Save the Planet & Your Pocketbook by Reusing Items

At the core of frugal living is the conscious behavior to REUSE  and RECYCLE things over and over again, and find creative new uses for old things. And by simply reusing items you REDUCE purchases which will save you money, and you also greatly lessen the environmental impact on the planet — a double whammy of savings.

Here’s a quick rundown of Living Frugal Tips for household items that I reuse and creative ways to recycle them for new uses.

Hotel Shower Caps – When traveling and staying in a hotel, take the shower cap. These are great to use to cover a food dish. There is no need to buy the pricey Cover Mate brand food covers when a shower cap will do just fine.

Wine Corks – I love my wine and these have served several purposes. First I made two trivets (hot plates) out of them as fun gifts for my girlfriends. You can glue together for a fun cork board too. I also use them in the bottom of my potted plants to provide proper drainage. I’ve done this for years and they work great. Buy now you’re probably wondering … just how much wine does she drink …

Tea Bags – Keep after making tea to later be used to relieve tired sore eyes like a hot compress. Simply reheat in warm water and gently rest on closed lids. Or, cut the bags open and sprinkle the contents on your garden plants as a natural fertilizer.

Ziploc Storage Bags – I rinse and reuse these all the time. You can even put them in the top rack of the dishwasher, opened up over one of the item separators for an extra clean. You can get many, many, many uses from a single baggie. Thanks to heightened airport security I now use and prefer these to pack all my travel toiletries as everything is visible.

Old Toothbrush – Use to clean jewelry, dirty tile grout and hard to reach places.

Glass or Plastic Jars – The plastic screw top canisters of peanuts I bought now hold my dry goods – flour and sugar – to keep them fresh and free of those darn little bugs. You can also cut the tops off plastic container and reuse for starter planters.

Egg Cartons – Great for crafts for kids (egg holder, bell and piper cleaner for a bell ornament), or use for starter planters for the garden.

Rosebud Salve Tins – They are the perfect purse size containers to store aspirin or vitamins. Or mints if you’ve bought a big money-saving tin and need something smaller to keep a stash. Also check out my past post for the other uses for Rosebud Salve.

Simply Orange (orange juice contain) – I’ve got two of these in the fridge that hold cold water for my two dogs. One perfectly fills there two bowls so there is always one that’s cold. No need for fancy pitchers.

Baby/Handy Wipes Container – No baby here, but keep the wipes in the boat or bring kayaking for cleanup. I now use the empty container to store my makeup. It’s a great handy size, the top clicks shut. Perfect.

Old Socks – I reuse old socks and put knots in these to make dog toys. I also put a tennis ball in one with a knot at the top for another dog toy alternative. My husband also relegates his old dirty looking socks as his yard work socks so he can keep his good socks lasting longer. Everything gets traded down.

Old Greeting Cards – Keep all the many holiday cards that you receive and you can easily create gift tags from old cards. All you need are pinking shears, a hole punch and some ribbon. Or, another use is to take the same crafty approach, but make them with the full length of the card and make bookmarks.

Plastic Knives and Forks – Save the little packs from the fast food restaurants. You can bring these with your bagged lunch and wash for continued reuse. Or, bringing your own silverware and keeping it at the office as I do works too and it’s better for the environment than all the plastic.

Reuse Plastic Bags – I use the recycle bags for 90% of my shopping, but in the event that I forget them I keep the plastic grocery bags and reuse old bags to bring my lunch or as “poop” bags. Not to worry I don’t mix these two. Also, I notice more and more stores asking for them back. Target is running a special. Send in 5 plastic Target bags and they will send you a $1.00 off coupon for on of there Recycle bags.

Old T-shirts – I’ reuse old t-shirts to add more stuffing to flat decorative pillows that need a little more fluff. I also cut them up and use them as cleaning rags.

Binder Clips – I use one to roll up my toothpaste tube as I use it. I also use them as chip clips.

Old Boxes, Bows and Gift Wrap – In my house I turned them into Quick and Cheap Christmas Door Decor.

Baking Soda – One product with so many uses to clean your home. Take it from your fridge as a deodorizer and then use to clean your drain. Read 30 Ways to Clean Your home with Baking Soda for many more uses for how to REUSE.

Plastic Scoops – The scoops that come in my protein powder contains are now used for scoop out my morning coffee. Two scoops is the perfect amount to make a full pot. I also have one to scoop my sugar and one for my flour.

Old books or Notebooks – Learn How to Make a Secret Gadget Holder or to stash your treasures by using old books and notebooks.

Cigar Boxes – I got these from a friend and use as decorations on my plant shelves, and for storage — cards in one, electronic gadgets in another.

The list of Living Frugal Tips and ways to reuse and recycle things goes on, but these are some creative thought-starters for now. Please share any other items and their suggested new uses and let’s keep the recycling dialogue going.

Peace to the planet … and our pocketbooks!