Stop throwing these household items away — my top 5 upcycling hacks
When I was little, I used to hear my grandpa mutter to himself: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” as he pondered over his biscuit tin collection. Once full of delicious snacks, he’d reused them for everything from seed pouches to gardening tools.
More recently, I’ve observed my mom saying a similar thing about her extensive collection of yogurt cups that now work as trinket storage, a place to hide her keys, and even as a place to keep her pens.
5 items I always reuse around my home
Waste not, want not!
1. Glass jars
It’s easy to think that everyone’s pantry or kitchen cupboards are filled with matching storage containers all lovingly labelled and in order. At least that’s what my social media feeds lead me to believe. Yes, I’ve followed the 7 clever tips and tricks for organizing your pantry, but I’ve never given in to buying a lot of expensive storage jars and containers.
Why? Well, because I regularly have glass jars that I wash out after use. Only instead of putting them into recycling, I remove the sticky labels with some hot water and fill them with pasta, rice, spices and more. On a lesser level, I also save any glass ramekins I get from shop-bought desserts as they work great for home bakes, jewelry dishes, and even miniature paint palettes.
2. Cardboard boxes
It’s common practice these days to do a lot of your shopping online, which that means a lot of cardboard boxes are showing up at your home in all shapes and sizes. Now, I’m not saying I keep them all because some are impractical and some arrive a little bit worse for wear. But, when there’s a nice, sturdy box, I won’t break it down for recycling.
Instead, I’ll reuse it in a number of ways. Around my home, there are boxes that are storing shoes, papers, endless crafting materials for my kids, or I even keep some of them for future gift boxes. And if you’re worried they won’t fit into the aesthetic of your home, you can always decorate them with wrapping paper or paint.
3. Paper towel/toilet rolls
It feels like we go through so many paper towels and toilet paper in our house. And every time we do, there’s a new opportunity to reuse. Instead of throwing away the rolls that come from within the paper, I’ve got a couple of things I like to do with them instead.
One of which is cable storage. I know I’m not alone when I say that my cables can get really out of hand. Instead, I separate the cables and label the roll with their use before stuffing them inside. I can keep all of this in one of those cardboard boxes I’ve reused and keep my cables much tidier.
4. Old bed sheets
I used to hang onto old bed sheets for longer that I’d like to admit. It only took a recent move to realize that I definitely had more than I needed. But, rather than throwing them out, I thought of a way I could hold onto them by making them useful – cutting them into squares to reuse them as cleaning cloths.
Not only are they great for dusting and polishing, but they’re also perfect for wiping up spills and messes, which also helps me spend less on paper towels. And since they’re cotton bed sheets, they’re easily popped into the wash to use time and time again. And if your pillowcases are nice, you can even reuse those as hair towels or as gift wrap.
5. Twist ties and rubber bands
I’m always acutely aware of how much packaging we get as a household. But there’s a couple of things I like to save up before I throw away everything, and that’s twist ties and rubber bands. They have endless uses and I’d only end up buying them instead.
While it’s easy to just unwrap them items or take them off of groceries and toss them in the trash, I throw the bands and ties in a drawer where I also keep my food clips (that I bought) so that I never run out. It’s a simple thing you might not think you need, but they’re great to reuse on food storage, grouping miscellaneous items, and tying up cables.
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