Reuse Before Recycling or Reducing

We throw away so much that can be reused before ever being recycled or reduced in a landfill. Here are a few tips on how to reuse common household items and save yourself a load of money in the process.

1. Use bread bags for baked goods. If the bag is clean and crumb free, it can easily be used again for your homemade baked goods.
2. Use shopping bags for garbage bags. Use the plastic bags for small can liners. They can easily be tied off and tossed when filled. Use paper bags for kitchen can liners.
3. Use milk jugs for juice from frozen concentrate or powdered soft drinks like Kool Aid or Crystal Light. Mix and store juice made from concentrate in clean milk jugs. Mixing your own Kool Aid at home with sugar or Splenda in clean milk jugs can save you money on juice and soda as well as offer your family a healthy alternative to carbonated soft drinks.
4. Use egg cartons for organizing nuts, bolts, nails, tacks, staples and other small items. They fit easily in desk drawers.
5. Use cereal boxes for magazine organizers. Carefully cut the top and one half of a side so magazines can stand inside while showing their binding for easy reference.
6. Reuse ripped or torn tee shirts for kitchen or garage rags. Cut them into squares and use them over and over for cleaning jobs you might usually waste paper towels on.
7. Reuse the Sunday comics for gift wrap. Colorful and just the right size for most small gifts, the comics make handy and inexpensive gift wrap for any occasion.
8. Reuse coffee grounds for an exfoliating and invigorating scrub. Store them in a resealable container like a pickle jar and use them as an invigorating facial or cellulite scrub. Add olive oil for a moisturizing effect.
9. Reuse orange peel for a bright potpourri. If you live in a dry climate, simply leave the rinds of peeled oranges in a bowl wherever you'd like the fresh scent of oranges. For a holiday potpourri, simply add some cloves to the orange peels. If you live in a moist climate, simply bake the orange peels at 300 for one to two hours to remove the moisture.
10. Reuse tissue boxes for storing plastic grocery bags. Stuff plastic grocery bags individually into tissue boxes for easy dispensing whenever you need a bag.
11. Reuse water bottles for filtered water. Don't keep buying bottled water and throwing away the bottles. Refill used bottles with water filtered at home.
12. Reuse odd socks or used dryer sheets for dusting. Simply slide your hand into an odd sock, spritz it with furniture polish and dust away. When finished, slide it off, wash in the laundry and reuse again. Used dryer sheets are great for television and computer screens as they bust static and leave the dust with nothing to cling to.
13. Reuse covered plastic containers for food storage. Yogurt tubs, frosting tubs, pickle jars; anything that has a resealable cover will do nicely for food storage and most are dishwasher safe.
14. Reuse spray bottles for homemade cleaning solutions. A great kitchen sanitizer can be made from one quart water and one tablespoon bleach. A great window cleaner can be made from one part vinegar and two parts water.

Most household items made from plastic can be reused or repurposed with very little effort while saving you a great deal of money in the process. Becoming green can save some green. Give it a try!