plastic egg cartons can be carefully cleaned and used to share small food items, like mini-muffins or truffles. They can also store small items like paperclips, finishing nails and thumbtacks.
Paper egg cartons make excellent seed starters. Your baby plants can be transplanted to the garden right in the paper cup so you don’t need to disturb the roots at replanting time.
Newspaper
Newspaper works well for cleaning windows, packing breakables, and protecting your table from craft projects.
Or use old newspapers to deodorize smelly shoes. Sprinkle on a little of your favorite essential oil before stuffing them in to make your shoes smell amazing!
Cardboard tubes
Carboard tubes are often sought after by daycares and elementary schools for craft projects, so consider donating them when you’ve amassed a bunch. If you want to try some projects yourself, you’ll find no end of ideas online, from simple bird feeders to DIY Christmas crackers.
Other ways to use tubes include decorating them with pretty paper and making a desk organizer or using them to keep electrical cords in a tidy bundle.
You can also cut them up to make seed starters that can be planted with the seedlings in your garden.
Tissue boxes
Empty tissue boxes are handy for storing lots of things, especially small items that have a tendency to clutter up kitchen drawers, like sauce packets, twist ties, and rubber bands. If you have an assortment of plastic shopping bags, you can stow them in an empty tissue box until you need one.
They can also be made into drawer organizers or used in craft projects. They also work well for collecting trash in your car.
Silica gel packets
Those little packets of silica gel that come with your furniture, electronics, and supplements can serve many more uses around the house.
Pop some in your gym shoes to remove moisture and inhibit growth of microbes that can make shoes stinkier.
If you dehydrate some of your garden produce, place a packet in the jar to keep moisture levels low.
Silica packets placed in a jar with leftover vegetable seeds will help keep seeds fresh for next year’s garden.
Put silica packets in with your silver to prevent it from tarnishing, or with important paper items like your prized baseball card collection to keep it from getting damaged by moisture.
Storing things you use only occasionally, like holiday decorations, camping gear, and luggage with some silica gel packets can keep them from getting musty and prevent deterioration.
Silica gel packets will last from one to three years before they’ll stop absorbing moisture. You can revive them for a whole new cycle by drying them out in the oven at 175 degrees for about 15 minutes.
Dryer sheets
You’ve made the eco-friendly switch over to compostable dryer sheets, but before you drop them in your home compost, use them for cleaning projects, like dusting and wiping up stuck-on spills.
The material is tougher than your typical paper towel, so it’s perfect for scrubbing up grime too challenging for paper towels and too icky for reusable cleaning cloths.
Disposable razors
Whether it’s a disposable razor or just the replaceable razor cartridge on a reusable razor, when it’s too dull for shaving, you can use it to de-pill sweaters, shirts, scarves, or other material that’s accumulated fuzz balls.
Chopsticks
Wooden chopsticks from your takeout work well for pitting olives and cherries, and can stand in for skewers in a pinch. If you like making homemade popsicles, you can use chopsticks instead of popsicle sticks.
In the garden, chopsticks can also serve as plant markers or supports for smaller plants.
Citrus and banana peels
Even the natural packaging we find on some foods – rinds and peels – can have a second life. Many peels are actually edible, so you can try using them to make tea or other recipes like orange zested bread with cranberries or chocolate bark with orange peel instead of composting them.
If you don’t want to eat them, there are loads more uses for citrus peels. They make wonderful additions to DIY cleaners or can be used to wipe out the kitchen sink before you toss them.
Banana peels are also edible and can be added to smoothies, curries, or made into banana peel tea. They can also be used to moisturize skin, clean and whiten teeth, or polish silver.
Try some of these creative re-use possibilities, and you’ll no doubt be inspired to find more. Challenge yourself to seek other ways to reuse items that most people view as single-use, from aluminum foil to pill bottles to wine corks and mesh produce bags. Share your ideas with family and friends and help take even more of these ‘re-useful’ items out of the waste stream!
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