I am not normally a hoarder, but there are some items i buy that come in packages that are too good to just throw away. But i can not think of how to re-use them. Any ideas would be very welcome!
First is the solid glass Yoplait Oui Yogurt container. Great yogurt that comes in a very nice 5 ounce container that has a lip so you can fit Amazon resealable lids on them. (Vanilla is outstanding!!!) I used to gift my Kefir to people in them, then realized that the Kefir fan club is a rather small subset of humanity.
Second, Clear Creek lentils come in a rather well made 2 pound canvas bag. But i have no idea what it is good for now that I have eaten the lentils.
Third, don’t judge, but i use Illy IperEspresso capsules and the cans have to be good for something other than hiding my Cypress scented candle.
I also use random containers for bacon grease, chicken fat, and drippings. And egg whites.
Could use the canvas bags for packing clothes or other stuff for your upcoming trips.
I sometimes keep spare change in llly cans.
I also keep my open cello packs of spices in jars and cans lately. My Serbian paprika has kept its fragrance really well since I started keeping this new pouch in a small jar.
my Yorkshire tea bags are also kept in a tin, as well as my Mexican dried peppers.
Those tiny Oui yogurt jars are perfect to hold a used teabag and teaspoon. That’s what I use them for. The ones with the plastic lids useful to store left over sauce or homemade salad dressing. Locally they’re not sold with the lids….I think the local supermarket stopped selling the yogurt. The Lily cans could store dry goods like pasta, beans, flour, etc. Or handy for camping.
I keep a small box of glass jars to re-use. My mom was a hoarder, so I try and keep the collection to one box. 28 oz Rao pasta sauce holds soup, stock, pasta water nicely..no plastic
Thank you all! The Oui yogurt uses are great, I definitely like the idea of using them for bacon grease/drippings/sauces rather than a tupperware type dish. They will clean up much better and not hold stains or tastes…
And using the Illy for beans and pasta may work well, I definitely do not have enough large glass jars for all of my foods.
And the canvas bags for packing works well too. I always end up using plastic bags by the second or third leg of the journey.
And I too re-use any pasta sauce jar that has a reasonably large mouth. I have old pickle jars that have super wide mouths that are great for just about anything.
I had not thought of Goodwill, thank you for the thought! I have enough that I can donate them in 6 or 8 packs… LOL!
Again, thank you all!
I pack everything in fabric bags or cubes, even at the beginning of the trip. It can help some things like shirts pack a little flatter, and stay less wrinkled, and keeps things like undergarments and socks more organized
My aunt collects those yogurt jars – she makes homemade yogurt and overnight oats in them, and also uses them for lemon curd that she gives away over the holidays. They’re great for so many things (spices, fridge storage, pickles, etc) – if you have too many to use, offer them up on your neighborhood page or facebook marketplace, I bet they’ll be gone in a flash.
The canvas bags are good for shoe storage, both at home and for travel.
Illy cans for any dry food or other storage – use painter’s tape to label, or get nicer labels.
This is an idea that doesn’t occur to most people. There are places in nearly every community that would love things that could be used in crafting. We donate a lot of stuff to a center that helps developmentally disabled adults, and they have always taken any craft-friendly things we have offered.
We have a few of those same glass yogurt jars, purchased from our local French shop (marketed as La Fermiere) and I thought they were too fun to recycle. When my kid was younger, they worked as drinking glasses, although the lip is a little thick. The suggestion for spices made me think that they might be a cute salt cellar if you get a tiny spoon.
A couple of years ago, I ordered a bunch of new towels from a company called Onsen and they annoyingly came individually packaged up in cloth bags that look similar to your lentil bags but larger. They were too narrow to be practical for many things but they are great to package up loose Lego sets, and electronics (cables, converters, plugs) when we travel.
At the grocery store, yours could be used for bulk items (eg more lentils) or produce items (eg loose garlic/shallots/carrots) as long as you can tare/account for the weight of the empty bag.
When all else fails, I wonder if you have fabric recycling in MT? It is mandatory in MA. The recycled fabric goes towards many uses, including being turned into building insulation.
Thank you all for the tips! The canvas bags have already been put to use as shoe bags on a pair of dress shoes I seldom wear but do not want to gift out yet. They do not quite cover the heel but they come close. I like the idea of washable travel laundry bags, too. I use compression travel cubes for most of my clothes but my socks and underwear do not compress much so the canvas bags might see some use there too.
The yogurt jars may see the most uses. I Iike the drippings/bacon fat ideas AND the custom spice jar, too. I used to have an herbes de Provence spice I mixed myself, I may go back to doing that, or maybe a new Calabrian one. I will check on any crafting groups near me. I had several when I was in the Washington DC metro area, not sure about here in NW Montana. Any manufacturer who makes really, really good yogurt and then puts it in a re-usable container is going to get my support and purchases. The vanilla one has become my dessert of choice of late.
I use canvas or cloth bags for homemade dry cleaning… I found this on the internet and it works surprisingly well. Sunshine has a few dresses that need dry cleaning. Unless she gets a spot or stain on them – this is perfect for general dry cleaning.
In a bowl, add 3/4 cup of warm water, 4 tablespoons of distilled white vinegar, 1 teaspoon of borax, and 1 teaspoon of oxygen bleach powder. Mix well. Take a clean cloth or washcloth of similar color, dip it into the mixture, wring out most of the mixture, and put it into the bag or pillowcase (with the garment), tie bag closed. Then dry in dryer (on high) for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Interesting! Separate cloth in the bag with the item. That makes sense.
I might not use those canvas bags for a high heat setting given that they have ink and stuff on them, but I will check on whether I have other, plain, canvas bags I might have and try this (on an item of clothing I only kind of like) as a test. Sounds like it could save a LOT of money.
I have an old black Ralph Lauren cashmere coat that I would love to save money on every Spring, but I think I will let the pro’s handle that one. LOL!
CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
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Agree on both points, I think. I mean, my local thrift puts out jars like that, so technically they try to resell them, but they just sit there until eventually disposed of. This according to the manager, when I pointed out that someone there had priced lidless reused jars higher than the cost of the original including the product. (A lot of the price guesstimating gets done by kids working off community service, so it can be a bit haphazard.)
I keep my Spice Island empties (the kind that have shaker tops) and put my special (to me!) ground chili mixes in it, then give to those friends and family members who I know will use it.
I’m replying to myself, here, because I remembered something related to donating craft-y stuff. I used to work in a store that had a photo finishing service. People would bring in their film (remember what that is?), drop it in an envelope, and 2-3 days later we’d get their pictures back from the lab. A lot of these folks shot on 35mm film, and we ended up with a lot of film canisters. This was after the aluminum ones with a screw top, so they were black plastic with either black or gray lids. Some people kept their canisters, while others asked us to get rid of them, so we’d just chuck them into a bin (bucket? waste basket?). One day, a friend’s mom came in. She was a pre-school teacher, and saw the pile of empty film canisters. She asked what we did with them, and I told her we usually just tossed them out eventually. She asked if she could have them, and told me they’d keep her class busy for months. Then she told me the salient point of this hijack: “But please don’t give me any styrofoam packing peanuts. EVERYBODY thinks I’ll use them, but I must have a lifetime supply of those!”
