While I was poking around on Pinterest, I came across a couple of wonderful blog posts that are full of ways to re-use things.
Here is one for re-using Folger's containers, complete with printable labels. Brilliant - wish I would have thought of that!
If you are anything like me, then you have gobs of glass canning jars. I have always had more than I need stored in the basement. Although I use plenty of them for canning, they have lots of other great uses, too. This blog post over at Craft Heaven has a list of 50 ways to re-use them!
Showing posts with label 10 Different Ways to Re-Use a.... Show all posts
Showing posts with label 10 Different Ways to Re-Use a.... Show all posts
Monday, August 22, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
10 Ways to Reuse Old Calendars
Once again, let's think of some ways to reuse things in order to save a few cents. Today it's old calendars.
1. If you have a small gift, you could wrap it with the calendar pictures. This might not work the best with the thicker calendars, but it works great for the thinner ones.
2. Rip the pages out, crumple them up, and use them as packing material.
3. If you have a calendar with pictures on it that you especially like, you could frame them and decorate with them. My boys have Veggie Tales pictures in their bedroom from an old Veggie Tales calendar.
4. The thicker ones could be cut in strips to make bookmarks. I don't know about you, but my family never seems to have enough bookmarks.
5. Make envelopes! I found this tutorial on YouTube. They actually had a whole bunch of tutorials to choose from, but this one made one of the more simpler styles of envelopes.
6. You could cut the numbered squares out and use them in counting games for the kids.
7. Along the lines of using them for learning, you could use the pictures as a story starter for you children. Give them the picture and then have them write a story about what they see and can imagine happening in that picture.
8. They make really fun place mats! My kids love setting the table if they get to put out fun place mats, too.
9. Make puzzles out of them! I've never done this, but I've seen others do it. They usually glue some sort of thin cardboard (cereal box cardboard would work well) to the back of the picture and then cut it up in fun and interesting shapes.
10. They could also be used to make crafts such as homemade greeting cards, book covers, gift tags, simple children's books, etc.
Do you save your old calendars? What do you do with them?
1. If you have a small gift, you could wrap it with the calendar pictures. This might not work the best with the thicker calendars, but it works great for the thinner ones.
2. Rip the pages out, crumple them up, and use them as packing material.
3. If you have a calendar with pictures on it that you especially like, you could frame them and decorate with them. My boys have Veggie Tales pictures in their bedroom from an old Veggie Tales calendar.
4. The thicker ones could be cut in strips to make bookmarks. I don't know about you, but my family never seems to have enough bookmarks.
5. Make envelopes! I found this tutorial on YouTube. They actually had a whole bunch of tutorials to choose from, but this one made one of the more simpler styles of envelopes.
6. You could cut the numbered squares out and use them in counting games for the kids.
7. Along the lines of using them for learning, you could use the pictures as a story starter for you children. Give them the picture and then have them write a story about what they see and can imagine happening in that picture.
8. They make really fun place mats! My kids love setting the table if they get to put out fun place mats, too.
9. Make puzzles out of them! I've never done this, but I've seen others do it. They usually glue some sort of thin cardboard (cereal box cardboard would work well) to the back of the picture and then cut it up in fun and interesting shapes.
10. They could also be used to make crafts such as homemade greeting cards, book covers, gift tags, simple children's books, etc.
Do you save your old calendars? What do you do with them?
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Recycled Egg Carton Crafts
Back in June, I wrote a post, 10 Ways to Re-Use an Egg Carton. One of my suggestions was to do some crafts with them. Today I came across a great blog post over at Green Your Way loaded with all sorts of fun crafts to do with egg cartons. I just HAD to share it with you!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
10 Ways to Re-Use a Paper Grocery Bag
It's been a few months since I have written any new "10 Ways to Re-Use a..." posts. I think that's a long enough break - time to start up again. :)
So, let's start with paper grocery bags!
So, let's start with paper grocery bags!
1. Kindling for fire (camp fires, stove fires, etc.).
2. Make crafty hats for kids.
3. Book covers. I used to make these when I was in junior high and then decorate them with doodles, stickers and sayings. It was the "cool" thing to do. I found this tutorial on YouTube:
4. Make puppets and/or masks.
5. I use these bags as garbage bags for our burnable garbage. That way we can just throw the whole thing in the burn pile.
6. I've cut them up and used them as wrapping paper. The kids love decorating the wrapped gift.
7. If a frost is coming and you still have green tomatoes in the garden, you can pick them and put them in a paper bag in the house. My mom has done this for as long as I can remember. Apparently they ripen better/quicker in a paper bag than on a shelf.
8. I have seen people make some pretty neat luminaries out of them. I've never done it, though.
9. Use them to clean artificial flowers and leaves. Just place the fake plant in the bag with a little salt, close the bag and shake it, shake it, shake it!
10. While you are shaking it, you could also throw some potato slices in a bag along with some seasonings, close and shake. Woohoo! It's a do-it-yourself Shake n Bake.
How about you? What ways do you re-use paper grocery bags?
Thursday, July 22, 2010
10 Ways to Re-Use a Baby Wipe Container
It's Thursday, time for my bi-weekly re-use list! I got a request to do a list for re-using baby wipe containers. So, without further ado:
10 Ways to Re-Use a Baby Wipe Container
1. They could be used to store game pieces. I am constantly finding game pieces all over the place. Our family games are well-loved and the boxes are quite beat up, so storing the pieces in something more sturdy works well.
2. The kids could use them as a "piggy bank". They could decorate the outside with paper, stickers, etc.
3. One company used to make their baby wipe containers in the shape of Legos. Anyone remember that? Do they still make them? You could always decorate the containers and let the kids use them as big "building blocks".
4. These would make good toy holders for those small toys that end up all over the house. (Like Legos, Polly Pockets, K-nex, etc.)
5. If you use coupons, you could store them in a baby wipe container.
6. These make a great holder for plastic grocery bags.
7. Do you have puzzle pieces all over the place like I do? Throw them into baby wipe containers to keep them sorted and safe.
8. These make great containers to store lots of stuff. Like scrapbooking supplies, craft supplies, office supplies, etc.
9. Store string or ribbon inside the container and utilize the dispenser slot for the string or ribbon.
10. You could re-use them for homemade baby wipes.
What other uses can you think of?
10 Ways to Re-Use a Baby Wipe Container
1. They could be used to store game pieces. I am constantly finding game pieces all over the place. Our family games are well-loved and the boxes are quite beat up, so storing the pieces in something more sturdy works well.
2. The kids could use them as a "piggy bank". They could decorate the outside with paper, stickers, etc.
3. One company used to make their baby wipe containers in the shape of Legos. Anyone remember that? Do they still make them? You could always decorate the containers and let the kids use them as big "building blocks".
4. These would make good toy holders for those small toys that end up all over the house. (Like Legos, Polly Pockets, K-nex, etc.)
5. If you use coupons, you could store them in a baby wipe container.
6. These make a great holder for plastic grocery bags.
7. Do you have puzzle pieces all over the place like I do? Throw them into baby wipe containers to keep them sorted and safe.
8. These make great containers to store lots of stuff. Like scrapbooking supplies, craft supplies, office supplies, etc.
9. Store string or ribbon inside the container and utilize the dispenser slot for the string or ribbon.
10. You could re-use them for homemade baby wipes.
What other uses can you think of?
Thursday, July 1, 2010
10 Ways to Re-Use Coffee Grounds
It's Thursday, time for my bi-weekly post on re-using things that you have around the house!
Let's see, we have talked about re-using ice cream buckets, egg cartons and milk jugs. After reading through more of your suggestions, there was one that stood out to me. Used coffee grounds. When I first read that I thought, "You can't re-use coffee grounds. I know I'll never do that one!"
Well, here I am....about to tackle that one.
Since my hubby was able to think of three of these right off the top of his head (hmmmm, maybe he should be doing these lists), I thought I would keep thinking and try to come up with a few more.
10 Ways to Re-Use....Coffee Grounds
1. When my husband was a little boy, he used to collect nightcrawlers and earthworms and keep them in a container. He would put dirt, torn up newspaper and used coffee grounds in with them and store them in the fridge. Apparently, they would keep quite well for a week or two until he went fishing and used them squirmy little goobers as bait. I asked his mom about this and she never knew he did that. Can you imagine? Opening a container from the fridge and finding a bunch of worms? Ha ha.....boys.
2. I've read in gardening books that ants, slugs and cats don't like coffee grounds at all. So the grounds could be used to thwart off these critters. I've never tried it and if I were going to, I'd probably do a little research first.
3. If you make homemade soap, add some used coffee grounds to a few bars. These bars work great to get stinky smells off of your hands. Here is a pic of some that I made:
4. Speaking of stinky smells, coffee grounds work great for deodorizing the fridge and/or freezer.
5. They will also work for deodorizing drains. Sprinkle a small handful of used coffee grounds down your stinky drain and then pour a good amount of boiling water down there.
6. Dried used coffee grounds would make a great filler for pin cushions.
7. Apparently, acidic plants love coffee grounds. These would work for indoor or outdoor plants. Again, you might want to do a bit of research to find out which plants are acidic. Right off the top of my head, I think roses, carrots and radishes are.....but don't quote me on that. ;)
8. Considering set-in coffee stains can be a bit difficult to get out of clothes, I bet you could use coffee grounds to make some sort of dye. That could be a fun experiment!
9. I know people who run at least two pots of coffee through their coffee machine before changing the coffee grounds. Now that's frugal!
10. If nothing else, throw them in your compost pile.
I'm so bummed. Last night, as I was laying in bed, I thought of THE best use for used coffee grounds.......but for the life of me I can't remember what it was. Sigh. I really need to put a notebook and pen right next to my bed. Oh well.
Let's see, we have talked about re-using ice cream buckets, egg cartons and milk jugs. After reading through more of your suggestions, there was one that stood out to me. Used coffee grounds. When I first read that I thought, "You can't re-use coffee grounds. I know I'll never do that one!"
Well, here I am....about to tackle that one.
Since my hubby was able to think of three of these right off the top of his head (hmmmm, maybe he should be doing these lists), I thought I would keep thinking and try to come up with a few more.
10 Ways to Re-Use....Coffee Grounds
1. When my husband was a little boy, he used to collect nightcrawlers and earthworms and keep them in a container. He would put dirt, torn up newspaper and used coffee grounds in with them and store them in the fridge. Apparently, they would keep quite well for a week or two until he went fishing and used them squirmy little goobers as bait. I asked his mom about this and she never knew he did that. Can you imagine? Opening a container from the fridge and finding a bunch of worms? Ha ha.....boys.
2. I've read in gardening books that ants, slugs and cats don't like coffee grounds at all. So the grounds could be used to thwart off these critters. I've never tried it and if I were going to, I'd probably do a little research first.
3. If you make homemade soap, add some used coffee grounds to a few bars. These bars work great to get stinky smells off of your hands. Here is a pic of some that I made:
4. Speaking of stinky smells, coffee grounds work great for deodorizing the fridge and/or freezer.
5. They will also work for deodorizing drains. Sprinkle a small handful of used coffee grounds down your stinky drain and then pour a good amount of boiling water down there.
6. Dried used coffee grounds would make a great filler for pin cushions.
7. Apparently, acidic plants love coffee grounds. These would work for indoor or outdoor plants. Again, you might want to do a bit of research to find out which plants are acidic. Right off the top of my head, I think roses, carrots and radishes are.....but don't quote me on that. ;)
8. Considering set-in coffee stains can be a bit difficult to get out of clothes, I bet you could use coffee grounds to make some sort of dye. That could be a fun experiment!
9. I know people who run at least two pots of coffee through their coffee machine before changing the coffee grounds. Now that's frugal!
10. If nothing else, throw them in your compost pile.
I'm so bummed. Last night, as I was laying in bed, I thought of THE best use for used coffee grounds.......but for the life of me I can't remember what it was. Sigh. I really need to put a notebook and pen right next to my bed. Oh well.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
10 Ways to Re-Use an Ice Cream Bucket
Ok, here we go again! Another post in my ongoing series about re-using common and seemingly disposable household items.
I've done egg cartons and milk jugs. This week it's Ice Cream Buckets.
Insert pretty picture of an ice cream bucket here. Ooops, don't have one. Shucks.
1. Use one to hold your toilet plunger. That way you don't have to get toilet plunger yuckies on your floor. (I was at a friend's house today and saw that she had her plunger in a bucket behind the toilet......that's what inspired this list. Nothing like a toilet plunger to trigger inspiration.)
2. When my husband was little, he had an ice cream bucket filled with all sorts of little boy treasures. Every day, he would go outside and explore, with bucket in hand, and collect trinkets.
3. Wash them out really well and store baking supplies in them. It might not be the prettiest container in the world, but it's functional.
4. Use it in the bathroom to store bath tub toys.
5. Use these in the sandbox or on the beach to make sand castles. They would work well to make snow bricks for a snow fort in the winter, too.
6. This would make a great container for color crayons.
7. Store pet food in them. Since the bucket and lid would be more air tight than a bag, the food would probably stay fresher longer.
8. Have the kids decorate one and they can use it for holding candy when trick-or-treating or when they are watching parades.
9. Works great for cleaning. Just fill it with water and some All-Purpose Cleaner and clean like crazy.
10. Turn it upside-down, cut two eye-holes in it, stick some wire on the top and.....TA DA.....you have a robot helmet. :)
What other ways can you think of to re-use an ice cream bucket?
I've done egg cartons and milk jugs. This week it's Ice Cream Buckets.
Insert pretty picture of an ice cream bucket here. Ooops, don't have one. Shucks.
1. Use one to hold your toilet plunger. That way you don't have to get toilet plunger yuckies on your floor. (I was at a friend's house today and saw that she had her plunger in a bucket behind the toilet......that's what inspired this list. Nothing like a toilet plunger to trigger inspiration.)
2. When my husband was little, he had an ice cream bucket filled with all sorts of little boy treasures. Every day, he would go outside and explore, with bucket in hand, and collect trinkets.
3. Wash them out really well and store baking supplies in them. It might not be the prettiest container in the world, but it's functional.
4. Use it in the bathroom to store bath tub toys.
5. Use these in the sandbox or on the beach to make sand castles. They would work well to make snow bricks for a snow fort in the winter, too.
6. This would make a great container for color crayons.
7. Store pet food in them. Since the bucket and lid would be more air tight than a bag, the food would probably stay fresher longer.
8. Have the kids decorate one and they can use it for holding candy when trick-or-treating or when they are watching parades.
9. Works great for cleaning. Just fill it with water and some All-Purpose Cleaner and clean like crazy.
10. Turn it upside-down, cut two eye-holes in it, stick some wire on the top and.....TA DA.....you have a robot helmet. :)
What other ways can you think of to re-use an ice cream bucket?
Thursday, June 3, 2010
10 Ways to Re-Use an Egg Carton
The last list was about re-using milk cartons and after your suggestions, I decided that this list will be about re-using egg cartons.
So, here it goes:
1. Save those egg cartons and give them to your local chicken farmer. If you know anyone who has some backyard chickens that lay eggs, I bet they would be more than happy to take some cartons off of your hands (you might even get a few free eggs out of the deal).So, here it goes:
2. They make great organizers. Put one in a desk drawer and use it to hold paper clips, tacks, rubber bands, etc.
3. Use them as a fire starter for grills, wood stoves, fireplaces, camp fires, etc.
4. Use them to sort change. This works great for when you have a garage sale.
5. The cardboard ones work well as a "nursery" for seeds. Start your seedlings in these and transplant them to your garden when they are ready.
6. Every time you change the garbage, put an egg carton in the bottom of the bag to help "reinforce" the trash bag.
7. I'm not a golfer, but I've heard of people using them to store their golf balls.
8. When painting a picture, the styrofoam cartons would work well for holding the different colors. A cheapskate's painting palette. This would work great for children.....I know my kids would love it.
9. I could see where these would work when you are storing fragile items like Christmas decorations and such.
10. Ok, I cheated. I just turned to my husband and asked him to help me come up with one more idea. He thought the styrofoam cartons might work well to store different kinds of bait when taking the kids fishing.
Phew. There. 10 ways to re-use egg cartons.
Oh - I almost forgot! Crafts! Give a child an egg carton, some markers and some pipe cleaners and see what they come up with! I just did a swagbucks search for "egg carton crafts" which resulted in tons of websites filled with lots of cute ideas.
How about you? Have any more ideas for re-using an egg carton?
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Suggestions Please
Ok, everyone. I need some suggestions.
I recently posted "10 Ways to Re-Use a.....Plastic Milk Jug."
I now need some ideas for next week's "10 Ways to Re-Use a....".
So, let's hear it. What household item would you like to see me make a list for?
I recently posted "10 Ways to Re-Use a.....Plastic Milk Jug."
I now need some ideas for next week's "10 Ways to Re-Use a....".
So, let's hear it. What household item would you like to see me make a list for?
Thursday, May 20, 2010
10 Ways to Re-Use a Plastic Milk Jug
Every other Thursday I would like to have a sort of top ten list here at Household Cents. A list that has to do with recycling/re-using a household item in interesting, useful and creative ways. Here is my first list:
10 Ways to Re-Use a... Plastic Milk Jug
1. Poke holes in the bottom of it, fill it with water and use it to water your garden/flowers/plants.
2. Cut the bottom off and use the top to cover your seedlings in your garden. My mother-in-law does this in her garden. She says it protects the little plants and acts as a sort of greenhouse (above is a pic of one of the many of her little "greenhouses").
3. Put in your toilet tank to reduce the amount of water used with every flush. (My hubby says to make sure you have water or rocks or something in the milk jug to weigh it down.)
4. Rinse well and fill it with water. Let it sit uncovered for a day or two. Use this water to give your house plants a drink. My mom swears that her plants do better on this day-old water. I'm not sure why...
5. Fill 2/3 full with water and freeze. Store them in your freezer to keep it full. A full freezer doesn't need to run as often or work as hard as a freezer that is only half full or less. Plus, if the electricty goes out, all those frozen ice jugs will aid in keeping the food frozen longer.
6. Cut a slot near the top for putting coins in and use it as a "piggy bank". If it is for your kids, let them decorate it, too.
7. Cut in half. Both halves make great sandbox toys.
8. Cut the bottom off and use the top part as a funnel for lots of different things: sand in a sandbox (see #7), food in the kitchen, changing the oil in your vehicle, etc.
9. Cut it like the above picture and use it as a scoop. This type of scoop works great for kitty litter, dog food, bags of bulk foods (such as grains or flour), birdseed, etc.
10. An empty milk jug makes a great dog toy. My mom's dog LOVES to play with them.
Phew....I came up with 10 of them. Got any more ideas for re-using a milk jug?
10 Ways to Re-Use a... Plastic Milk Jug
1. Poke holes in the bottom of it, fill it with water and use it to water your garden/flowers/plants.
2. Cut the bottom off and use the top to cover your seedlings in your garden. My mother-in-law does this in her garden. She says it protects the little plants and acts as a sort of greenhouse (above is a pic of one of the many of her little "greenhouses").
3. Put in your toilet tank to reduce the amount of water used with every flush. (My hubby says to make sure you have water or rocks or something in the milk jug to weigh it down.)
4. Rinse well and fill it with water. Let it sit uncovered for a day or two. Use this water to give your house plants a drink. My mom swears that her plants do better on this day-old water. I'm not sure why...
5. Fill 2/3 full with water and freeze. Store them in your freezer to keep it full. A full freezer doesn't need to run as often or work as hard as a freezer that is only half full or less. Plus, if the electricty goes out, all those frozen ice jugs will aid in keeping the food frozen longer.
6. Cut a slot near the top for putting coins in and use it as a "piggy bank". If it is for your kids, let them decorate it, too.
7. Cut in half. Both halves make great sandbox toys.
8. Cut the bottom off and use the top part as a funnel for lots of different things: sand in a sandbox (see #7), food in the kitchen, changing the oil in your vehicle, etc.
9. Cut it like the above picture and use it as a scoop. This type of scoop works great for kitty litter, dog food, bags of bulk foods (such as grains or flour), birdseed, etc.
10. An empty milk jug makes a great dog toy. My mom's dog LOVES to play with them.
Phew....I came up with 10 of them. Got any more ideas for re-using a milk jug?
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