Preppers are already frugal, but you can save more money by making small changes to your daily routine. Here are 10 items that you can reuse instead of throwing them away:
Aluminum foil
If you use aluminum foil to store food, you can reuse it as long as it wasn't used to store raw meat or eggs.
Here are the ways to reuse aluminum foil:
- Place a flat piece of used foil on the bottom of your oven to catch drips when baking pies. This helps make cleanup easier.
- Ball up used foil and use it to scrub and clean pots and pans.
- Sharpen scissors by cutting several layers of aluminum foil. Repeat at least five times for sharper scissors.
- Use tightly balled-up foil as DIY cat toys. Make sure your cat doesn’t try to unravel it and eat it.
- Cats hate stepping on aluminum foil. Reuse a piece of foil by lining chairs or tables to keep your cat out of your office.
Coffee grounds
Save coffee grounds and use them as natural odor control instead of baking soda. Leave the grounds in a bowl to dry so they don't get moldy.
Freshen your fridge by leaving used coffee grounds in a glass bottle. Punch holes in the lid and store the bottle in a corner of your refrigerator.
You can also sprinkle coffee ground directly on smelly containers that you want to reuse like pickle jars or five-gallon buckets. Let the grounds sit for a few days until the coffee grounds absorb any remaining odors.
Eyeglasses frames
If you wear prescription eyeglasses, save money by investing in sturdy and high-quality frames. When your prescription changes, just replace the lens and use the same pair of frames.
Glass bottles
Clean glass bottles and jars with tight-fitting lids and reuse them to store leftovers, sauces, spices, dried herbs, or seeds. You can also repurpose old wine bottles into a rolling pin.
Another option is to decorate old glass jars and make candy jars for your kids or desk organizers for small knickknacks like pens and crayons.
Hand soap pump dispenser
Save empty store-bought hand soap pump dispensers and reuse them by filling them with hand soap for the bathroom or dishwashing liquid mixed with a bit of water for your kitchen.
Onion mesh bags
Empty onion mesh bags can be reused as scrubbers for pots and pans.
Alternatively, you can use onion mesh bags to scrub bugs off your windshield or as a mesh cover for small plants to protect them from birds.
Paper bags
Use clean paper grocery bags as book covers. You can also reuse paper bags by decorating them with crayons and markers to make recycled wrapping paper.
Clean paper bags can also be used to drain oil from fried foods instead of paper towels.
Parchment paper
Parchment paper used for baking can be reused several times as long as the food slides off and the paper is not sticky. (Related: Prepping skills: Save money by learning how to scavenge and repurpose.)
Plastic bottles
Here are some suggestions on how to reuse different plastic bottles:
- Wash squeeze bottles like ketchup and mustard containers and use them to measure pancake batter for easier cleanup.
- Use Parmesan cheese containers to store baking soda or other powdery ingredients.
- Clean Sriracha bottles and use them to store cooking oil for camping or hiking trips or for storing homemade dressings.
- If you use cleaning products stored in spray bottles, buy refills that are cheaper or make DIY cleaning solutions using non-toxic ingredients like vinegar.
Resealable bags
Resealable bags like Ziploc bags can be reused unless you use them to store raw meat. If you don't buy resealable bags, save the ones that previously contained food products such as tortillas.
Visit Preparedness.news to read more articles with tips on how to save money on your preps.
Watch the video below for more tips on how to recycle and be eco-friendly.
This video is from the Recycle Smart channel on Brighteon.com.
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Financial preparedness: How to save money on your off-grid homestead.
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