# Things that you reuse that others might recycle or trash **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 3, 2019, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-reuse-that-others-might-recycle-or-trash/830496 "2019-03-03T19:40:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-reuse-that-others-might-recycle-or-trash/830496/61 "2019-03-06T21:24:25Z")
I drink decaffeinated instant ice tea by the gallonful. And instant lemonade. So naturally I have about five dozen of the little plastic scoops that come with them. They are handy to have; particular if you store sugar and flour in big gallon-size containers. Come to think of it I store my sugar and brown sugar in old plastic pretzel containers (they have a screw lid and sold with roughly two pounds of pretzels.) I also occasionally mix the lemonade and iced tea in a old 2 liter soda bottle. And then screw on a squirt cap from an old 24 ounce water bottle. I now have a full 2 liters of lemonade I can take with me to drink when I am outside in the summer when it has 80+ degrees. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-reuse-that-others-might-recycle-or-trash/830496/62 "2019-03-06T22:30:42Z")
The twist ties from the cleaners are the best ties around. I love them because they are striped, red and white. I ask my cleaner for some extra ones. She gave me a handful of them. They are on my desk in a little jar. I’m looking at them. Someday I will use them. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-reuse-that-others-might-recycle-or-trash/830496/63 "2019-03-08T00:42:30Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I didn’t see if anyone else has mentioned this, but we reuse the plastic tubs that lunch meat comes in. They’re great for storing leftovers (as long as you reheat the leftovers in something else – I never put those tubs in the microwave). And if I want to send leftovers home with the kids or grandkids, I don’t mind giving them away because I have a huge stack of them in the cabinet. I’ve put those containers in the microwave and never had an issue with them. I really think they’re designed for that - so people can take them to work with the sandwich inside, and heat it up if they wish. I knit, and sometimes make blankets from multiple strands of crochet thread. I save the thread that’s used to sew kitty litter bags closed, and add it to these projects. Why not? Most of the things I make are given to charity, and are washed in hot water and dried on high before they go out the door. ---
**Author:** ![Mirtha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@Mirtha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirtha)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-reuse-that-others-might-recycle-or-trash/830496/64 "2019-03-08T18:20:00Z")
Disposable coffee cups are used, over and over. When the seam bleeds, the cup is no longer used for liquid but instead to cover the outside of a newer disposable cup. Eventually, they’re all used to scoop dog doo then burned or placed in trash. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-reuse-that-others-might-recycle-or-trash/830496/65 "2019-03-08T18:20:51Z")
> [@Hopeful\_Crow](#): > > I’ve used the same liquid soap pump bottle for at least seven years. My shampoo/body wash pump bottle must be around four years. I really hate throwing out (well, recycling) any kind of plastic bottle but there’s only so many I have room for. > > I admit to using paper towels but I make them do double duty. Once for cleaner jobs and then again for dirtier ones. > > Our cat food kibble (Pure Vita) comes in bags with plastic Velcro strips for sealing. I cut the strips off and use them for bundling cords and such. They don’t grip as well as the real deal but still have plenty of uses. Hostess and 7-Eleven (the best!) mini donut bags have plastic coated wire strips for sealing the bag. They’re sturdier than regular twist ties and come in handy for a bunch of things. > > We buy Costco sized laundry detergent. I cut off the tops and use what’s left as planters outside. I’ve been known to grow tomatoes in five gallon buckets with very good results. I also have a hundred-foot extension cord stored in one. AACKKK, I got so much damn crap from my family for the paper towel thing. So, I wipe a water spill or dry my hands, they’re clean, just wet. Lay them on the stove (not when it’s on please), and they dry in seconds. Use to scoop out that last bit of wet cat food that they will NOT eat, and toss it all in the trash before I wash up the dish. My sisters took photos for Facebook. So happy to be justified. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-reuse-that-others-might-recycle-or-trash/830496/66 "2019-03-08T18:26:30Z")
My mother hung the wet but clean paper towels over the Mr. Coffee to dry out. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-reuse-that-others-might-recycle-or-trash/830496/67 "2019-03-09T04:29:57Z")
I used to keep the plastic grocery bag supply in the house down by using one a day to carry my lunch to work. I tried a lunchbox and some of those padded bag tote thingies, but I always forgot to bring them home. I didn’t have to worry about that with the bags. Now that I’m retired, I use them for trash bags, since I just can’t see paying extra money for something destined for the dump. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-reuse-that-others-might-recycle-or-trash/830496/68 "2019-03-09T12:20:18Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > …Plastic spoons and forks–I wash and reuse them until they actually break. If you’re going to wash and re-use, why not just use metal utensils? mmm ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-reuse-that-others-might-recycle-or-trash/830496/69 "2019-03-09T12:53:46Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Many great ideas here - I do some of them already… Yup. I thought I was bad, but this thread has made me much worse. My contribution to the parsimony: Clingfilm, when it has been used to cover a bowl. Leave to handy - you’ll be using the bowl again. Cable ties - these days about half of everything comes attached to cardboard with them. I wrestle them undone rather than cutting them - they have a thousand uses. And I use the cardboard as firelighter. Phone sized plastic bags (for when I’m out on the bike). j ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-reuse-that-others-might-recycle-or-trash/830496/70 "2019-03-09T17:39:49Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > If you’re going to wash and re-use, why not just use metal utensils? > > mmm They become lunch bag flatware. If we can bring them back home again, we do, but if they get tossed, I haven’t lost anything I care about. Also, after a large children’s party, they can be washed and reused for the next one. More about environmentalism than cost, in my case. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-reuse-that-others-might-recycle-or-trash/830496/71 "2019-03-09T19:34:29Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > More about environmentalism than cost, in my case. If environmentalism is the concern, wouldn’t it be better to eschew plastic entirely? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-reuse-that-others-might-recycle-or-trash/830496/72 "2019-03-09T19:53:05Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > If environmentalism is the concern, wouldn’t it be better to eschew plastic entirely? Oh, of course, but when they end up in my possession via takeout or some such, I reuse them until they break. Last year, a neighbor moved away and left me HER collection… ---
**Author:** ![Kyrie\_Eleison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kyrie_eleison/32/7682_2.png) [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2019, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-reuse-that-others-might-recycle-or-trash/830496/73 "2019-03-10T00:48:53Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I use the plastic bags they give you from the grocery store as poop bags for Leet the Wonder DOg[sup]TM[/sup]. This, except cat poop instead of dog poop. I’ll be sad when they finally outlaw the things in my state, which is probably coming. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2019, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-reuse-that-others-might-recycle-or-trash/830496/74 "2019-03-10T03:07:08Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I’ve put those containers in the microwave and never had an issue with them. I really think they’re designed for that - so people can take them to work with the sandwich inside, and heat it up if they wish. > > I knit, and sometimes make blankets from multiple strands of crochet thread. I save the thread that’s used to sew kitty litter bags closed, and add it to these projects. Why not? Most of the things I make are given to charity, and are washed in hot water and dried on high before they go out the door. I love you. I save the string off the bags of ice Mr.Wrekker buys for his ice chest. He averages about 6 bags a week in the summertime. It’s alot. It’s great string. I use it gardening. It’s perfect for tying up tomatoes. I have a huge ball of it. I will start getting the string off the kitty litter bags, I assure you. ETA, ooh, I just remembered the large dog food bags we get for the hunting dogs. That’s gonna be a lot of string. Yay. A new hoarding supply. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2019, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-reuse-that-others-might-recycle-or-trash/830496/75 "2019-03-10T03:31:49Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > 2 liter bottles and gallon jugs–I keep a few stored away filled with water in case of outages. > … Yep, and cool looking booze bottles with corks, especially some of those nifty rum bottles out there. Large kitty litter buckets, like **WildBlueYonder** , some of the better longer twist ties, like **Beckdawrek** and my wife re-uses lunch meat plastic boxes to put her sandwiches in. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2019, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-reuse-that-others-might-recycle-or-trash/830496/76 "2019-03-10T06:33:40Z")
🙂 I just wanted to mention that my Dad used a linen (flax) handkerchief to wipe his glasses until he retired (and stopped wearing a suit). His mothers table cloth until it became too worn, then was cut up into table napkins until it became too thin, then was re-purposed as lint-free cloth for his glasses. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2019, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-reuse-that-others-might-recycle-or-trash/830496/77 "2019-03-10T15:06:44Z")
^ Ah, the Circle of Life. Beautiful, isn’t it? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2019, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-reuse-that-others-might-recycle-or-trash/830496/78 "2019-03-10T16:40:55Z")
> [@Kyrie\_Eleison](#): > > This, except cat poop instead of dog poop. I’ll be sad when they finally outlaw the things in my state, which is probably coming. Same. I’ve heard that Kroger will stop using plastic bags in the next few years and I’m already wondering what I will use for litter box bags. I rinse and re-use zip-lock bags until they rip or get a hole in them. I will sometimes use the same paper napkin for multiple meals if I don’t make too big of a mess the first time. Old toothbrushes are great for cleaning the hummingbird feeder. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2019, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-reuse-that-others-might-recycle-or-trash/830496/79 "2019-03-10T17:08:04Z")
> [@Dr.Girlfriend](#): > > Same. I’ve heard that Kroger will stop using plastic bags in the next few years and I’m already wondering what I will use for litter box bags. > > … We take one of those big litter buckets, put a normal 13 gallon bag in it, and scoop until it gets heavy. The bag and the closeable bucket keeps the smell out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-reuse-that-others-might-recycle-or-trash/830496.md?page=3)