Ideas for Recycling Products to Save Money and Mother Earth

The EPA estimates that in the United States alone 220 million tons of garbage is produced each year. Considering how much one country produces, imagine how many tons of garbage is produced annually throughout the world. Is there something the common person can do to help reduce the amount of waste produced without having to join a lobbying group or environmental organization? There sure is. Moreover, it starts right in your home with everyday products you casually throw in the garbage. Use some of the ideas below to help you begin reusing everyday products. You will find other uses for shower curtains, socks, throw rugs, plastic detergent bottles, linens, milk jugs, small plastic food tubs, plastic bags, baby food jars, styrofoam food trays, and empty soda bottles and cans. You may find that your wallet grows a little fatter too, all while you are helping the earth.

Shower Curtains – Use old shower curtains to cover outside furniture or barbecue grills during the winter. They also make great reusable drop cloths when you’re painting, or if you’re very creative, you can make smocks for children’s art projects. You can also put them on the ground under soil or mulch to kill weeds in a garden.

Old Socks- Use a rubber band to secure around a yardstick or broom handle for dusting hard to reach places. Place them over your hand to wash your car, counter surfaces, or even your toilets. Grab some paints and decorations and make funny sock puppets with your kids. Knot them or fill them with a small amount of catnip for a fun toy for a dog or cat. Use longer socks to store small toys like marbles. Just tie up the top and you have a spill-free sock container.

Dirty Throw Rugs- Rather than toss these when they get too disgusting for the house; put them to good use outside. You can fold one in half and use to kneel on when working in the yard. Create a musical rug game for the kids by placing rugs in a circle and playing a musical chairs type game. Use them seasonally to cover hot decks or sidewalk areas during summer.

Plastic Detergent Bottles- Clean thoroughly, pop holes in the top and use as a watering can for inside plants. Put small craft items, glue, or paint into the lid for your kids. After cleaning, add dog shampoo and water to make the canine bubbles last longer.

Linens- Store old unused sheets for picnics or beach trips, and for fort making. Attach a drawstring to pillowcases to make laundry bins for bedrooms or to store extra towels in the guest bathroom. Cut out arm and head holes in pillowcases to make art aprons for the kids. Let the kids decorate old pillowcases for Halloween and use as a trick-or-treating bag. Lay old sheets onto tables when working with messy substances. Take an old sheet outside, fill with balls, and use like a parachute toy to bounce the balls around.

Milk Jugs- Cut the tops off to use as scoopers in pet food or kitty litter, to distribute soil in the garden, or scoop water from buckets to water outside plants. Cut diagonally to use as a toilet-brush holder. After cutting most of the top part off, use as a planter for seedlings or herb gardens. Poke holes in lid and take on trips to wash sticky hands and faces. Fill with water and freeze for camping or hiking trips. Drop some marbles or pennies in for a loud, fun shaker for a baby or toddler.

Plastic Food Tubs- Wash these out and use them to store leftovers or ingredients. Keep small craft items like beads and buttons organized in these tubs. Fill with small candies as a treat tub for the kids. Fill with snacks and put in lunch boxes or take on outings. Use to carry laundry detergent on trips to the laundromat. Collect a bunch and give the kids their new building blocks.

Plastic Bags- Stuff a package with left over bags to pad the box. Use them to organize accessories for a special outfit; just hang the bag over the hanger to keep it all together. Take to the pool or beach and store wet swimsuits in them for the ride home. Use them to put snack cakes and chips in on a long car ride. Line small garbage cans with them to catch spills or broken items in can. Hang on the doorknob in the winter for kids to toss ice covered mittens and hats in.

Baby Food Jars- Use to store small crafts items. Fill with paint or glue during craft projects. Pop small holes into the lid, fill with salt and pepper and take on picnics. Use for science experiments like how to grow crystals, or how to make butter from cream.

Styrofoam Food Trays- Reuse them by cleaning well and packing them for outings as plates. Use as paint or glue trays. Take cookie cutters and cut out shapes for simple, fun toddler puzzles. Clean well and use them as snack trays for kids’ parties. Cut and crop to make pretend front and back covers of a hardcover book. Use them to hold beads, beans, or coins when doing projects.

Empty Soda Bottles and Cans- Fill two-liter bottles with sand to use as bowling pins, or clean out aluminum cans for the same thing. Reuse large bottles to water plants. Have a crunching game with cans to flatten them out. Reuse 20oz. bottles to fill with water or juice on outings. You can also fill the smaller bottles with water, freeze and use to keep food cold on picnics.

These are just some ideas of what you can do with everyday items. Not all of these ideas will keep you from throwing the items away eventually, but they will allow you to extend the life of items that have finished their original purpose. As you begin to reuse and recycle everyday items, new ideas will come to you for other items around your house. Eventually you may find that you can’t stand to throw anything away that hasn’t been used, reused, and reused some more.