We all know recycling of glass, plastic and other waste is encouraged, but have you ever thought about repurposing or reusing some common household items?
I have spent the last few weeks keeping tabs on my household’s everyday things that were being thrown away – the bags inside cereal boxes, egg cartons, plastic bottles, used foil, newspapers, used toilet and kitchen paper rolls, and much more. This made me think, what else can be done with these items instead of normal recycling or just throwing it away?
Here are a few ideas on reusing or repurposing that will encourage you to think twice before throwing away these things after just one use:
– Cereal liner bags (the bags inside cereal boxes) can be used as icing bags by cutting one corner at an angle or opening them out flat and rolling them into cones. Icing can then be scooped into it to decorate that masterpiece with no wastage – just throw it away when done. Use the bags to freeze meat patties, homemade bread and buns, or to crush crackers, nuts or cereal as they are a bit tougher than ordinary plastic bags, and the edges of the nuts will not poke through that easily.
– Make your own fire starters by using cardboard egg cartons. You can also take them to your local nursery- or primary school – they come in handy for the children’s arts and crafts projects!
– By cutting the bottom of a plastic water bottle off, you can use it as a funnel when putting oil in your car, Alternatively, store left-over paint in them. Or cut the top part off and plant your seedlings in the bottom piece.
– Use an empty tissue box as a mini-wastebin on the bathroom counter to discard cotton swabs and other non-flushable products. Tissue boxes can also be used as a mini-wastebin at your desk or in the car.
– Newspapers are great at absorbing odours – stuff them inside your shoes, diaper bags or even the refrigerator to get rid of bad smells. Use the Sunday newspaper’s comic pages to make your own wrapping paper for gifts.
– Foil can be reused as a scouring pad to clean the grill, pots, pans and oven racks. Balls of wadded up foil stuffed into shoes and boots help them keep their shape in the cupboard.
– Plastic bread-bag clips can be used as tiny scrapers to remove labels, price tags and many other sticky things.
– Are all your extension cords and Christmas lights a tangled mess? Use empty kitchen towel- and toilet roll tubes to tidy them up. Fold the cord back and forth before stuffing it into the tube. Your Christmas lights can be wrapped around a paper towel tube before storage, thus minimising tangles.
– Save old lip balm pots and small toiletry containers – refill them from your large bottles to make travelling packs.
I hope this has given you a few new ideas on how to get more use out of your ‘disposable’ items – as well as a realistic outlook on what to save and what to throw away.
Do you use disposable items more than once? Send your ideas to adeleb@caxton.co.za.
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