Don’t toss those milk jugs just yet
photo by Paul Mayne
Channel your inner MacGyver. Why throw out common household items if they can be reused? Recycling is wonderful. Maybe you recycle what you can and then move on. But if you can reuse your ordinary stuff, that’s even better. Finding a second use for items such as milk jugs is simple. That’s why I’m here. And you thought they were only good for watering plants, and as bird feeders, seed starters and funnels.
HOLIDAY OR PARTY LIGHTS: Save a few or save a lot of jugs and fill them with sand to weigh them down. Using a string of 25 multicolor C9 lights, insert every other bulb on the string into the top opening of each jug. Or use low-wattage strings of lights (smaller bulbs), slit the side of each jug and insert approximately 30 lights per jug. Thread lights through the slit on each jug. It makes festive party lights. You can use a black permanent marker and acrylic paints to draw faces on the milk jugs, too. If you don’t want to use electric lights, insert a votive candle into your jug, which should be partially filled with sand.
YARN HOLDER: Cut off the top of a jug to the point where a skein or ball of yarn can fit through. Place the yarn inside. Pull the end of the yarn through the handle. When you’re working with the yarn, it won’t get tangled. If you have a cat, this holder is kitty-proof.
PLASTIC BAG HOLDER: Haven’t converted to cloth bags yet? Cut a hole or slit the side of a plastic milk jug and store your plastic grocery bags.
DRYER-LINT HOLDER: Place a jug with a hole cut out of the side in the laundry room. Each time you empty your lint trap, place the dryer lint into your plastic jug.
BEACH TOYS: Cut a jug in half. One side is a scoop, and the other side is a bucket or sand mold. It can work for snow, too.
OUTDOOR HAND-WASHING: Poke a small hole in the bottom of a jug. Block the hole with a golf tee. Fill with water and hang the jug in a handy spot. Remove the golf tee to release a stream of water. You can attach soap to the handle of the jug by placing it in a spare nylon and tying on the nylon. It’s great for a quick wash-up if the kids have been playing in the sandbox.
SEPARATOR: Cut out a few circles or squares from jugs, and use them as meat-patty dividers when making burgers to store in the freezer.
BATHROOM USE: Use a plastic jug with a section cut out to hold your toilet brush or plunger.
HOT WATER: In the summer, fill a few and let them heat up outside in the sun. You can use the water to hand-wash dishes.
KITCHEN ORGANIZERS: Cut the tops of jugs until you’re left with a shallow container. It can be used on pantry and refrigerator shelves to organize. You can fill a jug with rice or popcorn for easy dispensing. A spare jug makes a shatterproof change jar, too.
How do you reuse plastic milk jugs?
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It’s always hard for me to decide which is best. recycling, or re-using. Recycling requires energy, to melt materials (and lose part of it in the process) into liquid to molt into new material. And re-using stops you from purchasing new materials to solve your problems. I do have trouble deciding which is best! Because I think, well, would it be better if this was melted down in it’s pure form, before I mess it up into something un-metlable (as in the example of childrens recycled craft books, where they take pure materials that COULD be melted and glue crap all over them making them UNrecycleable)
I guess it’s best to re-use as long as you can, and THEN recycle. Just keep in mind, that you don’t alter the item so much that it then becomes “unrecycleable”
GREAT site, and GREAT ideas! but I don’t drink enough milk, I have to buy the small paper carton! hehe
Here in Canada, we get our milk in one liter bags! Plastic bags, the toughest little bags you ever saw. I use them for sorting nails and other small hardware. My wife uses them for freezer bags. We love them. To get the milk from them, we put them in pouring containers, bag and all and snip the tip of one corner of the bag. Neat eh! Uses less plastic in the first place, and transports very compact and in a smaller space than jugs or cartons. Practical eh!
Uncle B, My husband is from Quebec, so I’ve seen them.
Here’s a thread on my forums that talks about reusing milk in liter bags.
http://www.frugalvillage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102170
Thanks for visiting.
I cut off the top of the gallon milk containers, poked holes in the bottom for drainage, and used them for seed starters. They work well at retaining moisture and protecting the young plants for critters.
I am totally confused about the dryer lint holder. Is dryer lint recyclable? Is it supposed to be used for something else? It must have some sort of use for it to be saved.
Thanks
It can be a handy temporary storage until you toss it, or yes, you can reuse it. It can go into your compost bin.
(From a previous column I wrote) Dryer lint firestarters: I stuff my dryer lint into an empty toilet-paper cardboard tube. I melt my leftover candle wax and pour it into both ends to cover where the lint is exposed. I let it harden and then use it whenever I start a fire in my fireplace or when camping. — Debbie, e-mail
Note from Sara: Store them in a plastic ice-cream tub.
Pet nesting material, lint clay and crafts http://www.planetpals.com/dryer_lint_crafts.html
Thank you
It makes much more sense now.
Kristin
I like the idea of using it for dryer lint. Better containment than using a trash bag/bin.
I don’t know why I never thought of using them for change jars either.
My favorite is the outdoor hand washing idea–very creative!
Use them for Halloween Candy Containers. You can cut a hole in the top side of the milk container big enough to stick candy in. Have your child decorate the outside of the container and you can use it to go Trick or Treating with!
I’ve used them for Easter Baskets and I have cut and curled green construction paper for the bottom of the basket and cut a big hole in the side of the container and stuffed it with all kinds of treats. I decorated the outside with stickers and a big bow and they looked great!
Use it for Christmas baskets where you can stuff all kinds of trinkets and candy. Again decorate the outside with stickers and put a Christmas bow around the top of the spout. They look great!
LC,
I remember making an Easter bunny with one when I was a kid. I like the Christmas basket idea. I think I could cut a door flap on the side, so it still closes and hide treats inside. Then cover the door with a bow. My kids couldn’t see through it to know what is inside.
Thanks for visiting.
Jesse: In Nova Scotia, Canada, we have a pretty intense recycling system. It doesn’t matter how chopped up a milk jug is; if it’s clean, it goes in the recycling. So you can re-use AND recycle!
I love the dishwater heat-up idea! Great for saving energy (and money).
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Sara Noel
Frugal Living expert
Owner of Frugal Village, LLC & Me Time Media.
My column Frugal Living is available daily & syndicated by United Media's Newspaper Enterprise Association.
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