Recycling/Upcycling

Save your empty vitamin bottles. There are so many ways to reuse these.

Keep smaller ones for putting pills/supplements in for vacation.

Store buttons in them--just label the bottles for each color of button(s).

Store spices in them.
Store herbs in them.
Store seeds in them.

Paint them and use them for supports for cupcake stands.

Store samples of paint for each room of your house; glue paint chip on the front.

Use them to store screws, small nails, etc.

Use the tops for making pincushions; store needles inside
Use to make bubble soap for kids to play with (of course you'll need the wand, but the child-proof caps would keep this from spilling out)

Make Christmas ornaments with them.

Store small pieces from children's games in them.
Use them for handles on a jump rope

Store scrapbooking items in them.

Separate coins in them--one bottle for dimes, one for nickels, one for pennies, one for quarters.
Use in the vehicle for storing coins for toll booths
.
Use for small quantities of hand lotion, oil, etc.


There are also some charities that reuse them for poor countries where these cost money.



I have really started getting into crafts and coming up with ideas for using things that we normally discard. Most recently, I began cutting water jugs in half horizontally to make small plastic baskets. I have covered these with discarded stretchy t-shirts and tights, as these fit snugly without doing a lot of adjustments. The brightly colored green and blue caps that come on water jugs also make nice decorations for the front of the baskets.

Some of my favorite craft sites are Craftzine, Crafster.org, Crafts.Kaboose.Com (which I just found out is owned by Disney), Craftbits, CraftGossip, AllCrafts.Net, craftplace.com and Craftzine. I have stumbled across several craft blogs as well

Do you buy water in gallon jugs? Of course, you can always refill those jugs by taking them to the store and using one of those self-fill water vending machines.

But, another way of recycling them is to use them for storage. Cut the jugs with a sharp knife right below the handle. This will leave you with a storage container. You can spray paint this with plastic paint or cover with fabric. One quick way of covering with fabric is to take an old t-shirt (stretchy ones work the best for this) and slip the plastic container inside it. Cut to fit. Gather this up and secure with an elastic hairband.

I have made several of these for storing craft items in. Some I have left uncovered and just written on the front with a black magic marker what is inside them, i.e., "ribbons," "lace," "scraps," "rubberbands," etc.