Re-using ideas

[Guest guest]

Some interesting ideas in here (some silly too, lol.)Cyndi

 

 

 

Some ideas for re-using things we already have, as not to buy new, and not to create more waste. Wax Paper: Save the wax paper bags from cereal and crackers. Next time you have a recipe that calls for meat to be thin/pounded, place the meat into one of the bags to pound it. This will save you money and also make easier clean up.Room Deodorizer: Just a 1/2 cup of white vinegar will neutralize odors in a room for about a month.Wrapping: For wrapping gifts for children (or anyone for that matter), I use the funnies papers from the Sunday newspaper. They are colorful and fun for the kids to read. Old bananas: Save those old bananas that have turned dark spotted, even black as long as they are not soured. Put two peeled and mashed into any freezer container and store in freezer. They are perfect for you banana bread and muffins.Brown sugar: When your brown sugar gets hard, do not throw it out. Put a slice of bread in the container and it is as soft as when you bought it.Making Soap Last 50% Longer: When you buy your favorite soap, open both ends of each bar. Soap should dry for 30 days and it will last 50% longer while in use. As it is drying, place in the linen closet, dresser drawer, or wherever, it acts as a sachet.Recycled Gift Wrap: Dont waste remnants of wrapping paper. I use a shredder and shred all the remnants of my wrapping paper and documents with personal information. I use the shreddings to stuff packages and it also makes great stuffing when using gift bags.No More Electric Clothes Dryer: Stop using your electric clothes dryer! Install 2 tension shower curtain rods above your tub, parallel to your current shower curtain rod, and hang all your lightweight clothes (on plastic hangers) on these rods.Recycling Paper towel rolls: You can use empty paper towel rolls to ship certain items in through the mail. makes a handy container and you can decorate it for a kid or an adult. I have fun with this.Ants: No need to buy expensive sprays to get rid of ants, any kind of ants, just put down grits. They carry it back to their home and as they eat it, it swells up in their tummies and "poof" they are gone.To kill mosquitos/cockroaches easily, just fill a clean spray-bottle with water and a squeeze of dish detergent, then shake. Spray the bugs, this will quickly kill them. This is very inexpensive, and environmentaly safe.Fresher Longer: To help keep your vegetables fresher, longer, place a couple of paper towels on the bottom of the vegtable bin in the refrigerator. Also if you buy ready to eat salads that come in plastic bags, place a paper towel in the bag. They keep fresher longer, because the paper towel absorbs the excess moisture. (Then let the papertowels dry out and re-use them)Dishwasher drying: When the rinse cycle has stopped in the dishwasher, we open the door. The steam humidifies our house and quickly dries the dishes. We also save the heat from the hot water and don't use electricity to dry the dishes.AC /furnace saver: Dry with a towel inside the tub after a bath or shower. Dripping on your bathroom rug will make your air conditioner or heater run longer because of the humidity. Throw rugs are thicker than the towels.Nylon money saver: Soak your nylons and pantyhose in cold water and vinegar. This keeps the nylons from getting runs and also removes odor. I prefer apple vinegar, but both work.Don't Throw away that milk: Use up your older milk: make your own yogurt if you have a quart left, or some pudding if you have a cup or more left. Don't forget to fill the jug up with water and feed the plants, they love the residual milk.Lasting Mascara: To refresh dry mascara, remove the cap with the brush, place upright in microwave covered with a napkin, and heat for about 10 seconds.Hairdryer Lint Screens Cleaned: Extend the life of your hairdryer by cleaning the lint from the screen with an old toothbrush.Soap Simplicity: Ever frustrated by the little piece of soap when the bar is almost finished? Simply take the old bar and a new one and get them both wet. Next, press/squeeze them tightly together and then let them dry for a few hours. No waste and no hassle.Water savings: Take an empty half gallon milk jug and fill it with water and place it in the back of your toilet water tank. You will save over half your water bill. Your toilet flushing uses more water than most other items in your house.Energy bill: When washing clothes, especially jeans, give an extra spin cycle. This will make them more dry and cut down on your time in the dryer. It's cut my bill and dryer use/hanging time significantly.Vacuum belt/ Old tires: If your vacuum cleaner belt breaks while you are in the middle of vacuuming you can substitute a piece of bicycle tire tube for the vacuum belt. This is a great tip if you have a useless tire sitting around.Shoepots: I always wondered what to do with rain boots. The best way I 've learned to reuse them without throwing them away is to grow small plants or herbs in them. I have different sizes. They save a lot on spending on new flowerpots.Cottage cheese: After opening cottage cheese, applesauce and sour cream, place container upside down in refrigerator. It forms a vacuum and lasts twice as long.Environmentally friendly Stain Away: For arm pit stains on white t-shirts or dress shirts, pre-treat stain with white vinegar and stains will disappear. Leaves clothes smelling fresh, too.Electricity: Use a power strip, and make sure anything associated with that power strip is turned off when leaving for the day.Unclog drains: Instead of buying Draino or other products, pour two cups of baking powder in a large pot of boiling water. Once boiling pour down clogged drain. It uncloggs immediately.Home made hair gel: For a homemade hair gel, try dissolving one package of unflavored gelatin into two cups of hot water. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator.Control that roll: Before placing a roll of toilet tissue on the holder, squish it flat. This controls the amount of toilet paper that comes off by stopping each time it comes around to the bent part. This saves a lot of tissue instead of the toilet paper free-rolling off the roll.Vinegar rinse: Use vinegar as a rinse in your washing machine to cut down on the fabric softener additives to the environment. Vinegar in the rinse water helps balance the pH after having had bleach in the wash cycle.Stains on plasticware: Don't spend money on plastic cleaners. Set your plasticware (tupperware, rubbermaid, etc) outside so the sun beams down on it. The stains come out and you didn't spend any money or pollute the environment!Toothpaste tightwad: Use the handle of your toothbrush to squeeze every drop of toothpaste from the tube. Place tube on a countertop and firmly press toothbrush handle from bottom of the tube toward cap. No more messy tube rolling, no more wasted toothpaste!Stale chips/dry cookies: Have a half bag of stale chips? Place on cookie sheet and cook in oven a few minutes. Also have some cookies that have hardened? Place a slice of white bread in with them and you will have soft, moist cookies again.Toilet Brick: We can save our fresh water. One way is to drill and flush with unpurified water. Or put in new low volume toilets. That's complicated. But if you put a four pound brick in each toilet tank, you will save 1/2 gallon of water with each flush. Easy.Watering: While waiting for the water to get warm at the faucet, fill your watering can. You will save a lot of water and you will water your plants.EVER Fresh Veggies: Take plastic off celery and wash with cold water, shake off water, and wrap in aluminum foil. Celery will last three times longer, up to 3 months.Longer Lasting Cheese: Cheese stored in plastic wrapping will mold faster than cheese stored in cheese cloth or foil. I wrap it in foil, label with a marker, and place it in a large bag. Cheeses last longer and are all in one place (no more digging to find that last stub).Easy way to save (money and over consumerism): Don't shop if you are hungry. If you are shopping for yourself or things for your home, ask yourself honestly if you need it. I usually walk around with the things in my cart for a few extra minutes reflecting on that question.Printer Paper: To save on printer paper, use the blank back of homework, notices, or junk mail.Frozen wonders: I keep empty soda 2-liter bottles filled with water in my freezer, one to a shelf. If the electricity should go off, it helps save all your food and when the family goes on a trip or picnic, we throw them into the cooler. No buying ice and everything stays cold.Bread Pudding: Any time you have extra toast that didn't get eaten or bread that gets stale before eaten, place them in a Ziploc bag and put them in the freezer. When you have enough saved, use them to make bread pudding. It is great with caramel or meringue on top.Newspaper Bags: I reuse newspaper bags for doggie pick-up bags. I also use them to carry fruit (apples, oranges, etc.) into work -- very strong and thrifty to use than paper sacks.Buying baking soda: Forget the boxes; you can buy 10 lbs of soda at for $4!! as noted elsewhere, baking soda is a cheap cleaner and works for everything from pimples to water spots on windows! there are hundreds of uses for plain ol' baking soda and it doesn't have to cost alot! supermarkets are over priced when it comes to soda, not to mention, why buy MULTIPLE boxes when you can buy one large one......Car Tar: This is one for car smokers. It gets expensive to get cleaner that actually removes the tar from the inside of your windshield. Instead of wasting that money, mix vinegar and water in an old spray bottle and use that. Just spray and wipe.Sparkling Windows: Until the time came when my grandmother was unable to clean her windows anymore, she left me with one word VINEGAR!!! My grandmother only used VINEGAR and newspaper to clean all her apartment windows, and WOW did they sparkle.Your Dogs, Flea Free: Get a couple of lemons,squeeze the juice let sit overnight, strain it and pour into spray bottle and spray your dogs and pat them down with a sponge avoid eyes. No more expensive flea medicines to get rid of all those fleas.Fleas in your home: Fleas in your home? Sprinkle table salt on carpets AND floors (just like carpet freshener) Wait 4 or 5 hours and vacuum...NOT A FLEA IN SIGHT! Works for heavy infestationHope some of you find some of these beneficial. I know some are common sense, but sometimes we forget simple things. Enjoy! --"Take care of the earth and she will take care of you."