Uses for Disposable Containers
November 23, 2009 by Karen Weideman
Filed under Reusing and Recycling
You know all those plastic containers that you get with your yogurt, sour cream, pudding, and margarine? Rather than chunking them into the trash can and sending them to the landfill, consider some of these uses.
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
We save them for when we’re painting. Perfect for holding a good amount of paint.
I forgot about that. When my hubby touches up a room with paint, he usually uses an old yogurt or take-out soup container that has a lid. Then he can just put the lid back on have again for more touch ups. With kids, we know we’ll be touching up the walls a lot.