Save it Sunday #1 – 20 Repurpose Recycle Hacks

Save It Sunday – Today Let’s Repurpose Recycle and Save

Welcome to our new feature on the Wilderness Wife, Save It Sunday. Each Sunday I’ll be doing a post on ways to save – Save some Money, Save the Planet, Save Some Time. We all need to save something.  To start things off we will be talking about some ideas that do all three.  Some of these life hacks will help save the planet (in a small way), some will help save some money, some will save some time and a few do all 3. We would love to have you share your ideas in the comment section below. This is a non-political endeavor.  These ideas will please those on the side of the environmentalists who feel we are squandering our resources and polluting the planet.  These will please those who are campaigning on the side of things like wage stagnation because we can make those smaller paychecks go further. And none of these ideas alone done by one person will have a huge impact but when more people do them they will make an impact so share the posts as the series progresses. So many products today are not made to last the way they were 50 years ago. We are in a disposable is easier mentality.  Eventually that will catch up with us so why not try to do little things here and there. And in the process we’ll be teaching our children to be more frugal and not so wasteful

20 Useful Repurpose Recycle Hacks to Organize your Life, Cut Down on Waste, and Save a little Money

We Americans can be incredibly wasteful without even realizing it. According to recent studies between 2 and 5% of what we throw away each day could be reused.  It is estimated that the American public throws away enough rubbish every day to fill more than 63,000 garbage trucks. The average American throws away 56 tons of trash per year. So don’t throw it away if there is a way to get a little more use out of it.  Let’s find some second uses for ordinary items that we quickly throw in the trash every day. Repurpose! Recycle!

1. From Toilet to TV – Don’t throw away those empty toilet paper tubes. You can use them to organize the electric cords behind you entertainment center. Just thread cords through the tubes to keep the cords untangled. You can write on the tube with a Sharpie marking which cord gores to which device. Makes things so much easier when you are looking for the right cord and plug.
2. Those same empty toilet paper tubes make a great organizer for all those “scrunchies” that seem to end up everywhere around the house. Wrap the “scrunchies” around the tubes and they will stay organized in a drawer. They’ll be easy and quick to find when you need them to make a ponytail.                                                                                                     
3. I guess I am just cheap by nature but why spend money on wastebasket liners. They will only get thrown out anyway. Save your money by taking the plastic bags from the dry cleaners and turn them into trash bags by tying a knot by the hanger hole. Voila! Waste basket lined and a penny or two saved.
4. We all end up with dirty, stained oven mitts. Instead of throwing them away, send them to the garage where they are great to use as a washing mitt for your car.
5. Those plastic lids from your coffee cans can find a new life when you use them as a washable and greener replacement for parchment paper when you freeze a stack of hamburger patties. Or you can use them to set things on when you’re heating food in the microwave.
6. Every time I reorder my checks, I get a new checkbook cover that I often don’t need. I don’t’ throw it away but instead keep it to organize coupons and receipts that used to end up floating around in my purse.
7. When one of those glass jar scented candles gets down to the point that you lose the wick in the bottom it can become a great pincushion. Place the cool candle in a plastic grocery bag and crack the glass off with a hammer. Carefully take out the solid disk of wax and you have a pincushion. The wax from the candle will even make the pins easier to slide through fabric.
8. What to do with all those plastic grocery bags! I know they encourage us to bring our own canvas totes but sometimes I don’t have enough totes to handle my weekly grocery purchases so I end up with the dreaded plastic grocery bag. Use them to line your wastebaskets or even better use them to save you time on cold icy mornings in the winter. The night before wrap your car side mirrors and windshield wipers in them to save time on ice removal on a snowy winter morning.                                                                                        
9. Don’t throw away old breath mint containers. They are great for storing pins, beads, tacks, nails, etc . Label them with a sharpie so you know what is inside.
10. Rinse out those empty liter soda bottles and use them to place in your knee-high boots so you won’t get wrinkles from them folding over.
11. Old ketchup, salad dressing and mustard squeeze bottles can be cleaned out and repurposed into bath time or swimming pool toys for the kids. And they are great for rinsing the shampoo out of the kids hair at bath time.
12. Don’t throw away that old plastic shower curtain but recycle it into a drop cloth for your remodeling and painting projects.
13. Old torn pantyhose can get one more use. They are great as dust rags or to polish your shoes and furniture. They polish things better than a normal cloth.
14. Repurpose those old baby wipes and household disinfectant wipes containers to become perfect holders for the kids chunky markers.
15. That old gallon milk jug can be recycled into a watering can. Clean it out thoroughly; poke or drill a series of holes on the opposite side from the handle just below the spout; fill with water; and put the lid back on. Now you can go water your plants with your new watering can.
16. Don’t throw away those old garlic and onion skins. There is even a use for them. Throw them on the fire when grilling as you cook steaks and burgers. They will add to the flavor.
17. Those plastic shower caps that they give you for free when you stay at a hotel can be very helpful when you pack to come home. Don’t throw them away. Use them to put your extra shoes in to keep the rest of the clothes in your suitcase clean.
18. Don’t throw away those plastic fillable Easter eggs after Easter is over. Get another use out of them by putting lunch snacks like goldfish crackers, Skittles, M&Ms in them making them easier to pack and protecting them better than a plastic sandwich bag.
19. Even dryer lint has another use left in it. It’s very combustible which makes it great to use as kindling for a campfire or your fireplace.
20. Old toothbrushes are great to use to clean hard to reach places like the grout between tiles or around the base of faucets. You can even use them to remove silk from corn on the cob before you cook the ears.

Waste not, want not as the old saying goes. I get a good feeling inside when I extend the life of anything to get a little more use out of it.

Do you have any favorite recycle repurpose ideas? Share them with us in the comment section below. You don’t have to be a fanatic to help save our planet and a few dollars at the same time.