Helpful Tips and Tricks

25 Uses for Things You Might Throw Away

Throw Away
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic LicensePhoto by  Bob Dass

 

Should I Throw that Away?

We go through our lives each day and may consume 100’s of products in a week. But they question often arises, “Should I Throw that Away?”
 
There are many everyday items that may appear as waste to most consumers, but to a select few, they are “gold” and have many more miles left on them. I’m not exactly what you’d call a frugal person, but I do believe in getting the biggest bang for your buck. Especially now since we’ve moved into a new home and have taken on a considerably higher months payment for a bit nicer place. These changes in living can often bring thoughts of “How can I save money?”
 
So I wanted to go over a few things that I’ve discovered that can help you use some of those things you would normally throw away. Things that can be turned into other products which will allow you to save money in the long run.
 
Now keep in mind, not all of these uses will produce the highest end accessories, but these things are proven to work, so check out the list below.
 

Things you normally throw away

Food Items:

1. Bacon Grease: Never throw away the left over bacon grease after cooking your bacon. Strain the left over grease through cheese cloth and store it for later use. Bacon makes everything taste great, and keeps for ever.

 

2. Banana Skins: Puree your left over banana skins in a food processor and use the paste to polish your silver.

 

3. Bones: Use your left over bones from beef or chicken by boiling them to make stocks. Then once the bones are boiled clean, cut them into buttons and beads using power tools.

 

4. Coffee Grounds: Used coffee grounds can be dried out in a warm oven and used to absorb odors from your cat’s litter box or refrigerator.

 

5. Corncobs: Would you believe that a dried up corncob can make an excellent scrubber for those especially tough jobs? Well they do!

 

6. Stale Doritos: If you’re on a camping trip and need some kindling to start a fire, then some stale, or non-stale doritos will work just fine.

 

7. Eggshells: Using vinegar and eggshells, make a bath to soak china and glassware in, excellent for removing stains.

 

8. Various Leftovers: Take all the scrapings from the left over food on the dinner plates and start a compost pile for your garden. Especially fruit and vegetable peelings.

 

Non-Food Items:

9. Bottle Caps: Need a fish scaler? Use old bottle caps nailed to a piece of wood (fluted sides up) to scrape off those pesky scales.

 

10. Sardine Can Keys: Use your sardine can keys for rolling up the end of your tube of toothpaste to get every last drop out of the tube.

 

11. Cigarette Butts: Soaking leftover tobacco in water overnight, then pouring the water on your plants works great for killing mealybugs.

 

12. Old Combs: Use an old comb to hold your nails for hammering, keeps you from smashing your fingers.

 

13. Roll-On Deodorant Bottles: These old bottles can be re-used by filling them with bath oil, liquid starch, suntan lotion, water for moistening stamps and envelopes, or paint for the kids.

 

14. Egg Cartons: Old egg cartons can be used as ice cube trays, starter pots for spring seedlings, or can be nailed to a wall for sound proofing a room.

 

15. Hair: Hair can make a good fertilizer, it has 16 times the nitrogen than in cow manure. Or if you cut hair is long enough, consider donating it to a cancer charity for making wigs.

 

16. Old Light Bulbs: Dip these into metallic paint, then tie a wire around the metal grooves to make Christmas ornaments, of course extra decorative paint is great too!

 

17. Styrofoam Meat Trays: Trace the shape of your foot onto the styrofoam, then cut out the shape and insert into your work boots for extra insulation or padding.

 

18. Plastic Milk Jugs: Cut the bottom out of the jugs and use them as heat-retaining caps for garden plants in spring and fall.

 

19. Used Motor Oil: Use your old motor oil as a waterproof sealant for fence posts or tomato stakes by soaking them in the oil for 24 hours.

 

20. Old Records: Heat your oven to 350° and insert the old records into the oven long enough to shape them into snack bowls or bookends. You may also be able to do this by submerging the old records into very hot water.

 

21. Worn Out Gloves: You can use your old worn out gloves to make a screwdriver holder for your belt. Just cut out the finger tips and make slots for your belt to go through. Instant screwdriver holder for your belt.

 

22. Old CD Spindle: An old CD Spindle, usually at least a 25 or 50 count spindle will make a great case for preserving or toting your bagels in.

 

23. That Extra Pant Hanger: Use an old pants hanger (the ones with the spring loaded clips) and turn it into a cook book holder that you can hang on the cabinet knob.

 

24. Old Muffin Tin: Use an old worn out muffin tin to serve condiments like mustard and ketchup in while having a pic-nic or bar-b-q.

 

25. Ketchup Squeeze Bottle: When the ketchup runs out, don’t throw it away, use it to dispense pancake mix or vegetable oil.

 
So remember, with a little ingenuity and a few by-products you can save yourself a lot of money on those everyday products that commercials on TV say you can’t live without. The Earth’s resources are being used up, so let’s do our part by getting the most out of all those everyday products. Remember, “Don’t Throw that Away!”
 
Do you have any more great ideas for saving money and the World?
 


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48 thoughts on “25 Uses for Things You Might Throw Away
  1. i liked the idea of banana skin, but the bone boiling thing is yak, yak, lets use something and forgot somethings.
    other wise a great post…

    1. Yah, the bone boiling is one that most people will probably not take part in. But making beef and chicken stocks from your bones is a good one, not so sure about the buttons though…lol

    1. Howdy Evan! I believe the coffee grounds one is something that would be adopted by more folks than some of the others. It really does work great for the refrigerator, not sure about the litter box though. 😀

  2. I have this habit of throwing away things that are of no use anymore. I rely on the scavengers to take care of these things for me. I never thought that I can still use them on other things.

    1. Yah I think we all are guilty of letting valuable things slip into the trashcan. Of course all these tricks may not be practical for everyone, but some of them are excellent ways to get the most from everyday items.

  3. Beneficial document. I prefer this quite definitely. Thanks intended for revealing.

  4. Pretty useful actually, there’re a lot of people throwing away things that can still be used. It’s good you’ve made that list, perhaps now people do learn what to throw away and what not. Thanks ! 🙂

    1. Thanks for the comment. These tricks are a great way to save a little money and help out the environment at the same time.

  5. The problem is that most people have this habit i`am totally agree with you
    thank`s for your hard working

    1. Thank you for stopping by. Our ancestors were constantly finding new ways to get the most out of everything, it’s time we all do our part to help stop all the waste. There are many people out there that have absolutely nothing, it’s something to remember.

  6. Thank you for providing such an useful information. From now onwards i can made a better use of things which i am throwing daily.

    1. Great! There are so many ideas that can form once you get in a habit of utilizing things that you would normally throw away. This is but a small taste of the possibilities out there. Thanks for stopping by and best of luck in discovering uses for the things that appear as waste.

    1. Thanks Ansh! I’m big on saving money where I can, things like this can make a huge difference over time. Thanks for stopping by!

  7. We have friends with chickens who use our store bought egg cartons to put their free range chicken eggs in. We use old t-shirts for scrub rags,and dish cloths.

    1. Some excellent ideas Alan! Thank you for adding them to the discussion. I’ve got a pile of old work shirts that are dying to become rags!

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