This is the beginning of a list of items that can be re-used in some way or another instead of heading into the trash, these are the few that I have come across lately




empty coffee cans


empty coffee jars( I use these after washed out for my dehydrated foods that are in a sandwich bag) like my orange peels(powder)

cookie trays( wash out gently can be use to start baby seedlings)

cookie bags( plastic lined and can be used for holding certain items)

empty bread and buns bags

empty kleenex boxs( to hold bread and buns or collected bags in)credits to tamitik aka zeker for this idea

newspapers

egg containers

milk bags Canada

foil from cigerette packages( use for making indoor greenhouse,once enough saved)

cig packages

2 litre pop bottles

small plastic water bottles( these bottles plastic is to thin for re-storing water,I am going to use them to make the reflective side of my indoor green house...by cutting them in half (will show pics when done)

empty laundry detergent bottles(can fill with water and mark with and x with permenant black majic marker) for SHTF

empty bleach bottles( same as above)

Cardboard..nice and thick can be used in a pinch to insulate windows or drafty spots

twist ties/zip ties ( and those plastic ties off of the bread and buns bags)

toilet rolls( cut in half fold bottoms and can be used to strt seedlings,saving dryer lint and wax ends fire starters)

scott towel rolls

empty frozen food bags(saving mine to scoop doggie poop) veggie,french fries etc

meat trays(wash good) using these to place under long planters that have drainage in them to catch excess water




That is what I have so far for the list please fell free to add your list or items that save for post SHTF and what you may use the items for...

Those glass jars that dip come in become our drinking glasses. We buy lots of cheese dip, I use it in my nacho recipe. The white cheese dip is also good with powdered, dehydrated spinach mixed in it. The kids like the jars a lot better than glasses you buy, they're thick and nice and just the right size and hard to turn over and spill. We also use empty alfredo sauce jars for drinking glasses.
Plastic drinking glasses had started to smell funny, I don't know how they're making them these days but we quit using them.
We use empty toilet paper rolls to put cords through to keep the cats from chewing them, they like to chew DS charger cords and phone cords so we just thread them through the little cardboard rolls.

You make me think too much, Kelee! (Sucking up... )


My mother was a child of the Great Depression and WWII. When I was younger, we lived frugally...she helped me make many of my own toys. I did also have a homesteading paternal grandmother who never met anything worth throwing away, but I'll just focus on kid's stuff! (Some suggestions can be used by adults, too.)


Any used food container that does not have sharp edges (I.E. cans) can be re-used for children's play kitchens. They are 10X sturdier than the fake boxes of cereal you buy at the toy store.

Butter, cream cheese, or sour cream tubs: Can be used to organize or store small toys or craft items, or to hold water for washing brushes when painting.

Shoe boxes: Can be used for organization, or can be turned into a mailbox (remember Valentine's day?), a doll bed or other furniture for dolls, a car, or even a dollhouse for smaller dolls.

Boxes that once held bars of soap or cream cheese: As shoe boxes, only on a smaller scale. They are already shaped like small pirate chests.

worn clothing or sewing scraps: can be kept for making doll clothing, or to make curtains and bedding for doll houses.

Homework: An older child's school papers can be re-used as drawing paper for small children.

Rubber bands: Re-use to hold together crayons, pencils, and paint brushes to make art box organization easier. Also excellent for a home-made sling-shot to chase your younger siblings around the house with.

The cotton that comes in pill bottles: Makes great stuffing for doll beds and pillows.

Large boxes, packing boxes: My brother and I always made forts and rocket ships out of these.

And finally, crayons. scraps of crayons too small to be used by the child can be saved. You can melt them together to make a larger crayon, or they can even be used for adult candle making or other projects needing wax.

MomSquirrel now you have me thinking

when we were kids(yes many moons ago) when we sharpened our crayons we would save the shavings and every fall we would go out and collect leaves of all sorts of colors( I have even done this with my kids). My mother would then cut us some wax paper pieces and then set the iron up on its lowest setting...

we would then cut window boxs out of left over pieces of anything any shape or size(wax paper would be cut to these sizes...

take one piece of wax paper and lay leaves out in any pattern sprinkle some of the crayon shavings around and then place a second same size piece of wax paper over top..iron full piece very carefully ..insert wax paper sheets into shadow box..(shadow box being a frame for your wax paper)..the iron melts the crayon wax and makes a neat design with leaves as a pretty picture..we would then display these in our front windows

another thing I saved was some insulation sheet that I had...

In the house I rented few years back the front windows always had a draft throught the winter..

so I saved this blue 1/4-1/2 inch sheet insulation

I wrapped some pre-cut pieces(to the size of windows) with Christmas wrapping paper and inserted into the window spaces..they of course had bows and ribbons on them..I also use that door seal tape around the edges to keep a firm grip in the window...so they were nice and pretty to look at( this idea can cause a bit of condensation around the window area,but was not a big deal I would remove them every 2-3 weeks for couple of hours to cut down on that problem)

bubble wrap---save your bubble wrap. it makes terrific window insulation in the winter. spritz the inside window with water and gently press the bubble wrap sheets bubble side down on the glass.

it will stop cold air coming in, is clear so will let light in, can be gently pulled off, rolled up and stored for next year. if it comes loose, just spritz the window with water again.
yeah, it wont look pretty but you will be amazed how much warmer your house is in the winter if you do this.

every winter i cover all our windows with bubble wrap, and even the inside of storm doors for doors we dont use in the winter, it cut our heating bill in half the first year i did it. we heat with a wood stove only.

I'm trying to figure out what to do with my tobacco cans.
They're metal, @6" tall, 4" in diameter with plastic lids

Has to be something I can do with them

store spare screws,nails

n95 masks
elastic bands
take some cottin balls and wipe them in vasoline put a dozen or so in a plastic baggie, twist tie up and save in coffee can,

label each can as they are filled

nice thing about those empty coffee cans is they will stack nicelt in a space once they are filled with small prep items..

oh store spare matches in one

ok so here it is 2am...kids woke me up pulling out the couch because we have ants in the basement...

we have tried unsuccessfully to get rid of them, by cleaning all the carpets in the basement and yup sucking them up with vacuum...

so what does this have to do with multi use items...I finally found borax at one of stores couple of weeks back and picked up a box( stuff is dear is was 6.00 for the box)

So I used my handy dandy saved margarine containers to make up the solution for killing the ants...

borax,sugar,water and some peanut butter....few holes in the lid and I taped lid down so cats cannot get inside...lets hope this works....


since it is 2am and I really only have no brain cells awake I only did up one container for the basement and will do a few more up to place around outside once the sun comes up

Wow, you guys are as big of "string savers" as I am. Just hope I live long enough to use one half of it!

I save all close able plastic containers. I dabble with lead, cast bullets, old brass cases, etc and store all excess in marked plastic containers.

Bob

the tobacco cans have many uses in the workshop and kitchen (mouse proof)

I watched my grandmother use pantyhose and kneehighs for everything from filtering coffee in her old drip coffee pot and tying up her tomato plants.

She also used medicine prescription containers to hold her sewing needles, toothpicks, coins, bandaids and everything else she could for the glove compartment of their truck. I guess you'd say she had her own version of the emergency vehicle kit.

Our old tumble dryer became a steel rodent proof store when it died and is now filled with bags of flour and rice.

Same sort of thing on a larger footing for our old chest freezer.

Our 2 tier fridge freezer became a tool store.

Old quilts stuff cushions or get turned into draught proof curtains during the winter months.

Toilet toll centres become seed starters.

Old chocolate containers get too live in the shed all labelled up.

And plenty more but can't think at the moment.

I don't throw it out unless I have to. But there's a limit as to how much stuff I'll keep especially with this new half-size place I moved into. I'm going to be tossing a lot more in the next few weeks! There's just NO room.

There is no such thing as a coffee-can anymore. It's coffee-plastic and THEY have done something to my beloved coffee; it just doesn't taste the same anymore. And I know because I have some old coffee-cans with screws in them and that old coffee smells great, not like this chemically sprayed genetically modified stuff of today.

So I drink tea. Always drank it just more now. Can't find loose tea anymore though.

I use small coffee cans, in the home they hold 1st layer of heat and light,
long burn candles, the ones I use are 10 hour type, from http://www.campmor.com
so called pink lady candles don't last long enough, and drip.
Put this 1st can where you can find it in total darkness.
Matches and spare wicks for lamps and kerosene heaters.

2nd can, cans of Sterno, matches and matching sheet metal stove for emergency warmth
and heating ready to eat foods, such as canned stews, etc.
or heating water or snow to reconstitute freeze dried foods.

3rd can same as 2nd, but it/they go into cars for use on the road.