How to Reuse

So Marj asked me to do some posts about crafting or reusing products. It's been super busy around here and I've been WAY behind on scrapping... let alone getting crafty with reusable products. But, I thought I'd give you some ideas about reusing products.

1. If you have a baby and use jar food, save the jars! They are perfect for storing buttons, safety pins, paper clips and other small items your child might try to ingest. The tops are impossible for them to get off! You can also mix powder paints in the jars and reuse them for your next art project. This also works for any type of paint so it doesn't go to waste. Again, the seal stops the paint from spilling. A friend of mine saved a bunch of jars and decorated them for her son's first birthday. She put little candies inside and had each child's name on the jar to take home. This would also work for office holiday presents.
   
2. Save all peanut butter jars. They are great to use if you make homemade jam, which is really easy and a cheap alternative to buying store bought. I also store homemade applesauce. (I will be back with a applesauce recipe in a few weeks after we go apple picking!) Or you can decorate and put candies in the jars for gifts.
   
3. Save cereal boxes. You can cut the box diagonally and they make great dividers. If you are super crafty, you can paste some pretty papers on to the box and add embellishments. I store scrap paper in mine and also Ella's artwork.
   
4. Save boxes and materials you get when you win prizes. I save all of the tissue paper that comes with my review products. It comes in handy when needing to wrap a gift or your child can make pretty flowers with them. All you need is a pipe cleaner for a stem. Also, shipping tubes and boxes are great for storing art work.
5. Did you know that bottle caps are non-recyclable? If you leave a cap on any bottle the recycling company will trash the bottle instead of taking the cap off. Save all of your caps and take them to your nearest Aveda store where they will reuse them for their product caps. Click on Aveda for more info.
   
6. I always buy Ella's clothes a size too big. That way she can still wear them after the next season. After they have gotten tons of use, we either hand them down or sell them at a consignment shop. Or if you can sew, you can always make a quilt from some of your favorite designs or make a whole new outfit.
   
7. Save your newspaper or magazines. Forget spending $5 on wrapping paper. Get crafty and use newspaper or extra crafty with fun magazine pictures. Ella likes to paint the newspaper when wrapping a present from her. Also, newspaper is fun for making paper mache projects... granted it's messy, but well worth it.
   
8. Have some toys your child doesn't play with? Get your friends together to do a toy swap. That way each child gets new toys and they don't end up in the dump. They can't throw a fit over giving away toys when they are getting new ones!
   
9. Fall is only 2 weeks away!! Yea!! But instead of blowing your leaves and putting them in bags, try composting. The leaves will protect your flower beds from the winter frost and your kids will have fun jumping in the piles. Egg shells and coffee grinds are also great for composting and roses love them. (I won't act like I know a lot about composting because I don't have a green thumb. But I've seen what it's done for my mom's gardens.)
10. Save all spray bottles. After you wash them thoroughly, you can add water and paint and let your child create a spray water masterpiece. Or you can use them to make your own cleaners. The spray bottles are also great if you are outside in the heat and need a mist to cool you down. A friend of mine adds lemon juice to hers and lightens her hair in the summer as a safe alternative to hair dye.
    

I'll be back with more ideas, but these are to help you get started with all of the ways you can reuse items. I'm always thinking of more ways to use something before I recycle or throw them away. I'd love to hear some ideas you have!