1)  Holding leftovers - Let these become your storage containers for leftovers.  Be sure to grab a permanent marker and some tape or something to label them.  Otherwise, you might forget about your leftovers and think it’s yogurt.

2)  Take to a potluck - These are great for sending food home with others.  Be sure to take extras to Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.  You don’t have to worry about getting back your containers.

3)  Donate them - Take them to a soup kitchen or to your church.  Every few months, I clean out my disposable collection and take them to my church’s fellowship hall.  Our fellowship hall stays busy with baby showers, birthday parties, and other get togethers.  It doesn’t take long for them to disappear.

4)  Organizing - Sometimes you’ll find disposable containers being used in our garage for storing and organizing screws, paneling nails, and other household items.  The boxes and flimsy plastic containers that they’re sold in quickly break and can leave you with a mess.  The disposable containers provide an inexpensive storage solution.

5)  Storing a similar homemade item - Recently, I ran out of vanilla Starbucks syrup that I use to make my own caramel macchiatos.  I decided to become even more frugal by making my own syrup.  I’m so glad I didn’t throw away my syrup bottle as it is great for storing my homemade version.  I’ve also heard of people saving egg cartons for their friends who have chickens.

6)  Crafts - When I was teaching, I would use frosting containers for many things . I have covered them with felt and let the kids make piggy banks.  Frosting containers and peanut butter containers are great for storing glitter, ribbon, safety pins, and other craft supplies.  One of my favorite uses for the frosting containers is using them with young children for “painting” on glue.

7)  Plant starters - If you have some plant cuttings that you want to root, disposable containers will make quick and inexpensive pots for your plants.

How can you reuse disposable containers?

image (c) Karen Weideman

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

All the current information about plastics, BPA, chemicals, and contaminants is enough to make a parent’s head spin.  Lunchbots helps take away the worry and confusion by offering 100% stainless steel containers.  LunchBots provide an environmentally friendly alternative to disposable containers and they go a step further to eliminate all plastics from its containers.  Finally, there is a stainless steel alternative with a lid.  The LunchBots containers are easy to clean, sturdy, and provide a great storage container for lunches and diaper bags. 

LunchBots are available in two styles, both measuring 6.25″ x 4.5″ x 1.75″.  The LunchBots Uno is perfect for packing sandwiches, sushi, burritos, or snacks. The LunchBots Duo has a handy divider for crackers and cheese, fruits and nuts, and more.  LunchBots also provide a fundraising opportunity for schools, which I certainly would prefer to overpriced candy and gift wrap. 

LunchBots is offering free shipping to our Thrifty Mommy readers (US addresses only).  Simply use the code FREESHIP09. 

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Recently, I wrote about how Lowe’s Foods is allowing their customers to purchase reusable grocery bags with their green points.  And not only that, they’re giving 50 green points for each reusable bag you bring back in to use. 

Two weeks ago, I purchased one more reusable bag for 1000 green points.  I also received 250 green points because I brought in 5 bags.  Now I have 6 bags of my own!  I’m so excited!!!  I have enough bags now that I haven’t had to get any plastic!  Hooray!  Don’t worry, I still have a large enough stash of the plastic ones at the house in case I need them.

All this talk of reusable bags has been a great conversation piece at Thrifty Mommy.  We had a poll to see who was using the bags, who wanted more bags, and who wasn’t giving up their plastic bag ways.  Here are the results.

Do you have reusable bags that you take to the grocery store?

36% - Yes, I have a lot of them and they are awesome!

28% - Yes, but I’d like a few more.

26% - No, but I’d really like to try them.

10% - No way, I’m sticking with plastic.

According to the results, most of you have reusable bags or would like to use them.  Thanks for working to keep those crazy little bags out of the landfills.

What do you think of the results?

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

I was at Lowe’s Foods the other day and noticed they have Earth Saver bags for .99 or you can get them for free by spending your green points.  I think the cost of each bag (with green points) was 1200 points.

I purchased one bag with my green points and then I found out that for each bag you use, Lowe’s Foods will give you 50 points per bag each time you use it!!!! 

I was surprised with how big and sturdy the green bag was.  It wasn’t one of those cheap bags where the seams come apart after you’ve used it a few times.  I was really impressed with how large this bag was, in comparison with other bags I’ve seen.  This one stands up on it’s own and it holds 2-3 times the amount of plastic grocery bags.

The next time I went to Lowe’s, I purchased another reusable bag.  Since I used both bags, I earned another 100 points.  I think I will purchase another bag or two the next time I shop there.  I probably need 5-6 bags so that I can quit using these silly plastic bags.  Speaking of which, I have another huge load of them to recycle.  I’m so sick of these thin plastic bags.  Hopefully, I won’t have to use them much longer.

Another great thing about these bags is that you can use them for other things besides groceries.  I’m using mine this week on a trip to my parent’s house.  They’re holding dvds, snacks, toys, and other things we need.  As I said before, I like them because they stand up on their own.  No more digging through tote bags in the car that are all flopped over.  I can put these in the seat or the floor and we can see what we need.

Have you tried these bags?  What do you think of them?

For more Works-for-Me Wednesday ideas, check out Rocks in My Dryer.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy