Tired of waste? Check out our favorite reusable household items!
In a world increasingly embracing eco-conscious living, the “reduce, reuse, recycle” mantra has never been more appropriate. As we strive towards sustainability, one significant aspect often overlooked is the potential waste of our everyday household items.
Imagine a strategy where your household items don’t end up in landfills but become the heroes of a greener planet. It’s time to break the cycle of disposability and discover the untapped potential in objects we might consider mundane.
From kitchen essentials to everyday doohickeys, Wipe And Organize unravels the secrets of these overlooked champions. On that note, let’s explore how these 12 reusable household items can play a pivotal role in minimizing waste and contributing to a healthier, more eco-friendly tomorrow.
Jarred candles
The most sustainable thing you can do would be to make or purchase soy-based candles and drop them into your jar at home to reuse. But there will be lots of times when a lovely, pre-jarred candle will find its way to your home.
Instead of throwing out the jar and lid when the candle burns out, use this reusable household item to organize self-care essentials, makeup, or office supplies.
Foam beverage holders
Admit it…How many times have you stubbed your toe on your bed frame? It’s the most annoying thisng in the world, right?! Here’s a creative way to protect your toes.
Cover the leg and wheel with a foam beverage can holder. This reusable household item will save your piggies and prevent carpet dents and even hardwood floor scratches!
Mesh produce bag
One of your most accessible and eco-friendly options for toy storage lives in your refrigerator! Simply empty your mesh produce bags and toss in your kid’s or grandkid’s beach or bath toys. You can attach a plastic hook and hang it on your shower wall for easy reach.
And if you need more room than what you can hold in this reusable household item, pick up a reusable mesh produce bag from the supermarket, and you can still have an eco-friendly bag alternative to traditional storage.
Wire mesh fence
While we’re on the topic of mesh, moving leaves in a wheelbarrow isn’t exactly anyone’s idea of fun. And after a couple of good bounces, your leaves tend to be all over the ground again.
To fight this, take a 4-foot piece of wire mesh fence and curl it around the sides and top of your wheelbarrow. Now, you can load the wheelbarrow that’s full of leaves and have them stay in place as you wheel them to your compost pile.
Coffee containers
Lugging around a hefty bag of deicer out to your sidewalk is no fun. And it’s difficult to spread deicer evenly with a cup or shovel. You end up with a clump in one area and none in another. So you’re wasting both time and deicer.
Here’s a great solution for this reusable household item. You can make a “sidewalk salt shaker” from a large plastic coffee container that has a handle.
Poke some holes that are about 1/4 inch in the lid and fill it with cat litter, sand, deicer, or a mix of whatever you usually use and shake away!
PVC piping
Keep your drills and any other accessories organized and handy to make your DIY projects run more smoothly. You can build a wall-mounted drill dock by investing a couple of hours to store everything you need by using this reusable household item.
Reserve the top shelf for accessories and put in a wider lower shelf for oversized items like battery packs, and the brilliant use of PVC piping makes hanging holsters for additional drill attachments a breeze.
You can even add a power strip to your bottom shelf to keep everything charged and ready to go when you need it. Besides essential tools, you’ll need a jigsaw, a circular saw, and a clamp to finish this project successfully.
Leftover building materials
Salvaging leftover building materials is a fantastic way to save some more money. Visit a construction site around the area you live in and talk to the project supervisor. Frequently, they’ll let you “dumpster-dive” for scrapped materials.
Not only is this great for your wallet but also the environment by keeping it out of landfills. Besides that, these reusable household items usually have a unique patina, which could add some extra pizzazz to your projects.
Garment bag
You’re probably used to keeping rolls of wrapping paper under your bed or in the corner of a hallway closet, making them hard to reach and always being covered in dust. Not to mention, you always go hunting for tape and scissors. Well, all that’s over!
Now, you can use a clear garment bag as a portable gift wrap organizer to make wrapping presents effortless. It’s wonderful for storing all your bows, ribbons, tape, and scissors. They’ll be more visible and grouped together by category.
You can hang this reusable household item in a closet until you need it, and you can carry the whole thing to the dining room table whenever you have a wrapping project.
Peanut butter jars
Plastic peanut butter jars work fantastically for storage because they hold a lot of hardware and won’t break into splinters if you drop one.
Simply secure the lids of 28-ounce jars under a shelf with two screws so that the lid won’t spin when you loosen the jar and tighten on the loaded jar.
For faster access, cut away half of a 64-ounce peanut butter jar with a sharp knife, leaving the neck intact, then secure the lid and jar to the side of your preferred cabinet. And hey…If you pack this reusable household item with gummy bears, we won’t tell!
Bread tabs
If you’re having trouble figuring out which cord goes with which electronic device that’s plugged into a power strip in your home, we get it! Save yourself the hardship of following the cord from the plugin to the device for every item you need to move by labeling them.
And those little plastic bread tabs are excellent for labeling cords plugged into a power strip because they’re sturdy, have just enough room to write on, and can effortlessly clip around the plug end of any cord.
Also, these reusable household items often come in many different colors. So you’ll be able to remember and move your electrical devices easily.
Pipe insulation
Pipe insulation is comparable to pool noodles and comes in just as handy. For instance, you can use foam pipe insulation to baby-proof your living spaces. Cut the tube to your desired length and slip it onto the corners and edges that could be dangerous to a small kid.
The pressure of the curved foam keeps it in place for an easy-to-remove baby-proofing solution. It makes it ideal for grandparents who only get the kiddos every once in a while!
You can even use an adhesive strip of this reusable household item to hold the insulation in place for a permanent safety fix.
Old Champion t-shirt
Rather than tossing out your old T-shirt, you can simply repurpose it! Grab a pair of scissors and give that old shirt new meaning by cutting it up and using the scraps for rags.
Or you can always designate this reusable household item as the shirt you clean in. Need a new one? Our friends at Amazon can help you out! Check this out!
Be sure to let us know in the comments section what you thought about all these genius reusable household items. And please tell us if you have any other brilliant tips you’d like to share with the readers of Wipe And Organize.
In the meantime, if you liked this article, we also think you’d enjoy: 11 Minimalist Home Organization Tips for Easier Living
