What To Do With All That Junk

Old shoes There are often shoe donation bins in grocery store parking lots. Sometimes you can donate them to thrift stores also. Consider these before you throw them away.

Empty glass jars Wash lid and jar well and strip off the label. Let dry. Use to store: Dried herbs, dried spices, homemade herbal pills (yes, it is possible; coffee grinder+dried herbs+pill maker+empty pill capsules).

Old ratty towels Cut these up into rags, and optionally sew their edges, to use for cleaning outdoor areas

Luggage Use to store fabric items, or books, or anything when you are moving. Can be used like a fancier cardboard box.

Hazardous waste disposal Find the nearest place that accepts these things. Put all this in a box and drive it out there when you can: expired medications, expired herbicides and pesticides, expired cleaning products, expired chemicals, batteries, burned out lightbulbs.

Empty essential oil bottles Rinse them out with vodka and let them dry. Fill them with essential oil blends mixed with carrier oil.

Those ridiculous political campaign signs people stick in their yards Storage boxes

Empty kleenex box Cram plastic bags in there.

Wine corks Plant labels Shine Your Light Blog Bath mat CraftyNest Stamps DIYnCrafts

Empty plastic supplement containers Wash and rinse well and let dry. Decorate the outside to make it clear that this isn't just an empty pill container. Colorful duct tape and sharpie is the quickest option here. Use as storage container for the following: Hair ties, D&D dice, pens and pencils, money, mini first-aid kit, plastic bags, extra socks (store in the car).

Small plastic lid Use as a drip catcher when you're cooking so the liquid from the spoon or whatever doesn't get all over the counter

Empty milk cartons Make a bird feeder Amanda Medlin or a wallet Instructables

Empty tic-tac containers Wash, strip off the labels, dry. Fill with spices, label, and take on trips, while traveling, while camping, etc.

Soda can tabs Use to double-hang wire clothes hangers. As seen here: DIY N Crafts

Empty pharmaceutical pill containers Wash well with soap and water and let dry. Use as a convenient water-resistant container for matches (tear off the striking part and put that in there too), crayons, electronics components, cotton balls soaked with vaseline to use as fire starters, seeds (throw in a desiccant packet with them), earbuds, a mini sewing kit, safety pins, toll fare container. Credit goes here: Instructables

Food cans, standard size Rinse them off, strip off the label, wrap any sharp edge with duct tape (if it has a sharp edge), and decorate with anything. Paint, washi tape, colorful duct tape, nail polish, whatever. Use to store pens and pencils, office supplies, nails and screws of various sizes.

Aluminum drink cans Make them into pen holders Instructables Make them into cookie cutters Instructables Instructables

Plastic drink bottles Choose a size you like and then stick two empty ones in whatever you carry around the most. Refill as needed. I love Ito En green tea bottles for this purpose because they are extra durable and a convenient size. Also green tea is awesome.

Bed spring Use as a trellis for plants. Or, hitch it to the back of a pickup truck, and weight it down with cinderblocks, then drag it behind the truck to smooth out worn down dirt roads.

Old totally worn-out T-shirts Cut into rags and save in a rag bag for use in other fabric projects.

Worn-out kitchen sponge Cut off a corner to designate these as utility sponges, then thoroughly dry these out in the sun, save them, and use them for heavy-duty tasks like cleaning the car tires, cleaning the trash can, and other similar things

Plastic bread clips Use these to prevent earbud tangling and for earbud storage. Use these to differentiate the end of a roll of tape, like duct tape or something.

Yogurt containers or red solo cups Can be used as a water cup for painting. Or drill or stab holes in the bottom, and start seeds in them. When they are large enough, gently squeeze the bottom and sides, let the plant and root ball gently slide out by putting it upside down at a diagonal while supporting the stalk and top of the dirt with your hand, and plant or re-pot it immediately. To reuse, wash in soapy water, rinse, then soak in bleach water, and they’ll be ready to use next spring season. Yogurt containers with lids are also great for storing screws and nails.

CD organizer or photo album organizer You can store seed packets in these

Used coffee grounds Sprinkle on the dirt in your garden to boost its acidity and nitrogen content. Works better as fertilizer when combined with rinsed-out dried eggshells and dried bananas, pulverized in a food processor.

Leftover stale green or oolong tea Add to the mop bucket

Old pantyhose Tie plants to trellises and supports with this. Use with duct tape to temporarily fix a hole in a window screen. Use the legs to store onions by putting an onion in the pantyhose, tying a knot over it, and so on until you get to the top. Ball it up and buff shoes with it.

Organic citrus peels – orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit Peel it all off in one go, so it hangs in a spiral, pierce the top and hang it up with a string to dry it. Or just put the pieces on a screen or a dry surface somewhere until they dry. Once dry, store in glass jars and use for tea, flavoring, potpourri and sachets. Or put the peels in mason jars full of distilled vinegar, let sit for a month, and then transfer the liquid to a spray bottle for all-purpose cleaning. Dilute with an equal part of water.

Cat food cans, sardine cans, tuna cans Wrap a sponge around a chopstick with a couple of rubber bands and use that to clean these out with hot soapy water. Rinse well, let dry, then wrap the sharp end with duct tape. Fill with electronics components, beads, buttons, screws, nails, or other hobby items.

Small metal tins, like mint tins Pour homemade salve, lip balm, and other such products in these. Or make an emergency candle in one.

Tea box Tape or glue the inside together to strengthen it. To strengthen it further cover it with duct tape. Store buttons, ribbons, craft items, candles, and the like in these. Or cut off the lids and use to organize junk drawers and cabinets.

Empty danish butter cookie tins Store sewing supplies, seed packets, or buttons in these. If storing seeds, throw in some desiccant packets too. But label the tin if you want to prevent people from being disappointed. Or, use the containers to store other cookies, or crackers, or snacks. Or fill with various holiday foods and gift to somebody. Or family pictures. Come to think of it, these tins are so durable and handy that you can store any cool thing in them. Don't toss them. At the very least give yours to someone who treasures them.

Chopsticks Tie candle wick to this to hold it in place when making homemade candles. Or make into homemade knitting needles Instructables

Rancid olive oil Use as wood polish

Milk cartons Cut off the tops, rinse them out well, let dry, use as soap molds

Cereal box Cut off one side and use as a basket to corral all the junk mail that inevitably collects

Wrapping paper Save it up from when you get gifts and use it either to wrap other gifts or to wrap containers, such as that junk mail holder

Waterproof shipping mailers After opening, put a strip of duct tape on one end and use them to carry sensitive documents such as rent checks, paychecks, and money orders from place to place. Protects them from the rain. Keep a couple in your car and in a bag on you.

Old newspaper Use to pack fragile items for shipping or moving. Use to cover the floor when you're planning on making some kind of mess. Also they make great tinder for starting fires. Use the comics section to wrap gifts.

Old magazines Literal clip art. Great for collages and art projects. To make a collage that lasts for decades start with a durable waterproof surface and cover each part of the collage with clear packing tape. Keep that out of the sun. Also, you can cut images out of the magazines and stick them on the wall with loops of scotch tape. Or, affix images from the magazines to some of the reused stuff above to make it look better. Also helpful for dressing up letters and greeting cards.

Cardstock egg cartons Store jewelry in them. Or store all the miscellaneous screws and pieces that come off repair projects in them. Or use as artist palette.

Large metal cans, such as coffee cans, tomato sauce cans, etc. Put rocks or sand in the bottom to weight it down. Wrap any sharp inner edge with duct tape. Use as desk organizer, shop tool organizer, sewing organizer, art supply organizer, or makeup organizer.

Plastic coffee container Put a toilet paper roll in there and stick that in the trunk of your car for emergencies. Or cover with construction paper and label, then fill with art, craft, or handyman supplies of your choice. Nails and screws in different sizes, for instance, or tubes of paint. Whatever. These things are durable.

Empty matchbox Use as a guitar pick holder. Or use as tinder.

Miscellaneous parts from organic grocery produce Often you can plant part of a grocery store food and it will regrow. Good examples include ginger, garlic, green onion bottoms, onion bottoms, pineapple bottoms, and avocado pits. There are tutorials online for all of these and more.

Cardboard mailing box or shoebox Miscellaneous closet storage, or line with wax paper and use as a soap mold. Or use a bunch of toilet paper rolls to organize and store cords in there.

Worn-out or old T-shirts T-shirt grocery bags; use a strong T-shirt for these OGT By Jillee Rag rugs Little House Living or T-shirt quilts Instructables or homemade yarn for doing whatever with Instructables such as this t-shirt rug Instructables

Rusty crummy tools, cast-iron pots, and such Clean off the rust with electrolysis and then some steel wool Instructables

Chip bags or juice pouches Fuse them together and sew them into projects Wallet Lunch bag Trench coat

Plastic bags Well, making them into plarn for crochet projects is kind of classic at this point. Shopping bag You can also use them as filler when packing stuff to get moved or shipped, to prevent fragile items from breaking.

List of Go Green tips; also includes tips for recycling and getting rid of just about anything Witches and Sandwiches