In the "Clipper" last week we had a tip about reusing the plastic that backs bacon for making hamburger patties. Linne sent in a response that inspired this brainstorm (it is posted below). We're opening this up beyond bacon backing, what odds and ends of packaging do you reuse and how do you use them.
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Bacon Plastic
Use the thin plastic that bacon comes on, wash it with hot soapy water to clean it up good. Cut it in half and use to pat hamburger patties on and then freeze. Your patties will be easy to separate and the plastic can be used and washed over and over again.
Janet
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Some other uses for the plastic from Bacon Packages are to separate ice cube trays. Trace ornament or quilt patterns on them. They make great templates. Hmm, now I'm thinking that
I love it when one good idea leads to more. We just wash ours in with our dishes. We have the 4 handed dishwasher, Mom's hands & mine.
- Linne
Use the plastic in painting. Hold the plastic along a ceiling or woodwork to keep paint off when painting a wall, etc..
- Nelrene
CP = covered with Contact Paper backed plastic
I support the front of my monitor shelf with CP covered metal peanut cans.
CP 10 pack dry milk boxes are great for magazines & even better for videos
CP Big & small oatmeal boxes work well for pasta. Or use for a skein of yarn, punch a hole in the top and thread yard through it.
Cut off top of salt boxes to hold desk supplies CP or use cute labels.
Plastic can rings are great for sorting yarns & threads for needlework. Also for tying things that would be hurt by string or where string would rot.
CP Cereal boxes are great for magazines.
Juice cans are nice for pens & pencils. CP or Paint
Any size coffee can makes great storage, paint or CP.
I like coffee jars, too. It's coffee I hate so I buy them at yard sales or trade out at recycler which I love to mine for goodies.
- Linne
We had hanging lamps made out of egg-cartons. It consisted of the bubble-formed portions of egg-cartons. The egg-cartons were spray-painted gold. Marbles were pushed through holes in the bottoms of the cups and glued in place. They made great hanging lamps for the bedrooms of our shore house. They were six-sided, glued together, with an old clothes hanger bend to hold the shape. That also held the lamp portion in place, for hanging.
Mrs Kathy Cohen
Northfield,VT
Berry Baskets are great to use for bulb planting. Dig the hole, place the berry basket in the hole and then put the bulbs in the basket and fill the hole. This makes it easy to lift bulbs, for storing or dividing. This also helps protect bulbs from burrowing animals. To protect bulbs from digging animals, like squirrels, place a second berry basket over the bulbs. The bulbs grow right thru the mesh, you may need to enlarge the holes, if a tight weave, for some thick stemmed flowers.
Mrs Kathy Cohen
Northfield,VT
Walmart is now putting their family size portions of ground meats and such in white plastic containers of about 2" to 4" deep. After breaking up into smaller portions, I wash these on the top rack of the dishwasher to really scald them clean. I use them to put salads to take out to a shared dinner at church or family dinners. If lost, no cost.
I also use the orange and grapfruit bags for hanging my grandchidren's tub toys on the shower head to drip dry. I also puff them up into little balls and secure with a rubber band and you have an instant pot scrubber.
For nursing Mom's, you can make your own washable, 100% cotton nursing pads out of two prefolded diapers. The middle portion is already thick enough and you can get anywhere from 3-4 pads from there, then double over the outside edges and cut out the pad size you need. Zigzag around the outside edges to prevent fraying and you have very nice, breathable, washable, reusable nursing pads. Chunk out the disposable ones for good.
Canned veggie cans make awesome candlelabra's at holiday time. Arrange several in varying heights and hotglue together, then paint gold or another color of your choice. Then, hotglue reused candle votive holders to the top and surround with greenery. Very nice.
Hope you enjoy and have a blessed day.
A.G.
Save your old boxes that your checks come in. Cover with Contact paper and use them to file your floppy disks.
Use empty detergent boxes to store books, catalogs and magazines.Spray paint outside or cover with contact paper.
Use margarine tub lids or yogurt lids to pour a small amount of paint in when doing small projects. Any leftover paint will peel off once it dries and you can reuse the lid. Or if you get interrupted in the middle...pop it in a ziplock back so it doesn't dry out.
Use egg cartons to line your box when shipping breakables. Then pack syrofoam peanuts inside. The egg cartons cushion the breakable to avoid breakage. Scraps of clean carpet padding will work for this also.
Use empty Gallon size jars for canisters to store flour, sugar, pasta, crackers, chips, etc. in. You can see what you need at a glance, and it will eliminate bugs in your pantry.
- Harlean
(CP- covered with Contact Paper backed plastic)
Check display boxes at stores. When they're empty they toss them. I have many of them around holding collectibles and computer supplies. I found one cosmetic display with 2 panels of plastic hooks. I cut off the panels, punched holes in the tops and CPd them. I use them to hang necklaces and they've held up for over 30 years so far.
Velveeta boxes are great organizers. I also made a flat top for one, CPd the whole thing and made it into a small sewing box with the addition of a button & an elastic ponytail band.
My first aid kit is in a one pound Crisco can CPd of course.
I am the queen of contact paper and the princess of spray paint. My Mom is the Queen of that and she's been making pin cushions with decorated scrap fabric tops, scrap fiberfill & spray can tops. I think laundry detergent tops would be nice for that too. I love the detergent boxes with handles. I don't bother to cover them. I like the colors and the smell. I just stash whatever in them.
If someone sends you fruit packed so carefully. Individually use the box and packaging for fragile Christmas ornaments.
The trays from Holiday food gifts make nice holiday trays too.
Then of course there's the tubes from paper towels and T.P. Find some that fit together, they are great draft stoppers. We put them under our windows in winter because when our windows go all the way down they are Very hard to lift. Also we always want just a tiny dab of fresh air coming in. Also tape them together to store posters.
- Linne
I cut the tops off tissue boxes, tape the flaps and store stuff in them.
The backing paper off the plastic makes great pattern paper too with that 1 inch grid.
Plastic soda bottles can be cut for planters, funnels, bird feeders.
A friend makes baskets out of bleach and gallon vinegar bottles. I make planters and totes out of them.
I made small trash cans for my Mom's sewing room and my computer room out of them too.
I just remembered using reflective chip bags to make my Holiday lights brighter and one of upcoming projects is to make Holiday bells out of pudding cups to go over lights. One family on my street puts lights in Half gallon milk and juice bottles on their porch rails. It looks very pretty.
I went to a flea market where a woman had done so many things with 2 liter soda bottles and aluminum cans that I felt like an amateur.
We use Miracle Whip type dressing on our sandwiches and in salads. Lately it has come in plastic bottles, the cat proof storage possibilities are seemingly endless.
I cut off the bottoms of mouthwash bottles to store things in too and keep the tops for little plants and crafts. Bye for now,
Linne Dodds
How about using bread bags for wet garbage? Thats what I use.
I reuse all the wax paper bags that come inside cereal boxes.
We usually flatten the boxes and use them for starting a fire. We burn all our junk mail too. We have cool days in the summer and thats when we burn the junk mail.
- Judy
I cut the bottom off 2 litre soda bottles and trim it in petal shapes. It looks just like a flower. Paint whatever color you want. Add a 20 oz. bottle bottom in middle cut the same way.
The little black plastic containers you get the film in for your camera are great for:
Storing little sewing things such as specialty buttons, hooks & eyes, craft beads, needles(on a narrow strip of paper and rolled up), other many crafty tid bits.
Use to put safety pins, bobby pins, cotton balls, short Q-Tips, knee high's, hand cream, mints.
Put candies in and decorate for a Birthday Party handouts, and many more uses..such as Jewelry etc. on a trip.
Take salad dressing in a lunch box, raisins in the kids lunch.
I get mine at my corner drug store..they just throw them out..so they are free.
God Bless All,
- GrandmaX21
Editor's Note: Whenever we talk about reusing film containers we caution about possible chemicals left in them from the film. Make sure you wash them well if using for food or use a piece of saran wrap or a piece of plastic bag to keep the food from coming in contact with the container.
Those bacon backings make a nice stained glass effect if you add stained glass stickers to them!
- Alekscat
Here's a link for a making a soda bottle bird feeder with diagrams and instructions.
- Susan
In some countries, Missionary clinics use film canisters in place of medicine bottles. Please contact your religious denomination to see if your church can help.
- Nana
Thanks for telling us about chemicals in film containers though I've never used mine for food. I mostly use mine for loose nails, paper clips, screws or whatever. I keep one in my purse for whatever use happens to pop up. I have used it
for broken earrings.
- Linne
Some of the ice cream we buy comes in cardboard tubs. I keep some in the back seat of our van for when I buy plants. It helps keep the dirt off the floor though you'd never know by looking.
- Linne
Keep a film container of quarters in the glove box of the car for a little emergency cash.
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