Whether you want to try and leave a cleaner world or you don’t like how much trash you produce, take a look at these tips and see what you can do to stay green. There are lots of options here, so even if some of them aren’t feasible, there are plenty of others that should work out.
Repurpose Old Albums
So you've inherited a big collection of classic records from a dearly departed family member. Problem is, you don't own a turntable, and it's not like the records are classics, either – schlock from the seventies and easy listening from the sixties. No thanks. Still, that doesn't mean you have to throw them away.
With a little bit of crafty consideration, you could make those albums into side tables that add more than just a wooden color to the room. They have a glorious retro style to them, and they don't seem to be that much work in case you want to make your own.
Give a Mirror a Special Look
Tons of people had a little train set they played around with while they were young, but it isn't such a hot commodity anymore. If you aren't able to find a tot that wants to build his or her own rail yard, that doesn't mean you have to just toss it.
This picture gives one such example of a clever crafter taking old wood and train parts and shaping them around a mirror. Not only does this reduce waste, but it gives the mirror an incredibly unique work. You might need to shape a little bit of wood, but it can be done.
Tiny Retro Table Lamps
Cassette tapes had their heyday, but that time is long gone. Even as record albums make a comeback, nobody is expecting these things to have a similar resurgence. Thanks to digital downloads and better physical methods, cassettes are filling garbage cans. But there's something better to do with them!
With a little bit of work, you can forge them into lamps that not only add light to your home but also have a one-of-a-kind look. It might take some glue, and you'll need a bulb and bulb stand, but changing a treasured tape into something new will feel great.
Building Block Planters
Building blocks – Legos, Duplo, and all the other varieties – are some of the most popular toys for youngins, but they do eventually lose their allure. Don't throw them out – turn them upside-down and pack them full of dirt. They make perfect little planters for an indoor herb garden, windowsill flowers, or cute little cacti.
Instead of a boring black plastic planter, add a little bit of color using the bright shades that these blocks often feature. Even better, since you can make any shape you want, you won't have a problem fitting them where you need your plants.
Reuse Old Corks
Popping corks off of a fresh bottle of wine is one of life's great joys, but what happens to all those corks once you're done? Most of the time, they go straight into the trash. However, there are lots of ways to reuse them to keep them out of landfills — art projects, home décor, and useful options like this cork memo board!
All you'll need are the corks, a board, and some glue, and you're ready to pin messages into soft, porous wood. Just like you always wanted, we're sure. There are plenty of other options, as well.
Old Cans Can Become Anything
Do you do the can-can? Now you can. We go through lots of aluminum cans in our day-to-day lives, and if you're sick of seeing them fill up your recycling bin, there are some ways to reuse them. A little bit of fabric lining and some funky, colorful designs on the outside, and you have a unique and handy pen and pencil holder.
Like to throw the bones at your gaming/D&D table? Add thicker material on the inside for a handy dice cup that makes casting lightning bolts easy – 8d6 is a lot of dice.
Finally – Pockets
We all have an old pair of jeans lying around somewhere. There are tons of ways to use them without just throwing them out, but here's one you might not have been considering: make them into a purse or bag. You'll need to sharpen your seamstress skills, but with a little bit of work, you can create a purse that is exactly what you need.
The proper pockets, the proper strap length, the proper width – it's all up to you. Even better, the pockets on the outside are ready-made to carry small items that you want to grab at a moment's notice.
It's Time to Get Spooky with Crayons
If you have a little guy or gal in the home, there's a one hundred percent chance you have a set of crayons somewhere. Probably a couple. There are also probably some crayons that have reached the end of their usable life – they've become little more than broken nubs.
Thankfully, that wax is easy to melt down and turn into something else. Grab a few molds to make colorful pumpkins like this picture, or lots of other options. Not just for Halloween, either – any occasion is right for crayon shapes.
Hand-Made Christmas Ornaments
You probably get a lot of packages from Amazon – who doesn't – but maybe you feel bad about having to throw away all the packaging material. Most of it just isn't useful, but the mylar shipping envelopes still have a few uses. Use it to wrap around a shape to create a shiny, sparkling ornament for your Christmas tree.
You're probably getting stuff delivered for presents anyway – why not leave some time for crafting? Make a letter or any other shape with a solid interior wrapped in this reflective material for a tree ornament that means a little bit more.
Quilters Know to Never Throw Away
One enterprising quilter decided a Christmas present to a mother-in-law requires only the best quilting scraps, but it's clear this turned out to be a winner of a gift. All those little bits and pieces turned into eyes, a nose, a collar, and ear shadows.
If you're a long-time worker with fabric (or, really, anything that uses small pieces like lumber), you've probably gotten into the habit of keeping a box full of all the extras. Who knows when you might need them to create a picture of a wirehair fox terrier for a gift?
Giving Strays a Home
Old coolers aren't the kind of thing many people throw away, but they still have a lifespan. Seals go bad, and cracks can appear. There are also those that are used for storing samples of medical material, which means they aren't fit to contain any food. What to do?
Well, do what this handy grandfather did, and turn them into the perfect little homes for stray cats around the neighborhood. Maybe you have a furry friend of your own who needs a little bit of private time – it's sure to love this. A little bit of crafty work, and you'll have a home, and you'll have reduced waste.
Replace the Heads of Toothbrushes
Brushing your teeth once or twice a day is one of the things that billions of people around the world consider critical to their health, but even if you're using the bare minimum of two brushes a year, that's still a regular amount of waste that's going into landfills. While bristles will eventually come apart and stop being useful, there are still ways to make things easier on the planet.
There are now toothbrushes that have removable and replaceable heads. So while you will still have to get rid of the bristles (though there are probably some ways to reuse those as well), you don't have to worry about the handle going into the trash.
Not Just the Comics Page Anymore
Wrapping paper, while fancy, can also be expensive. There's also a lot of it being wasted every year, so plenty of people and stores have figured out ways to reduce this waste. This shopping bag even says right on the front that it makes for great wrapping paper, and we'd have to agree.
It's a good pick for birthdays, the holiday season, or any other event, thanks to the simple, attractive design on the paper. Really, anything that you get as far as brown paper bags can be repurposed into wrapping paper.
Grow Your Own Sponges
Now, this one is quite unexpected. It turns out that you can grow loofahs (also known as luffas), dry them out, and use them as sponges to wash dishes. You might think a loofah isn't a plant, but the wrinkly white thing hanging in your shower actually borrowed the name from this plant.
It's a member of the pumpkin, gourd, and squash family, related to the cucumber. They're fully biodegradable, and just a few plants will give you enough material to last you for months to years, depending on how much washing you do. They also have lots of potassium. Bonus.
Make Use of Old Lids AND Old Frames
Picked up a couple of picture frames from the second-hand store? Nice. They'll look perfect in the hallway. But, uh-oh, they don't have any hanging hardware on the back. “What to do?” you ask yourself, as you eat cold pinto beans straight out of the can.
Well, the pull tabs that a lot of aluminum cans come with nowadays can double as hanging hardware, and they're easy to attach. You'll have to flatten the lids down first, but then you can just glue them onto the back of the frames as we see here. Simple, easy, and zero waste.
Shipping Made Greener
If you're the kind of person that does a lot of shipping, whether a small business or a cottage industry, you're probably looking for ways to cut down on costs. Do double-duty by reducing plastic waste at the same time by grabbing discarded plastic, packing the goods inside, and sealing it shut with a sewing machine.
You can cut and shape the bags to be big or small enough, and then all you'll need is some thread. Really, a sewing machine is going to be your best friend if you want to save waste and reuse old stuff.
Protecting the Birds as You Graduate
There's been a trend for a while that takes place during grad photos – you grab a handful of glitter or confetti, cup it, and blow it in a big, sparkly shower while the cameras are flashing. Sure, it looks good, but it does also leave a big pile of glitter around your feet. If you're taking the photos outside, it's not like you're going to vacuum it up – it just gets left there. This person decided to take another route.
She used a big double-handful of birdseed for the image instead of something that will stay there forever. Not only is it biodegradable, but the birds will get a snack as well.
Keep Yourself Clean and Green
Reducing your waste and making something out of the refuse that we all have lying around requires some crafty skills. However, this example doesn't look like it would be all that difficult – all you'd need is some second-hand chopsticks, a little bit of glue, and some red thread to give it a pop of color, and voila. You have your very own homemade soap dish.
People make their bedrooms and living rooms original, but what about their showers? It's often forgotten. You can reduce waste and give your shower more than just soap scum.
Leftovers. Obviously.
Home-cooking your food is a good way to reduce the waste you make – you're able to make just as much as you need. But it offers another bonus as well: leftovers! Cold pizza seems to taste better than the warm stuff, and heating something up for lunch is way more fun than making something new.
But be sure to keep a close eye on those leftovers. If you don't eat them quickly enough, they can spoil and create food waste, perhaps the worst kind of waste. Tackle the leftovers before you start cooking any other big meals to keep things cleaner and save money on food.
Keeping Things Fresh the DIY Way
All out of toothpaste? Don't fret – use a few things that you already have at home to make some of your own. While it might not be recommended by nine out of ten dentists, you can mix coconut oil and baking soda into something that will whiten your teeth and get rid of the bacteria waiting to create cavities in your mouth.
You don't have to worry about creating more plastic waste with toothpaste tubes, and you can even add things like flavors to make the unique toothpaste that you'll love the most.
Growing Your Own Food
If you're used to buying your food from the grocery store, you might be thinking that you aren't wasting too much stuff. But still, there are better ways to do it. Think about planting a few apple trees in your yard – it might take a little bit of time, but eventually, you could have some wonderful fruits to eat and share with friends.
Create a whole garden, and there will be some months when you might not even want to go to the grocery store – there's enough to eat at home, and you can't let it go bad!
Create a Home Herb Garden
Who doesn't love a little bit of extra flavor in their meals? Thyme, rosemary, basil, oregano – good stuff. But if you want to have enough, you need to buy those little containers, and the stuff can go bad if you don't use it fast enough.
We're trying to reduce our waste here, so it's time to switch tactics. Why not start a little herb garden? You'll need planters – you can use mason jars as seen here, a little bit of dirt, some seeds, and a little bit of knowledge. That fresh flavor will make your meals seem even better.
Second-Hand Tech
Picking up something for the home office is a good time, but does the world really need all that plastic? Here's something to try: take a look at shops or sites that feature second-hand laptops, monitors, and other equipment. They take old pieces, refurbish them, and sell them back to the public.
Not only does this mean that you'll be able to get stuff for reduced prices, but it also keeps that stuff out of the landfill. There's always the chance that second-hand stuff will turn a lemon, but those times are few and far between.
Glorious, Glorious Composting
Food waste isn't the worst kind of waste, but there are still ways for you to make things easier. Instead of chucking all your orange peels, coffee grounds, eggshells, and other inedible pieces into the garbage, why not compost? The stuff breaks down into nutrients that help the surrounding area flourish.
There are plenty of ways to do it, and it isn't that hard to make your own composting bin out of stuff you might just have lying around. Doing this will reduce the amount of garbage you produce, make sure the place where you live is full of life, and keep your meals greener.
Swap Out Old Bulbs
No doubt you're aware of this one, but just in case there's somebody reading who isn't aware, great leaps and bounds have been made in light bulb tech in the last few decades. The old version, compact fluorescent bulbs, give off a lot of heat for the amount of power they suck up.
Newer LED light bulbs use far less energy to create more light – exactly what they should be doing. The newer bulbs also tend to last a lot longer, meaning a lower total cost to replace. Really, there's no downside to doing this.
Make Good Use of Free Water
Watching the rain come down while inside with a nice hot cup of coffee seems to be one of the constant joys of life. If you have a big yard, or a garden, or you just like that water feature, you probably enjoy having mother nature water the place, but you can do more.
Collect rainwater in a bucket or set up a water barrel right under the gutter. The next time it's hot out, don't run the hose – grab water from the barrel to conserve water while you're keeping your home surrounded by healthy plants.
Hit up the Farmer's Market
If you have a farmer's market near you that you aren't taking advantage of, you're really missing out. Not only can you get fresh fruits and veggies straight from the source, but there are tons of other products available – homemade soap, clothing, and even things like shampoo.
No longer do you have to rely on grocery stores for your greens – this stuff is usually better and healthier to eat, and there's a good chance you can find a deal on it, as well. You're saving time, saving money, and saving the planet every time you shop at a farmer's market.
Get Clean Your Way
If you want something fun to do at home and don't want to worry about all the packaging and chemicals that come from soaps and shampoos, why not make your own? It might not be the easiest thing in the world, but with a little bit of chemical knowledge, some time, and a few attempts, you might soon be able to clean yourself with a clearer conscience.
Even better, this means you can custom-make the soap with your favorite scents and colors. Once word gets out that you are undergoing this, however, don't be surprised if friends start asking if you have any extra.
You Could Always Use More Pillows
Have an old sweatshirt that's been hanging around for too long? You might not want to get rid of it – it has sentimental value, or it just has that nice smell that you couldn't possibly get rid of. But there are too many holes, or it's the wrong size or something like that. Well, you could always turn it into a pillow!
Bust out the sewing needles, use an old pillow that needs a freshening up, and start measuring. You can even include things like the zipper or the pockets for an extra touch of uniqueness.
Keep Old Paint Cans Around
Step one for this sort of thing is to paint your entire house. We know, easy peasy. But, once you have some empty paint cans, it's easy to turn them into planters for plants that are small or large. You can decorate them however you like, including painting them, which is a nice bit of irony.
Some steel cans might leak rusty water, so keep an eye out for that, but there are lots of other ways to keep using old paint cans that are lying around instead of tossing them out.
Staying Hydrated
So you had a fun weekend, and now you have a couple of alcohol bottles lying around, waiting to be recycled. Don't throw those things away just yet – keep a few around as simple water bottles. While you might get some strange looks when people see you taking pulls from vodka bottles while you're taking a walk, a little chat will clear everything up. Look, they're also conversation starters!
You can make more friends! Just make sure to give the bottles a nice, thorough washing before you use them for this second-hand option. We don't want to have any mishaps on our account.
Keep Juice Ready for Smoothies
A little bit of açaí juice? Don't mind if we do. If you don't drink that sort of thing fast enough, however, it might start to creep closer and closer to the expiration date. In that case, do what this smart juice drinker did: Pour the remaining juice into ziplock bags (they used silicone bags, but we don't know if that's required) and put it in the freezer.
Then, any time you want a healthy smoothie, you can pull one of the bags out and add it to your blender. Smoothies often need ice anyway, so this will even speed up the creation process.
Keep Things Organized With Medicine Bottles
If you're the kind of person that finds himself or herself taking lots of pills for one reason or another, you might be wondering what you can do to stop throwing out all the old bottles. We all have a bunch of these lying around from some ailment or condition. If you're the crafty type, there's a clear solution.
Stock your old pill bottles full of beads, thread, eyelets, needles, and anything else that you want to keep organized. Tape on some quick and easy labels, and you'll be ready to start creating. Even better, you can take pill bottles from friends to reduce waste even further.
Reuse Old Bed Sheets
While they don't go through the same rough-and-tumble life as some other things, even bed sheets will wear out after enough time has passed. Don't just throw them away – give them new life by trimming them down into placemats, tablecloths, and napkins. You can size them yourself, add details with your sewing skills, and end up with entire sets, all from just one sheet.
There are plenty of ways to make these additions to your table collection unique and memorable – as long as you wash them first. And if you don't, don't let your guests know.
Don't Let Fruit Go to Waste
Fruits are wonderful, but they might not always stick around for very long. If you find your fruit starting to shrivel and turn overripe, don't toss it – turn it into preserves. This gives you a couple of advantages, such as easier freezing, a longer shelf life, and jars of yummy fruity goodness that you can give away as gifts.
Throw preserves into smoothies for bonus vitamins, or put them on toast for a quick meal. We hear that you can even add stuff like this to ice cream to make peach (for example) flavored dairy treats.
Make Your Own “Amber” Bottle
There are some liquids that require a certain low level of light, or chemical processes might start to begin. Stuff like hydrogen peroxide, for example, has to be in a blacked-out bottle. Instead of buying a new amber bottle, you can make something like this, using a clear bottle, an old sock, and a rubber band.
You'll want to make sure that it's blocking enough light, but it can certainly work in a pinch for something that isn't mission-critical. Thicker socks mean blocking more light, so if you have a wool sock that is missing its partner, you don't need to throw it out just yet.
Keep Your Favorite Bottles Around
Everybody loves a bit of bubbly, but having to throw all those bottles out is a drain on the environment. If there are some bottles that you really like the look of, keep them for use in your home kitchen. Grab a couple of nozzles from a home goods store for a few bucks and fill them with your oils of choice.
Now you can decorate your countertop space with form AND function, and you don't have to fill up the recycling bin as quickly. That's a win, win, win, as long as we're counting correctly.
A Little Scary but a Lot to Save
Candles are a great addition to any home, but eventually, they start to get down to the bottom and become hard to use. Do what this person did and make a terrifying homemade candle out of all your old candles.
For the wick, add a bit of cotton fabric from a shirt you don't wear anymore, and you have something totally unique. And maybe that's a good thing. We're sure that the look will improve with practice, but the first couple of candles will have to be for when the guests go home. Or a Halloween party.
Scrunch up Some T-Shirts
Out of scrunchies? That's not good. Have a couple of old t-shirts lying around that you've been meaning to get rid of? Time to check off two boxes with one task and make your own scrunchies. It's best to have a sewing machine for this job, but it seems to be pretty easy to do, even if you're a beginner without all the proper tools.
There are plenty of tutorials online that you can find, but scrunchies are pretty simple – you don't even need to worry much about proper measurements; just go with the flow.
Double-Dipping Your Water Use
We all use a lot of water in our day-to-day lives – washing our hands, flushing, showering, washing dishes, etc. – so finding ways to reduce that amount can only be a good thing. This person came up with the idea of giving the plants a bath after the kids have gotten clean – the plants don't care where it's been.
Succulents are a good choice for this since they do better with bottom watering and don't need as much. You should also be sure to wash the tub carefully to get rid of any harmful microorganisms.
No More Plastic Bags in Landfills
In what might be one of the craziest ways to reduce waste on this list, this person has found a way to take old plastic bags and weave them into rope. What is she going to use that rope for? Beats us, but there's no denying it's better for the environment than just leaving those plastic bags lying around.
Plastic bags take a super long time to degrade, and we use a lot of them every year. You could then, maybe, weave the rope into a chic bag. That's turning the world on its head.
Another Use for Old Sheets
We all have some old sheets or towels lying around. If you're still not sure what to do with them, why not help your plants grow? Just take a sheet, cut it into narrow strips, and suddenly you have some helpful supports for plants that need to take a load off or like to climb.
Tomatoes are always a good choice for your personal garden, but there are lots of fruits and veggies that need a little bit of help. Not only that, you can add a bit of color, and they might even work as deer defense if you have trouble with that, too.
Put Your Feet Up
Even if you aren't a sewer – one who sews – you probably have some old clothing lying around that you don't want to wear anymore. Don't just throw it out; repurpose it into something that will give you comfort for years to come. Sew it around a DIY pouf to give guests a break when they stop by your place.
Not only can you use the old fabric for the exterior, but the interior can also be second-hand. Fill it up with socks, hoodies, jeans, and all the other clothes you don't want anymore. It's light, soft, and a great addition to any room.
Old Spice Jars Come in Handy
If you're going on a trip and have a lot of medication to take, you have some decisions to make. Do you empty out the pill bottles and fill them with each day's allotment? What about one of those organizers? Little plastic baggies?
Here's another option if you have the space. Get old spice jars, wash them out, and put your pills for each day inside. It's a lot simpler, and you might just have enough of them lying around. You won't have to worry about emptying pill bottles, and they have enough space for big medication collections.
Certainly Don't Need Them Anymore
Is there anything more thrilling than opening up a wrapped gift for your birthday or Christmas? If you want to reduce the amount of wrapping paper you have to buy every year, there are plenty of ways to go about it. This pic is of a few gifts that are wrapped in school notes from a previous semester.
Just think about it – how often do you look back at your notes from old school classes? Ever? Have you done it even once? Take a tip from this note-taking gal and use that paper for something other than taking up space in the landfill.
Making Your Own Cat Space
If you have a cat, you're probably aware that they like having things to climb. It's been shown that vertical space makes a cat feel a lot happier, keeps them from getting bored, and keeps them active. You might want to build your own cat tree, but there are free trees all over the place outside.
You might have to do a little hunting, but you should be able to find an appropriate branch without too much effort. There's plenty of work to do after that, but soon enough, you'll have something that costs a lot less and is bound to be a conversation piece.
Water That Pulls Double Duty
Heh, duty. This is a smart idea that not only saves space but reduces water use as well. The sink is built into the toilet's tank, and using the sink fills the tank for the next flush. It's not like you need the bowl water to be clean – it certainly isn't going to end up that way.
Building something like this might be out of the range of most people's abilities, but if you can find a way to add one, it's bound to help your water bill at the very least.
Self-Made Toys
Kids need toys to learn about how the world works, to build motor skills, and to keep themselves occupied so Mom and Dad can get some peace once in a while. But all those toys come with a big plastic cost, so why not put together some of your own?
You could make a little kiddy oven using a couple of cardboard boxes, bottle caps, and CDs you were planning on throwing away. The CD stovetop is a clear front-runner for the best part of this setup. You could make almost anything you put your mind to, and the kids will barely care at all.
Less Plastic Silverware
If you spend your days working at a place with a cafeteria, like a hospital, you might go through a whole lot of plastic silverware during your week. Here's a quick and easy way to reduce that waste – take a little zippered bag and put metal, washable silverware inside it.
You'll have to take them home and wash them yourself, but even if you just throw them in the dishwasher once you step in the door, you're saving that much plastic. Day after day, shift after shift, meal after meal, you're saving plastic and reducing the amount of garbage that's being added to the world.
Automatic Watering System
What could be better than an automatic watering machine? Begin by cutting off the bottom of a plastic bottle and then poking or drilling holes into the bottle's lid and neck. Bury the bottle upside down near a plant so that the holes are about four inches (10cm) below the surface.
All you need to do is refill the bottle every few days. Plants that need regular hydration at their roots, like tomatoes and squash, will love this watering hack. Additionally, you may reduce the pace at which the water drains through the bottle by removing the top and putting a tight-fitting piece of sponge inside the bottle's neck.
Miniature Greenhouses
Bottles make excellent small greenhouses for protecting newly transplanted seedlings from dropping temperatures and severe winds - great for acclimating them to the outdoors or kicking off the new growing season. Additionally, they will deter birds. Peel the label off a transparent plastic bottle, snip off the bottom, and place it over seedlings or young plants.
Narrower bottles are ideal for individual plants, and you can keep them from blowing away by pressing them down into the earth. Bigger bottle sizes, such as five liters, are ideal for clusters of seedlings. Another tip is to leave the lid off for ventilation unless it is chilly.
Broken Eggshells
Next time you eat hardboiled eggs or omelets, rinse the shells off and throw them in the garden. This can help to deter small pests from crawling near enough to eat your plants. Eggshells are completely organic and biodegradable, so you don’t have to worry about harming the environment, like most pesticides do, or cleaning them up in the future.
Use an open container to store all of your eggshells so you can crush tons at once and have a more effective amount. Just make sure you allow them to dry fully before use to avoid any unpleasant smells.
Coffee Grounds: A Natural Fertilizer
You probably just toss your used coffee grounds in the trash, as most people do, right? Well, instead of wasting them, why not recycle them and use them in your garden for natural compost? Coffee grounds are loaded with nutrients and can help fertilize your plants if you mix a bit in with your soil.
Adding used coffee grounds to your regular soil can do wonders for your garden. It can help good microorganisms to thrive while attracting plant-healthy earthworms and deterring insects that will ruin the plants, such as snails. Adding coffee grounds also helps with aeration and water retention.
Use Plastic Bottles to Keep Plants Hydrated
This tip is not only great for ensuring that your plants get enough water, but it’s also a terrific way to recycle and reuse old plastic bottles. Save up your old water or soda bottles and poke holes all over the plastic, aside from the neck. Holes should be about two inches apart.
After you’ve planted your bottles, each time you water your garden and/or fill them manually with the pot, the water in the bottles will empty slowly, keeping your plants consistently hydrated for a longer period of time. This is a great hack for someone who doesn’t get the chance to water their garden as much as they’d like.
Recycled Wine Bottles
Great news for all of you weekly (okay, daily) wine drinkers out there! There’s a way to reuse those bottles and improve the lives of the plants in your garden. This hack is great for someone who goes out of town on the weekends and doesn’t have anyone close to coming to take care of their plants for them!
To bring this hack to life, you only need your old wine bottle and its corks. Use a sharp object to poke a small hole in the cork, fill the bottle with water, stuff the cork back inside, flip the bottle upside down and place it deep down in the soil. Voilà! Your very own wine bottle watering station.
A Hanger Hack That Will Save You Space
A problem we all face sometimes when shopping for new clothes is running out of closet space. If you don’t feel like going through your clothes and getting rid of things you don’t need, you can save some space by hanging two articles of clothing on each hanger.
Just remove the tab from a can of soda and place it on the neck of a hanger through one of the holes. That adds a place to hang another hanger from the bottom hole, and you have two pieces of clothes that take up the space of one!
Banana Peels = Compost
Banana peels are handy to have around to use as a natural fertilizer for your garden. They contain vitamins and nutrients, like calcium and potassium, which help plants grow strong and healthy.
But it isn’t just about using the banana peel that makes this hack work – it’s how you use it. Do it wrong, and you’ll get the opposite effect. You want to be sure to cut your peels into small pieces and toss them onto your compost pile. Avoid burying the pieces into the soil since they need air to do their job correctly, and if you smother them, it won’t work.
The Water in the Pot
Next time you boil vegetables, or eggs, don’t just get rid of the water right away when you’re done. Instead, let the water cool and let your plants drink it. The nutrients leftover in the water will give your plants an extra boost, and they’ll love you for it.
This hack helps you to cut back on waste while delivering essential vitamins to your garden. It’s best to keep up the fertilization process in your garden for the first 45 days after you’ve planted veggies and herbs since it’s when they need the nutrients most. Of course, you can do it more if you wish since it isn’t like the vegetable water can hurt them.
Use the Funnies to Kill Weeds
Here’s an easy and effective way to kill those pesky weeds. If you don’t already have some old newspapers, start saving up a stack instead of recycling them this week. Simply open the sections and lay the newspaper on top of areas where weeds are growing to snuff them out and prevent any new ones from popping up.
Of course, you didn’t think you would just leave your yard covered in newspapers, right? Once you’ve got all of your paper laid down, cover it with mulch. Repeat this hack in every weed-prone area of the garden. This trick works by suffocating the weeds, both after they’ve already started to grow and before they get a chance to.
Empty Cans for the Win
You won’t ever have to toss out your empty cans again or recycle them week after week. Instead, upcycle them, using them as an integral part of your garden’s development. After you’re done drinking each can, completely rinse them out and put them upside down on a paper towel until dry.
This hack can help to cut down on the amount of soil you need to use. It's especially helpful for anyone that’s trying to keep a gorgeous garden on a tight budget. Lay the empty cans in the bottom of your planter to take up space, alternating with some plastic pots and/or fruit boxes if you have them. Then, cover the cans with a piece of landscape fabric and cover them with soil.
Milk Jug Watering Can
Watering cans are important to have in any garden, to keep plants hydrated when it’s not possible to reach them with a hose and when you’re in an area that doesn’t get a consistent amount of rain. Or, of course, if your garden is indoors. These milk jug watering cans will make an excellent addition to your “garsenal.”
To make these bad boys, simply use a sharp object to poke several small holes in the cap of your milk jug. Then, fill the jug with water, screw the cap back on, and you’ve got yourself a recyclable watering can.
The Magic Can Garden
Take a look at what you can do with your old cans! That’s right, next time you polish off a 12-pack of Dr. Pepper, rinse the cans out and try this adorable hack for your mini-garden. Using a can opener, carefully remove the lid in its entirety.
Use a small, sharp object to poke a few holes in the bottom of the can. Then, fill the can with soil and seedlings and watch the magic happen.
Egg Containers for Earrings
You throw out so many egg containers, which is a crying shame when you think about why we created this article in the first place. You might as well save at least one of those cartons for storage, right?
This hack is super easy and will help you save money on an expensive jewelry organizer. Now you probably won't wonder where that one pair of earrings are, or struggle to get them untangled all the time.
DIY Shoe Rack
If you need storage space for your shoes, then you can always use old plastic bottles. Simply cut off the end with a utility knife and stick them together with hot glue.
This way, they won't fall all over the place and will keep your shoes all in one place in a neat setup. Place your makeshift cabinet by your front door, in your closet, or wherever you usually keep your shoes.
Keep Your Sponge Fresh With a Binder Clip
Holding your dish sponges with binder clips is a great way to keep them on your sink without taking up so much space. And, as an added bonus, this method of storage helps air-dry them quickly—which is more sanitary and keeps bacteria from building up on the sponge.
It should also be noted that this wonderful method of air-drying your sponges, and keeping them easy to access, is dirt cheap. Binder clips cost next to nothing, and, chances are, you already have more than a few of them in your home anyway!
Use Baby Food Jars for Spices
Anyone who has an infant or a toddler in the house can tell you that they are in no way having a shortage of baby food jars. If you find you do not like the idea of throwing away a perfectly good jar, let alone the fact of how they just sit in the landfills for all of eternity, then this hack is perfect for you.
Take those clean baby food jars, and use them as a storage container for your spices in your spice rack. By using the same jars for different spices, you will have a nice and uniform look, plus you will be able to see what jar contains which spice.
Wrap an Elastic Band Around a Soap Dispenser
Why? You might ask yourselves. Well, this is a great way to be careful with your soap usage. It's a good way to not be wasteful. Just wrap a rubber band around your soap dispenser, so you don't squeeze all your soap away.
This will also save you some good money because you won't be running to the store every week for a new bottle.
Patch Up Windowscreen Holes With Nail Polish
Be aware that this is for smaller holes and cracks. If you have a massive hole in your window screen, you might need to replace it, but for minor ones, you can just use clear nail polish.
Just paint the crack with some transparent nail polish, and it will be as good as new in no time. Just like you do with runny nylon stockings.
Store Plastic Bags in Wet Wipes Container
Accumulative plastic bags can really get in the way. You can bunch it up and stuff it in a drawer, but that is never very pleasing to the eyes. What can one do with all these excess bags? For starters, you can start recycling, or you can also stop taking store bags back with you. But if you already have them, we have a solution.
If you have a bunch of bags that you don't know where to put, you can take an old container of disinfecting wipes and place them in there. The pull-and-grab system is super convenient, and you can store it wherever you like.
Use Shower Curtain Hooks as Hangers
We’ve all had the experience of coming back from a shopping trip with some great new clothes, only to discover that we don’t have any free hangers to put them on. This can be aggravating, especially when you take into account that you just came in and don’t want to go out again just to buy some more.
Instead, you can just use some shower curtain hooks! They don’t take up a lot of space in your closet and are perfect for clothes that have loops, such as jackets or jeans.
Conserve Water by Doing This to Your Toilet
Saving water is more important than ever. Environmentally conscious households can do more than just shorten the lengths of their showers. They can also make sure that less water is used every time they flush the toilet.
Instead of flushing less, which is kind of gross, all you have to do is put a jar full of water or a couple of bricks in the back of your toilet tank. When you flush, the tank will fill up with less water because of the space that the bricks take up.
Sharpen Your Knives Using Ceramic
Dull knives are a real no-no in the kitchen. They make it much harder to chop food and are actually more likely to cause injury than sharp knives. If you don’t feel like throwing knives away or splurging on a knife sharpener, you can instead use a household item that you already have in your cupboard.
The bottom of a ceramic bowl or mug is a good surface to sharpen your blade on, but if you are going to try this hack at home, please do so with caution!
Use a Tissue Box as a Holder for Plastic Bags
It seems like every household has its own secret stash of never-ending plastic bags. They are good for picking up after your dog, lining garbage cans, and a million other things, but are usually an unsightly mess in and of themselves.
You can upcycle an empty tissue box by putting plastic bags inside and turning them into bag holders. You put the bags in with the loops sticking up and fold the end of each new bag into the loops. That way, each time you take out a bag, another one will already be waiting for you!
Old Tubes Make a Good Home for Cables
If there is a drawer in your house that you prefer not to open because it is full of unused cords and cables, this is the hack for you. Obviously, what you want is to be able to find the cable you need in an organized and efficient manner, but how can you tell which cords are which?
Fold your cords neatly and place them inside an empty tube of toilet paper or paper towels cut down to size. Don’t forget to write which kind of cord is in which tube, or else you will be back at square one.
Use Your Beverage Dispenser as a Detergent Dispenser
Is there a beverage dispenser somewhere in your house? If there is, it’s most likely dusty, unused, and doesn't do much but take up space around your house. If you are not the kind of person who hosts parties all the time, you probably barely use that old thing.
You can repurpose your unused dispenser and turn it into a laundry soap dispenser. Fill it with liquid detergent, and you can make sure you use the right amount for every wash. Your laundry area will even look better.
Use a Pringles Can to Store Spaghetti
Spaghetti noodles usually come in plastic bags that are almost impossible to reclose once you have opened them. If you only cook some of the noodles, the noodles that are left in the bag become a bit stale and also have a tendency to start falling out into your pantry.
Next time you are snacking on some Pringles, keep the empty can, clean it out, and it becomes the perfect container for noodles. It is just the right size, has a lid, and will save you the trouble and expense of getting a special container.
Shoe Organizers Aren’t Just for Shoes
Everybody knows those plastic shoe organizers that hang on the back of closet doors with pockets for all your pairs of flat shoes. Here’s a groundbreaking thought, you can use them for storing things that are not shoes!
A shoe organizer can help you get your pantry in order. You can use it to store the smaller items and to see everything you have in a single glance. They can also be a great place to store all the different cords and plugs that can be found everywhere around the house.
Fresh Herbs Can Be Stored in the Freezer
If you love to cook, then you probably purchase fresh herbs fairly often. The problem is that it seems almost impossible to use the entire amount you buy at the supermarket before it goes bad. Instead of throwing them in the trash, you can put them in the freezer!
As soon as you get home from the farmer’s market or pick your favorite herbs from your own garden, simply chop them up, put them in an ice cube tray with some olive oil, and have some seasoning ready for every occasion.
Organize Your Closet With Pot Lid Racks
Storage solutions may have been designed for your kitchen, but that doesn’t mean they have to stay there. A pot lid rack is the storage solution your cluttered closet didn’t know it needed.
You can use one of these racks to organize your clutches, wallets, and even small purses that used to take up space and create a big mess in your closet. This way, when you are getting dressed, you have all your choices laid out for you, and all you need to do is pick one.