Take Advantage Of These Reusable Items You’d Normally Throw Away
1 Plastic Bags
Saving plastic bags is a trope for savvy housewives. Unfortunately, the bags themselves are often forgotten about and rarely used again. However, if you simply throw plastic bags away, you’re ensuring they end up in a landfill. Not only is it bad for the environment, but it also eliminates your ability to reuse the bags for a good purpose.
Rather than tossing your plastic bags, save them for those cold winter months. Then wrap the bags around your wipers and mirrors during freezing weather. The bags protect your vehicle from damage, ensuring your car stays in tip-top shape during even the harshest winter weather.
2 Aluminum Foil
Most people assume that one use is all you can get out of aluminum foil. However, those people assume wrong. No matter what you used your foil for the first time, you can always rinse it off and use it again for a very particular purpose.
Instead of trashing your aluminum foil, use it to clean your pots and pans. Simply rinse some of the initial grime off the foil and roll it into a ball. Then use that ball to scrub away at your stubborn kitchenware. The aluminum foil helps to eliminate stuck-on food particles, leaving perfectly clean pots and pans behind.
3 Egg Shells
Once you crack an egg, it’s a habit to throw the shell in the trash. But by tossing all your eggshells, you’re actually missing out on a fantastic opportunity to give your garden new life.
Rather than throwing away your eggshells, take them outside and sprinkle them in the soil around your plants. Eggshells are high in calcium, so they’ll help create a growth boom in your garden. If you do this consistently, you’ll notice your plants will flourish. Trust us—try this once and you’ll never throw eggshells away again.
4 Egg Cartons
Along with keeping your eggshells, you should also keep your egg cartons. Once you finish all your eggs, don’t throw that cardboard container in the trash. Instead, use it to start your very own garden.
Egg cartons as easily stored, flexible, and cheap, making them the perfect option for your seedlings. Fill each pocket of the egg carton with soil, then place your seeds inside at the appropriate depth. Add enough water so the carton is slightly moist, then place it somewhere that it will get a good amount of sun. Once the seeds sprout, you can transplant them into your outdoor garden.
5 Coffee Grounds
After you have your morning cup of coffee, it seems like a no-brainer to throw the leftover coffee grounds in the trash. However, tossing them out is actually rather wasteful. You may not realize it, but leftover coffee grounds can have a variety of uses around your home.
Instead of trashing the coffee grounds, place them in a bowl and put them in your fridge. The grounds will help to neutralize any yucky odors, which will keep your fridge smelling fresh and clean. If you’re not worried about odors in your fridge, you can also use coffee grounds in your garden. Place the grounds in the soil around your plants and you’ll help to keep plant-killing pests, like ants and slugs, away.
While newspapers aren’t as common as they once were, there are still those among us who enjoy reading the morning paper. After you’ve flipped through the pages, however, you may be tempted to throw the whole thing away. But even placing newspaper in your recycling bin isn’t the smartest use for it. Instead, you can repurpose the newspaper to keep your windows clean.
If you want to be eco-friendly (and save some extra money) keep hold of your old newspapers and use them to clean your windows. Newspapers are actually a great alternative to paper towels, and they’re much better for the environment. Simply clean your window as you normally would, but replace your paper towels with newspapers. Newspapers won’t leave any fibers behind, and they can help to scrape away stubborn dirt and grime.
7 Soap Scraps
If a bar of soap is your preferred cleaning agent in the shower, then you know all too well that it’s difficult to use every last piece of the soap. As the soap dwindles away, you’ll often end up with a piece that’s much too small to use effectively. Rather than throwing it away, however, save it for later.
When you end up with that tiny soap scrap, grab an old stocking and put the scrap inside. Repeat this process until your stocking is full of soap scraps. Then, tie off the stocking just above your soap collection and cut away the extra fabric. Take the stocking into the shower with you and you’ll have an effective pouch of soap you can use for your next few washes.
8 Orange Peels
Since you can’t eat the skin of an orange, it seems like a no-brainer to toss it in the trash after you peel it away from the fruit. But orange peels can actually serve a much better purpose. Instead of finding their home in the garbage can, orange peels can be reused to make a sweet-smelling multipurpose cleaner.
Next time you eat an orange, set the peel aside. Then combine equal parts water and vinegar into a bottle and add the orange peels into the mixture. The result is an effective and natural cleaner you can use around your home. With the orange peels inside, you’ll leave your house smelling like citrus after every clean.
9 Silica Gel Packets
Lots of things you purchase, from clothes to electronics, come with little silica gel packets. These packets help to absorb moisture, keeping your items safe until they reach you. But once you unpack whatever you ordered, it’s easy to just throw the packets away. After all, they served their intended purpose.
However, the packets can also serve a variety of purposes around your home. Most notably, you can store the silica gel packets with important papers and documents. The packets will keep moisture away from your papers, ensuring they stay dry and crisp for years to come.
Let’s be honest—no one uses CDs anymore. Now that streaming music is all the rage, your old CDs are probably collecting dust somewhere in the back of your closet. But rather than throwing the CDs away, you can repurpose them into a decorative, much-needed item around your home.
Before you toss your old CDs, try turning them into coasters! For the easiest transformation method, you simply have to glue two CDs together. If you want to get a bit fancier, you can decorate the CDs with strips of fabric or stickers for an especially flamboyant home good. Either way, turning your CDs into coasters saves them from ending up in a landfill. Plus, it’s a good way to remember some of your favorite bands and albums, even if listening to the CD is no longer an option.
11 Tea Bags
A nice cup of tea is calming and refreshing at any time of day. But did you know you can get more out of your tea bag than just one relaxing moment? Rather than toss your tea bag after you’re done with your tea, you can keep those used bags for a relaxing night of self-care.
Next time you take a bath, gather your old, used tea bags and put them in the water. The tea acts as perfect aromatherapy, calming and soothing you as you take your bath. Plus, tea actually has skin-smoothing benefits. After laying in the bath for a while, you may notice your skin feels much softer, all due to the tea bags.
12 Rubber Bands
While nonslip hangers are a great addition to your home, they’re also more expensive than cheap, plastic hangers. However, you can turn any hanger into a non-slip hanger with just a few rubber bands. Rather than throwing extra rubber bands away, use them to make your closet a little more functional.
Simply wrap your rubber bands around each end of the hanger, looping it so it’s secure, but not overly stretched. Then spread out the rubber band as much as you can without snapping it. The extra rubber will keep your clothes from slipping off the hanger. Voila! Getting nonslip hangers really is that easy.
13 Bacon Grease
If you’re a bacon-lover, then you have to know about the best way to reuse bacon grease. With this fun hack, you can fill your home with the smell of bacon every day, not just the days you cook it. How, you ask? By turning that bacon grease into a candle.
Before you start cooking your bacon, grab a glass jar and glue a candle wick to the bottom. Then proceed to cook your bacon as normal—the more, the better! After your bacon is done cooking, pour the bacon grease into the jar, being careful to avoid the top of the wick. Put the jar in the fridge and allow it to solidify. Once that’s done, you’ll have your own homemade bacon candle. Light it whenever you want to infuse your house with the smell of bacon, without having to eat the not-so-healthy meat.
14 Bubble Wrap
When you order an item online, it’s often delivered to your house wrapped in bubble wrap. But beyond popping the bubbles, you may not think there’s much of a use for bubble wrap around your home. Well, think again.
Next time you have bubble wrap, make your way to the bathroom. Lift the top of your toilet tank and line the inside with the bubble wrap. The bubble wrap will insulate the inside of your toilet tank, reducing the condensation that builds up over time. While this condensation is annoying, it can also cause damage to your floors and walls if left unchecked. By using bubble wrap, you’re saving yourself from making a costly repair later down the line.
15 Paper Towel Rolls
Paper towels are inherently somewhat wasteful. Of course, getting rid of them entirely isn’t always an option. Still, you can find a way to capitalize on your paper towel purchase by reusing paper towel rolls.
Once you’ve used all the paper towels. Set the rolls aside. Then use them to wrap and neatly store holiday lights. By wrapping the lights around the paper towel roll, you ensure that the string doesn’t get tangled. Plus, you keep the lights in one designated spot, making for much easier storage. If you use this trick, you’ll definitely thank your old self when you take out your lights next holiday season.
16 Wine Corks
Wine corks have all kinds of fun, DIY uses. While it’s tempting to just throw them away once you’ve finished a bottle, you should hang on to them instead. Among their many uses, they can also keep your plants moist.
After you’ve gathered a few wine corks, throw them into a blender and break them up into small chunks. Then spread the wine corks in the soil around your plants. The wine corks help to retain moisture, keeping your soil wet. With a few blended wine corks, you’ll never have to worry about your garden dying due to dry soil.
17 Old Bread
While bread is a must-have item in some homes, it needs to be eaten rather quickly. If it isn’t, it turns hard and stale. Trying to bite into old bread might just result in a chipped tooth. But instead of throwing it away and replacing it with a new loaf, you can repurpose that stale bread into something useful.
Rather than tossing a stale loaf, allow it to dry out even further. Once the bread is completely devoid of moisture, crumble it into breadcrumbs and store it in a bag or plastic container. The breadcrumbs can then be used for all kinds of purposes, from making meatballs to breading chicken. With this method, you’ll never have to let stale bread go to waste ever again.
18 Banana Peels
Banana peels are pretty gross if you hang onto them for too long. But if you manage to hold on to your banana peel for just a few hours, you’ll have an easy-to-use, affordable shoe-shiner.
That’s right—banana peels are the perfect way to shine and buff leather shoes. Simply rub the inside of the peel on your shoes and watch the scuffs disappear. When you’re done, wipe your shoes with a soft cloth to get rid of any lingering residue. By reusing your banana peels, you’ll definitely save money on shoe polish!
19 Glass Jars
While glass jars might be less common in your home, it’s likely you still find yourself with a few empty glass containers from time to time. While they are recyclable, throwing them away would be a waste. Instead, you can use them as easy food storage containers.
Glass jars with lids are perfect for easily and safely storing food leftovers in your fridge. If you don’t have any leftovers, you can also use glass jars to store dry foods, such as rice, pasta, or even sugar and flour. Not only will this method save you money on tupperware, but it also ensures all those glass jars don’t go to waste.
20 Toilet Paper Tubes
While you may be committed to the most eco-friendly options in your home, there’s no way to get around buying toilet paper. Still, you don’t have to let the resulting tubes go to waste. Instead, you can make sure they have a new life with a slightly different purpose.
When you finish a roll of toilet paper, hang on to the tubes. Next time you ship something, use the tubes as packing material. Not only are they more eco-friendly than peanuts or bubble wrap, but they’re also more cost effective. You have to buy the toilet paper anyway, so you might as well put the tubes to good use!