I am very much in favor of supplementation. This is because I belive that our food system is so broken and our soil conditions are so lacking that food cannot provide us with all the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals we need for health. To close the gap I take various supplements such as fish oils, magnesium, Vitamin D3, and Milk Thistle. I have some on hand that I am trying out and some that I only need occasionally, like Echinacea. This leaves me with a bit of waste problem. I have many brown glass bottles and some plastic bottles that had supplements in them that are now empty. I decided to compile a list of things you might do to reuse/recycle them.
Freecycle/Craigslist – You would be amazed how your trash might be just what someone else needs. Animal shelters might use them for pet medication, churches might want them for mission trip meds, and crafters might have use of them too. Make an offer…
Fishing Supplies – My oldest son is an avid fisherman and we use bottles for small things like hooks, lures, and weights. That way mom doesn’t end up getting a fish hook in her flip -flop when she walks in the garage.
Seed Containers – Paper seed envelopes can be a giant pain in the back side. You open them for your first planting and then you might end up loosing half them by the next year. Putting them in a bottle makes storing them much easier and you can tape the label from the envelope on the underside of the jar or the top of the cap.
Coin Holder – If you or your children collect coins then jars and bottles are perfect for storing them. No need for a piggy bank, multiple jars of money look way more awesome.
Organization – You can use them to organize desk items… paper clips, pencils, sewing needles, rubber bands, tacks, earbuds, beads for crafts, etc.
Mini Vases – If they are larger jars (think fish oils) line them up on a windowsill with small, pretty flowers to brighten up the room! You can even paint them or wrap yarn around them first to make them pretty. As an alternative you can hang brackets on the wall and hang the bottles on those.
Beauty Supplies – Use to decant olive oil, coconut oil, or jojoba oil which can then be used for hands, face or in the bath because who wants a big jar of coconut oil or olive oil in their bathroom?? Also handy for carrying in your purse.
Let There Be Light – If the opening is large enough, you can put a tealight in them. Get your kids to decorate the outside with colored tissue paper.
Go Herbal – Dark bottles are great for storing bulk herbs for cooking and medicinal use.
Travel On – Instead of buying travel sized shampoo to meet TSA requirements put some of your regular shampoo or conditioner in one of these small bottles.
Do you have any more ideas to add? Share!
My husband is about to build a workshop (I hope). He wanted me to collect a bunch of something the same size with a lid. I saved 2 dozen clear plastic vitamin bottles (Nutrition Now Gummy Vitamins) for him. I hope he’s good with that many. He plans to screw the lids to a board (which will be mounted on the wall). Then he can put little odds and ends – small screws, nails, washers, etc, in them and see what he has. Unscrew what you need, use it, and screw back on. Haven’t used the idea yet, but theoretically it should work well. :)
My dad used to do this with baby food jars. You screw the lid to the underside of a shelf or cabinet and screw it on for hanging storage. I’ve seen this done with spices and herbs in small kitchens.
hang them from fishing line in a window at varying length and put a little soil and a little moisture bead in there and plant them with small plants from seed. Perfect for small herbs you use often or trailing plants like flowering peas. A few tropical house plants that wander dont need much soil either. also perfect for organizing stuff on bathroom cabinets like tooth picks, bobby pins, ear swabs, hair bands. and in kitchen cabinets for loose tea. i used to use a large brown glass jar to store my morning tea in when i went to college.
love that :)
Store and freeze homemade baby food/bone broth
I use the brown glass ones for storing hot glue sticks, coconut oil for skin care, mixed nuts or sunflower seeds in my desk drawer, etc.
Great article, I do a lot of this, my fav is those nice shaped bottles that my partner buys with mustard ect, I put bits of dried foods like kale and seeds for salad toppings, put a label on string and tie around the top they look pretty on the shelf :)
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I have hundreds of supplement containers of every size, some glass and some plastic. I reuse as much as I can but would like to know if there is a place to give them away for others to be able to access them.
You might try animal shelters or rescues to put cat treats/food/medicine in.
Another idea: http://www.upworthy.com/your-little-plastic-pill-bottles-can-make-a-major-difference-to-the-world