We’ve had an email from Natalie:

I’ve got a few plastic pots that I don’t know what to do with. They had herbs and ground pepper in so they have shaker tops or one side shaker, one side pour. Any ideas?

We use lots of spices so bulk buy them in bags and refill tubs like that for culinary convenience – so that’s one option.

On a slightly bigger scale, we’ve got a (very clearly marked) old table salt bottle filled with bicarbonate of soda – the bicarb comes in cardboard boxes to start with and the pour function makes it easier to, well, pour and the plastic bottle protects it better from moisture.

Any other suggestions?

Some related posts:

• How can I reuse or recycle old spices?
• How can I made spice jars out of shot glasses?

We’ve had an email from Melanie:

I’ve got a bag of sea shells, whole and broken, I collected from a vacation in Mexico. The shells were interesting at the time, but not any more. I’m looking to give them to somebody who would use them for crafts. I’m already reusing a large shell to hold small miscellaneous items on my desk and being crafty with shells doesn’t appeal to me at this point in time.

I’ve attached a photo of the extra shells I have and a photo of my large “dish” shell (below).

If you specifically want to give them away to be reused, Freecycle might be the best way to go – someone in your local area might love them. Any suggestions on what that crafty person might do with them?

As for other more practical reuses, I suspect we’ll have some overlap with the mussel shells post but anything else Melanie could do with them?

(Heh, I put this in the “packaging” category – because they were sea creature packaging once ;) )

We’ve had an email from Louise, saying:

Here in Malta ice cream comes in rectangular plastic containers. I use them a lot to organize my drawers and cupboard, they’re useful for all kinds of bits and bobs. However I’d like to use some as storage boxes on open shelves, and I’d like to decorate them. Any suggestions?

I love those ice cream tubs. The stuff that isn’t aimed at the luxury market in the UK comes in those rectangular tubs too and I’ve got them all about the place – holding beads/craft stuff, packets of seeds, cat medicines etc. The 2litre tubs are a great size for storing stuff in and of course the regular shape is great for stacking.

I haven’t redecorated any of mine though – anyone got any hints/ideas?

Because I’m obsessed with wire stuff at the moment, I might be tempted to try wrapping it in plastic coated wire (something like a less complicated version of these bottles) – I suspect that would really transform it but would take a lot of wire.

Any other suggestions?

We’ve had an email from “trapkuspt” about reusing baby wipe containers:

The kind that have the pop up feature, so the opening is a soft plastic.

They have been great for holding plastic bags I want to reuse, cotton balls, puzzle pieces, etc.

And the thin wipes box for the diaper bag works pretty good for q-tips in the bathroom drawer.

I’ve also found that the hard plastic boxes are useful for filling with tissues in places where a cardboard tissue box would go soggy such as a steamy bathroom or near a splashtastic sink.

Other suggestions?

• How can I reuse or recycle other baby related stuff?

We’ve had an email from Jenni:

I have loads of little plastic SMA baby milk spoons from when my first child was a baby. I have now started making up bottles for my second child and realise the house will be full by the time we move on to cows milk. I can’t bring myself to throw them out. Any ideas?

I’m not exactly an expert with any baby related but I think Jenni means the little measuring scoop things that come inside formula tubs. Like IKEA allen keys, it’s a shame you get a new one with every repeat purchase when one or two is all you’ll ever need (or if you’ve got your own measuring spoon set, you won’t even need that) – but logistically it’s easier for them to include them than having to send them out separately or whatever.

I guess you could keep one around the kitchen for future measuring purposes – but that’s just one and Jenni sounds like she’s got loads. So any other suggestions?

(On a related topic, we covered mixed material baby milk powder containers about a year ago.)

• How can I reuse or recycle other baby related stuff?