I\'m Summer, a mouthy, sarcastic bitch. I\'m passionate about natural birth, long term breastfeeding, and living naturally. I curse too much, love tattoos, and will some day be crushed to death by my book collection. I homeschool, dream of gardening, and swing to the left. 
Got Milk (Jugs)?
How many of you drink milk? Do you buy it in the big plastic jugs? What do you do when you’ve finished off the milk in the jug? You could just through it in the trash or you could recycle it into something new. Here are 5 things that you can do with your empty milk jugs to reduce the amount of trash your family is creating.
- Make a bird feeder. They’re not the prettiest, but they are functional. Cut out a small hole along the side, about an inch and a half above the bottom. Then fill the bottom with some bird seed and string it from the handle to a tree branch. The plastic can get hot so you’ll want to hang it in a shady spot, especially if you live in a warm weather area.
- Use them in your garden. Cut the bottom off and stick the top half over young plants to act as small greenhouses. While you’re at it use the bottom part as a place to start your seedlings in. Or leave them intact, fill with water, punch a few small holes in the bottoms, and sit them in your garden for a slow trickle of water onto your plants. You can clean and store these easily during the winter months and pull them out again each spring.
- Make a container. Cut the top off at an angle so that the handle is in place and you can use them to hold things in. Clothes pins, small toys, you can even use this in the kitchen to hold your scraps for composting. If you have animals that reguire a lot of food this can also be used to scoop up their feed.
- Use the sides. Cut large circles out of the sides to use for freezing burgers. If you mike to make a lot of burgers and freeze them for future use you can stick the plastic circles in between. It’s better than wax paper as you can reuse them again and again.
- Save water. Fill empty milk jugs with water and stick in the tank of your toliet. It will automatically become a low-flow toliet, using less water with each flush. Of course less water also means a lower water bill each month, that’s my favorite part.
I’m sure there are hundreds of other great ideas for reusing your empty milk jugs, but these are some great places to start. For other great tips gor check out the Works For Me Wednesday post this week.
[tags]recycling, reusing, milk jugs, works for me wednesday[/tags]
we get our milk delivered from the local dairy in glass jugs that we send back each week.
Crunchy Domestic Goddess’s last blog post..Helping African girls stay in school – one pad at a time?
Family Fun magazine also just had an article about making your milk jug into an Easter Egg bunny basket
CC’s last blog post..I heart baby wipes
Hey – I was just at this park that’s down the street from me, yesterday. I noticed that the benches and bridges (Lakes Park, lots of both http://www.leeparks.org/ ) were this dark grey color and very hard plastic-y feel. I found a big sign there that said that they were made from plastic jugs – approximately 65,000 pounds of them pulled from landfills! Isn’t that just rockin?!
Here’s another idea: cut an opening about an inch high by the width of one panel, towards the bottom. Cut a hole at the top of the panel. Push plastic bags from the grocery in the top and pull them out the bottom–you’ve got a bag holder! And boy, do these things hold a LOT of bags, LOL!
mom2fur’s last blog post..Kitchen Tip Tuesday
great ideas, thank you! I’ve got a nearly-empty one in my fridge right now – I just need to decide which idea to use!
fiveberries’s last blog post..Hello, I have a scanner. Would you like to see my pig?
Good ideas for reuse. This reminded me my mom used to use for clothes pins. I use for emergency water. Like the bird feed idea too.
You have been tagged for the “What’s On Your Refrigerator?” meme. It is a Meme and a contest! I’ll be giving away two free books. Read all about it at http://heartofwisdom.com/heartathome
Robin Sampson’s last blog post..What’s On Your Refrigerator? Meme & Contest
Here’s another idea.. I use empty ones to make a bird bath water dripper. The birds love to play in water and this is easy and cheap to do. Here’s my post about it from a couple summers ago:
http://www.mommamuse.com/2006/04/25/bird-bath-water-dripper-water-feature-for-the-birds/
I also save all the jugs to fill with water for my plants. Because most plants don’t like water from the tap, the water in the jugs sits for (usually) days before they get watered with it.. helps prevent browned leaves.
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These are great ideas! We’re trying to be more eco-friendly so we’ll give em a try!
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I love love love the idea about the hamburger patty dividers. I wish I used gallon jugs, but every so often I do — and I will be making the dividers.
Excellent tip!!
Have a Great Day!
Kristin
Thanks for the tips.
I have a whole herd of empties in my recycling bin. I’ll be using one to make burger patty liners and the others to house my tender squash plants.
Susan’s last blog post..3 Soups for Dinner This Week (MPM)
I like the idea of a bird feeder. I’ve seen similar things for 2 liter coke bottles that simply screw on the bottom and turn the bottle into a feeder.
John R´s last blog post..Water Wiggler – Protecting Your Bird Bath from Mosquitoes and More