What Do You Re-Purpose?

I use old glass jars (pickle, spaghetti sauce, etc.) for all kinds of things, mostly for homemade sauces, marinades and salad dressings. I also use them for leftovers, like you would Tupperware, because glass doesn't absorb stains and odors like plastic does.

Glass jars to make snow globes in winter. I take toilet paper rolls and stuff them with dryer lint to use as fire starters for campfire. Who knew??!!

I save a few jars here and there but I don't want to fill up my storage space with too many. I tend to throw them out once I feel I have enough on hand.

I don't cut up old towels, we re-name them to "dog" towels and I keep them stored separately and use them for floor protectors if we are painting a small area, clean up dogs, etc.

I usually don't reuse the plastic containers because I have a boatload of Tupperware.

We are in the raw material end of the plastics industry and I don't give BPA or any other plastics a second thought when using them. To get enough chemicals or BPA, you'd have to inject yourself with BPA daily. We do have a lot of customers who manufacture plastic containers and we have changed some formulations but bottom line, it is just renaming the product which cost more for the manufacturer and in turn raises your prices. It is just hype to spread fear and raise prices.

ANY of the manufactured products which come in contact with food have to be FDA approved. We deal with that every day.

Not sure if you are familiar with them, Costco has these square plastic tubs with a wide lid in which they sell nuts/ mixed nuts. We use these to store rice, lentils, bulgur, toasted egg noodles and other non perishables.

We also reuse grocery plastic bags to pick up dog poo, wrap toiletries and other spillables when packing for a trip, or take home wet/ stinky clothes.

We use egg cartons to start seedlings.

We re-use printer paper for drawing paper and paper mache projects.

That is about the extent of it in this household. Frankly, we live in a small space, and I would rather not have extras lying around, for just in case a need should arise.

Best,
F. B.

I repurpose everything... Packaging that doesn't have sharp edges/nasty germs become craft projects for my daughter. Glass jars can be decorated with sharpies and become vases. Empty cans turn into containers for grease or other non-solid food waste I don't want dripping through any holes in my garbage bags. Clothes never get thrown away, they get up cycles into different clothes, rag rugs, etc.

Pinterest is my bible. :)

I reuse glass jars for storing bacon fat, homemade soup and homemade soup mixes.

I reuse old clothes and towels as cleaning rags.

I reuse plastic containers to freeze strawberries, tomatoes, leftovers etc. (Not for reheating, just storing.)

I reuse wine bottles for homemade wine.
I not to use plastic grocery bags, but when I do I give them to the food bank or the Goodwill.

I reuse bread bags for sandwiches or dirty diapers.

I reuse all of our food waste and yard waste as compost.

I reuse water bottles several times before recycling.

I made library book bags out of old jeans.

I send my egg cartons back to the farmer I buy my eggs from to reuse.

I reuse ice cream pails for berry picking.

I save those little tops on large plastic laundry bottles.They are great to keep paper clips, safety pins to pin socks together while doing the wash.I also save deli containers and margine tubs to reuse for leftovers or to bring lunch in. Of course plastic bags for all sorts of things, doggy dodoo, recycle, etc. what fun we have and think of how we are helping environment and saving bucks.

I make dresses from used shirts. I had a favorite shirt. I used it before the kids were even an idea, when I was pregnant, then it was made into a dress for my eldest and finally a shirt for my youngest.
I made a scrappy table cloth (from left over fabric)
I use magnets to hold pins
I use used milk jugs for valentine/halloween candy carrier. It won a prize at my dd's school.
I use used milk jugs for water rinse for the kids paint brushes
I cut the hard tubes (foil rolls) into rings and used them to seal plastic bags for disposable lunches for field trips. I just slip the bag handles through the ring.
We use grocery paper bags to make fun hats
popsicle sticks for quiz sticks (qs o one side, ans on the other)
Prescription pill bottles to hold change
In 1st grade my daughter has made a dog chew toy from old socks for green day.
We made a village and tunnels from used moving boxes (with a little help from a make do)
I use a garden sprayer (new) when we go camping. I was able to wash dishes and freshen up the kids and myself with very little water.
I used pvc piping to create a camp shower. Basically a square, tied to a branch with a shower curtain hanging around it.

This summer, I really want to make a hill billy air conditioner.

I , also, cut up old towels for rags when painting or keep them whole for covering flowers from frost.

I paint and I keep the wax paper from cereal boxes for paint palates.

We reuse the plastic bags for numerous uses. We reuse paper, when we get it, for putting our paper recycling into.

I yard sale, big time. There is really no end to what I've repurposed from other people's excess and their lack of imagination is my gain!

Cottage cheese cartons, whipped topping cartons, margarine tubs, go through dish washer well, re-use for leftovers, and things freeze well in them too. Plastic containers of various sizes, perfect for sack lunch.

Water bottles, fill 2/3 full of water, freeze tilted, (so not to cover opening when frozen, then add water to drink.
OR fill almost full, use as ice pack to keep lunch cold, then drink when thawed.

Newspapers work great for washing windows, polishes without streaking, but your hands will get rather "inky", but that washes off. Newspapers also work in garden to mulch tomato plants.
I make my own chicken or turkey broth, freeze either in plastic or glass jars.

Salsa or pickle relish, pasta jars with the rubber seal around the inside of the lid, I have reused same jars and actually canned new homemade salsa or relish in the same jars after washed in dishwasher and sterilized.

Panty hose, cut the legs off, work great for garden ties around plants and will stretch for ties for large objects as well. (I know there are some of you are wondering "who wears panty hose", ha ha).

Glass jars for craft projects, terrariums. Many areas have places to recycle glass.

Old tee shirts make great lint free dust rags.
Plastic grocery bags make great liners smaller trash cans.

Glass jars with lids are great for creating easy gifts. Look online for VERY easy "recipes" for scented bath salts. Or you can do those layered cookie mixes in the jars and give them as gifts. People think glass jars are kind of retro and cool!

I also save certain plastic containers for storing many craft items. But I would not use them for food storage and especially not for reheating food in them unless I knew they were food-safe, BPA-free and OK to heat repeatedly in a microwave. Many plastics are really intended for one-time heating use and not for repeated reheating. Chemicals can leach into foods from certain (not all) plastics that are reused over and over. So I either recycle plastic containers or use them for other storage.
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/cookware-plast...

I save the plastic containers and give them to the art teacher at our elementary school. She can use them and then pitch/recycle them when the art project ends.

I reuse or repurpose several things. I use a metal coffee can to collect cooking grease. I collect paper towel & tp rolls to donate to the children's museum or school for their crafts. I save many boxes because I sell on eBay and need shipping material. That last one ended up as a full room of cardboard once and I had to cull it down by 80%. Got a little overzealous. Heh.

The main thing to remember is to have both a purpose and a time frame to carry out that purpose. For example, if you save something for a Halloween craft, but then October passes by and you didn't make that craft, get rid of the item. It is clearly not important or worth the space.

I recently accumulated 8 candle jars for no reason other than, "Oh, that's a nice jar. Shame to throw it into recycling." It hit me as I was shuffling them out of my way, again, that this wasn't saving, it was hoarding on a small scale.

I put a notice on a local FB group and gave them away to a crafter. Had no one taken them, into the bin they would have gone.

Plastic containers from lunchmeat are good for craft days and paint trays. We use paper towel and toilet paper cores for a lot of crafts and for cords and cables. I use painters tape for cable wrangling, too. Outgrown kid clothes become doll clothes. We recycle, compost, freecycle, and donate things we no longer need.

I save good jars for camping supplies (Where you just need a small amount of, say, olive oil), saving leftovers (esp. anything acidic like tomato-based sauces or citrus), or pretty much anything which needs a container. All of my spices, for example, are in recycled jars I decorated with hand-drawn artsy name tags.

Plastic containers are kept and used until I shouldn't use them any more. :)

Old sheets are cut up for rags, ditto old towels. Some of those are also kept in the car for cleaning off windows, etc. Old clothes=rags for one-time use.

Good bottles are always saved for the Christmas liqueurs I make for gifts.

Breadbags are saved for a friend with a dog. Other bags are reused for produce purchases, wet swimsuits, etc etc.

Food is composted appropriately as well.

The buckets from Kitty Litter and other things are invaluable. Don't take my buckets! Use them around the yard, for recycling, etc.

Boxes are often repurposed for kid art. Yogurt and other containers are being collected for the school art teacher. We have a great variety of 'found objects' which are collected in a bag. The old french press screen and plunger were recently transformed with glitter glue into a 'rug' for a house we are making from old boxes and other recycled stuff. The roof of the house is one half of a diamond-shaped paper lantern from a free box last year. We are always on the lookout for interesting stuff!

After my grandma passed, I found a bunch of old milk jars when were cleaning out. These things are amazing. I store anything and everything in them- opened boxes of noodles, rice, candy, etc. They are air tight and do not break when dropped (or haven't yet). If you ever come by any at a yard sale or flea market, buy them! I really wish I had more of them.
I save old sheets and vinyl shower curtains. I use the sheets to make covers for the dog bed , and the shower curtains make good tarps for collecting and dragging yard debris. I also use old shower curtains to cover up lawn furniture for winter storing. Old shower curtains work well for lining the back of the car when transporting plants or dirt.

Right now I use my glass jars for other food stuffs and the kids use my stash for lightning bugs. I saw a pin on Pinterest where they used a hot glue gun to make a design or word then spray painted the whole jar a solid color. I'll probably try that when I re-do my 10 year olds room this summer.
I've used plastic bread ties to save flip flops-but that only worked enough to get to the store for a new pair.
We recycle so I usually toss the stuff in the bin-but sometimes it gets dug back out for crafts.