So having said that, I thought I would share some of the things I've done both in the past and present. I'm sure most of these ideas may or may not be new or unique to many, but perhaps one or two might be helpful to someone. :)
Bags - Bread bags, potato chip bags, cereal bags from inside cereal boxes. If you know me, you'd know I have a lot of pets. Well, pets make a lot of waste, LOL. I use these types of bags to put the pet waste in when I'm cleaning litter boxes. I've also used the bread bags to take with me while walking the dogs, just in case they do their business on my neighbor's front lawn. A good trick is to put your hand through the bag (like putting your arm in a sleeve), pick up the poop, then while holding the opposite and open end of the bag with your other hand, pull your arm back out of the bag while keeping hold of the poop with that hand. Doing this will turn the bag inside out while keeping the waste inside. Voila, nothing yucky came in contact with your skin! I've also kept some of these bags in my diaper bag or van while going out and used them to hold dirty diapers or to use as an instant garbage bag when there was nothing else around to use.
Bananas - If I find we still have bananas that are getting kind of ripe, I'll peel them and throw them into a ziplock bag and freeze them. I've heard you could freeze them unpeeled, but I've never tried that. When I make pancakes, I defrost the bananas and throw them into the batter and it tastes so good!
Baskets - I'm talking about wicker baskets. I've received a couple as gift baskets or found them for pennies at garage sales or thrift stores. I have a pretty one with a handle that I put paper napkins in and it sits on the counter and can easily be carried to the table or outside if necessary. I also have a basket without a handle on the floor next to our door that we put the dog leashes in. This way they are right there when we have to take the dogs outside to potty. You could even use a basket in the bathroom to put towels in or rolls of toilet paper. I also use them along with cloth kitchen towels from the dollar store and put homemade muffins inside to give to my Secret Sister at church or to a family as a gift. Baskets have so many uses!
Business Cards - There are so many different things I've used old business cards for. One of the most useful things I've done was to use the blank side of them as flash cards--any type of flash cards. I remember using them while teaching my kids the books of the Bible in order. I'd write the name of each book on a card and this would help them to memorize the correct order. I've used them as bookmarks, as mailing labels (the blank side), luggage tags (if the info on them is current), used them when entering contests or giveaways (again if contact info is current) thus avoiding having to write my name/address/phone number out on entry forms, carried a few in my purse or car to use to jot notes down on, etc. The list can go on and on with reusing business cards.
Coffee Grounds - I've dumped our coffee grounds outside under some of my plants that prefer acidic soil. I'm not sure you'd want to do this if your plants do not like acidic soil.
Coffee Mugs/Drinking Glasses - We use old mugs or drinking glasses as pencil/pen cup holders. You can also keep one to throw spare change into.
Dog Hair - After I brush my dogs' fur, I remove it from the brush and place it outside for the birds to take. Many birds will take the fur (sometimes even while still on the dog if the dog is outside) and use it to line their nests or roosting boxes with.
Dryer Lint - I do not put this outside for the birds because when it becomes wet from rain, it becomes soggy and falls apart, yuck! Instead, I save all my dryer lint in a paper bag next to my dryer and when I did it, I sprinkle some of it over our kindling wood in our fireplace since it helps to get the fire started. I've also stuffed dryer lint into empty toilet paper rolls and would throw them into the pile of kindling wood to also help start a fire in our woodburning fireplace.
Greeting Cards - This mainly pertains to Christmas cards, but different occasions work for different projects. I usually cut off the front of the card on the fold, or sometimes I'll cut around the outline of an item in the picture. If they are really beautiful, we will make ornaments out of them by punching a hole in the top and stringing ribbon or yarn through the hole to hang on our Christmas tree. I've also used them as gift tags for gifts we give to others and even to "dress up" a plain gift bag by gluing a picture or two on the side. Another idea is to frame them if the picture is exceptionally breathtaking. A fun project for kids would be to use many pictures from several cards and make a Christmas college.
Newspaper - Our town recycles newspaper, so if I don't have any immediate use for it, I'll throw it into our recycling bin. Otherwise, I typically keep some during the winter months to help start fires in the fireplace. Of course you could always use newspaper to wrap items in when moving or shipping things in boxes. I've also used shredded newspaper for packing material and also in place of litter in the cats' litter boxes on a very short term basis--I have too many cats for this to be practical use all the time.
Paper - My husband used to work at an office that would save all their paper that was used only on one side. They always had so much that he was allowed to bring some of it home, which was quite a blessing! With having so many kids at home that loved to draw and doodle, we would go through this paper very quickly!
Paper Bags - I use these in several different ways. I would cut these open and use them to wrap books or boxes in when mailing/shipping them to people. In a pinch, I've used them as packing material by crumpling pieces up to put in between items inside of boxes to cushion them. I use them to store other things inside of such as dusting rags, other folded paper bags, large plastic bags, etc.
Paper Napkins - This may sound gross to some of you, but it works for me. You know how kids each have a napkin at the table during a meal and they don't ever use it? Or maybe they half-heartedly wipe their mouth right before throwing it out in the garbage? Well, if they are barely used, I grab them and keep them in a pile to use for quick clean ups around the house. Remember, we have a lot of pets, so there are always "clean ups" happening here, LOL. I don't keep them to reuse as napkins for meals mind you, just for clean ups.
Paper Towels - I will often tear a paper towel in half if the mess I need to clean up is very small. With the amount of clean ups we have in our home, we do use a lot of paper towels, and I'm always trying to make them last.
Potato Chip Crumbs - I save these and put them in a ziplock bag until I have enough and then I crush them and sprinkle them over the tops of casseroles for a little bit of "crunch".
Plastic Bags - I use plastic bags for almost everything. Pet waste cleanup, dirty diaper disposal, packing lunches for a field trip, line small garbage cans with instead of buying bags, etc. I can never have enough of these on had either.
Pillow Cases - If I come across an old pillow case that is fraying at the edges or perhaps is stained, I've used it as a "sack" to put items in instead of a plastic bag. It works well if the kids are spending the night at a friend's and they can't find their duffle bag, or even while sorting things to give to the Salvation Army, I've thrown things inside one of these and it doesn't rip.
Puzzle Pieces - I have not done this myself, but I've seen many beautiful picture frames given as gifts that had puzzle pieces glued around the edges of the frame and they looked fantastic! So the next time you have a puzzle that is missing pieces, you may want to save them for craft project.
Tinfoil and Parchment Paper - My cookie sheets are so old and black that I have to line them with tinfoil when cooking or with parchment paper when baking. I don't mind revealing that I will save both if they are not horribly coated or stained, and I will reuse them the next time I need to.
Tissue Paper - I have a hard time attending baby or bridal showers and watching the guest of honor "throw away" all the tissue paper from the gift bags. I've often asked if they would put it in a separate bag that I would take home at the end, rather than allowing it to be carelessly thrown into the trash. I don't have a problem reusing tissue paper in gift bags if it is not ripped, torn, shredded or stained. I've also used it in a pinch if I'm out of wrapping paper and just need to quickly wrap a small gift. It has also worked well to wrap and pack delicate items in that are being shipped in packages.
Vinegar - I use White Vinegar a lot. It makes a wonderful natural cleaner. I put 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water into a spray bottle and it's good to go. You can also put out a bowl of white vinegar to help deodorize a room. I also add it to my laundry for additional cleaning power and if needed to help remove odors. And of course, I also use it to clean up pet messes. It works well on removing cat urine odor too.
Wipes Containers - I've had 6 children so far and am expecting my 7th (Lord willing), so along the way, I've obtained a few plastic wipes containers. I've used them when I've made my own wipes and I've used them for storing different things like keeping chalk in, magnets for the fridge, school boxes for my kids (pencils, pens, rulers, etc.), small toys, game pieces, almost anything! We've even collected some that were shaped like large Legos and the kids would stack them like blocks.
Wood Stove Pellets - We don't have a wood pellet stove, but we do have ferrets. Ferrets are easily trained to use litter boxes inside of their cages (outside their cage is a totally different story LOL). Rather than use cat litter in their boxes, which is actually unhealthy for ferrets since they'll dig in it and it becomes too dusty for their lungs, I use wood stove pellets as their litter. It is fairly inexpensive ($4-$6) for a 40lb bag and depending on how many pets are using, it could last quite awhile. It is also easy to clean up since it "absorbs" liquid and becomes spongy. I've tried it in our cats' litter boxes before, but it was NOT a hit.
So what about you? What do you do to try to reuse and recycle while still being frugal?
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1 comments:
Great tips! Thanks for all the great information.
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