To organize cleaning tools, gardening tools, and small household tools (screwdrivers, wrenches, etc.), clean out an old plastic laundry detergent bottle. With a utility knife, cut off the top of the bottle even with the bottom of the handle, leaving handle intact. This allows full open access for storage. I just grab the handle and go.
By Kay from West Babylon, NY
If it has a handle:
1. Turn it on its side and cut a slit on top. Put empty thread spools on bottom and cut triangles for ears. Bang, you have a piggy bank.
2. Cut it an angle. Bang, you have a scoop or mini-shovel.
3. Cut a square or large circle. Bang, you got a bird feeder.
4. Fill one for extra gas in your vehicle.
5. Cut a big hole in the side. Bang, you got a clothespin holder.
6. Put water in it for auto or vehicle.
7. Challenge your kids to make something, winners get pizzas.
8. If you have a boat, fill it with sand for an extra anchor.
9. Latch serveral together by the necks and you have a small water float.
10. If they are long (like soda bottles) paint them white. You have 10 and a ball. Bang, you got bowling.
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I always hated to toss the empty plastic containers for softeners, laundry soap and other similar products. I decided that the lid could be used for different craft projects.
Rock Salt, used to melt ice on pavement, is very harsh to the skin. For an easy, and safe dispenser, I empty the bag of salt into a old laundry detergent bottle.
First cut the top in a scoop fashion from a Tide laundry soap container. Use the 100 fluid ounce size, leaving the handle on.
I wash out the empty bottles. Rinse them thoroughly. Cut the top off of the bottle including the top of the handle. You still have the handle left for holding it and you can use it for a scoop for birdseed.
This past week I volunteered at my daughters' Girl Scout day camp. They had taken empty liquid Tide laundry detergent containers, the big ones with the spouts, and cleaned them out and refilled them with water.
Need a large scoop say for bird feed or or something else? Save those laundry detergent jugs. Just wash out the empty container and be sure to keep the lid.
I peel off the labels and reuse them for other liquids I buy in bulk or make. I used the Arm & Hammer yellow containers because I like yellow and I labeled them with my PTouch.
Uses for Gallon Detergent Bottles and Inserts. I finally figured a way to recycle those gallon detergent no-drip inserts that were driving me nuts, since I have so many. . .
Ask a QuestionHere are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community or ask a new question.
Has anyone successfully removed the fragrance from liquid laundry detergent bottles so that they can be used as drinking water containers? (And if you are going to tell me not to do this because it is dangerous please cite your source - they are high density polyethylene which is what tons of food containers are made from.)
By John W.
Does anybody have any *unique* ideas for those liquid laundry detergent jugs and their measuring cup type lids? They are very sturdy and surely
I have washed this laundry detergent bottle so many times, I have lost count. Sadly, it continues to smell like laundry detergent. Is it safe to use as a jug to water the birds?
My personal opinion: No, they are not safe.
This is a controversial subject, but it seems there are more nays than yeas.
If you clean the bottles as suggested, some say they are safe, but if you drink water from the jug, and it tastes very good to you, then it may be safe for birds.
speedqueen.com/
Soap jugs??
www.freshpure.com/
Clean as suggested and then
"Let your conscience be your guide."
There are a lot of articles and literature that say that plastic holding detergent are not safe to reuse for anyone because the molecules bond to the plastic and leach out into whatever liquid is in them next.
One piece of literature I read said they do that because it helps with the recycling process (which I found hard to believe).
Also they shed BPA molecules which are also not healthy for living beings. BPA (bisphenol A) is the chemical used to make the plastics and can cause a lot of issues in people--like infertility, cancers, brain damage, and other bad stuff if there is too much in our systems.
The smell in this case is proof it is still there.
My vote would be no. If your community recycles, just recycle it. I would find a pretty light weight glass container to carry water for birds or other animals...but that is just me. Keep it immaculately clean so no residues of cleaning supplies get into the water system. That is much easier to do with glass than plastics.
What are some frugal uses for liquid detergent bottles?
By Tina
Before the German Unification things were hard to come by in Eastern Germany (then German Democratic Republic), so people went long ways to make their own. Lace makers would use plastic bottles of any kind like those used for liquid detergent to make tatting shuttles from. They cut out pieces out of the round parts to get the shells, used wood or cork as a center and glued or screwed the whole thing together. They sanded down the edges, and voila, a tatting shuttle. Another way to make a tatting shuttle would be to use flat parts of those bottles, cut a longish oval out, punch holes with a standard hole punch in the ends and then cut a slit up to the whole.
DO you live in an area that gets snow and ice in the winter? A well-washed and thoroughly dried detergent bottle is a great way to shake salt onto your sidewalks! The handle makes it easy to grasp, even with gloved hands. Just use a funnel (I usually make a temporary one from the spout of a soda bottle) to fill the shaker as needed. Then pour with a shaking motion and the salt comes out the spout.
Becki in Logansport, IN
Most detergent bottles come in a shape, ie. similar to the human figure. Add clothing and a head (styrofoam balls decorated like a head or something you make yourself). This would be a cute idea for decorating a child's room, or if you get really fancy, set them around your living room as conversation pieces.
Easter is coming up and my grandmother had a great idea for used plastic bottles. Easter Baskets. My Grandmother would cut out the bottoms of the bottles and decorate them. She used wire pipe stems for the handles and filled them with Easter grass and candy. This is a great idea for Grandmothers to give there grandkids an inexpensive gift for Easter.
There are a lot of great ideas for reusing the plastic soap containers, but how do you get the sudsy soap, like liquid laundry soap, rinsed out completely from the plastic container? I have tried hot and cold water and did this several times and there is always still suds especially if the container is plastic and not glass.
By Lisa
Has anyone come up with uses for the large pour spouts inside plastic jugs of laundry detergent? I discovered they are easily removed with a thumb and that two jugs of "empty" detergent jugs release a whole single load-size of left-over liquid laundry soap when the drip spout is removed. I also began to save them and search for uses for the thick spouts. Temporary wheels come to mind, but for what? Anything else? They're a creative design by the manufacture so I hope we can recycle them some way other than with the jugs.
