Reuse Empty Pill Bottles
Do you hate to throw empty pill bottles away, but don't like the clutter they create? Here are some uses for pill bottles beyond wasting space and gathering dust.
Steps
- Before you reuse your pill bottle, heat up water to boiling, pour in bottle, wait 1 minute, and peel off the label. Rinse and dry the pill bottles before using them.
- Fill empty pill bottles with loose change, such as quarters for parking or laundry.
- Store items that never seem to have a place, such as: thumb tacks, paperclips, small nails, and picture hangers.
- Store repair supplies such as nails, screws, nuts and bolts. Large pill bottles can be used for even bigger items.
- Organize your fishing supplies: hooks, lures, bobbers, any small loose fishing items. They may also make an acceptable bobber by painting them in bright colors or adding reflective tape to them.
- Always losing Barbie's high heels? Store smaller doll items like shoes and accessories in a pill bottle so they don't get lost.
- Want to store your craft supplies without having a mess of beads rolling around? Store items like glitter, sequins, beads and googly eyes in pill bottles as well.
- Use larger pill bottles in home made first aid kits and travel kits.
- Make shakers by filling pill bottles with beans or other items.
- Donate clean, label-free, pill bottles to your veterinary office or local humane society. Containers used for dispensing medication to animals is not as strictly controlled as for humans (and yes, most veterinary practices have begun using blue prescription bottles, but are not strictly required to do so. Most will also accept expired antibiotics and other expired prescriptions).
- Fill them with colorful craft sand and display them or make a mobile.
- Use as spice jars -- depending on what they originally contained, and how well they can be cleaned out (in other words, if you can be certain there is no risk of poisoning).
- Remove labels and wash well. Donate them to your local school band. They use them to soak woodwind reeds and clean small instrument parts.
- String Musical instruments (guitar, fiddle, mandolin,etc.) need humidity. Use a hot poker (ice pick heated on stove) to poke several (5-6) small holes around the top of the bottle. Stuff a piece of sponge in the bottle consuming as much of the empty space as possible. Fill with water until sponge is saturated. Drain any remaining water. Replace bottle cap. Now you have a perfect humidifier for your instrument case.
- Use them for your daily vitamins - Instead of getting out several bottles each day do it once a week and fill up several pill containers with each days vitamins and supplements.
- Don't buy travel containers, reuse your clean and label free pill bottles for taking your own shampoo, conditioner, or needed bath items. A piece of tape can make a label. Or a label maker, if you have one. Most containers are just right for a long weekends worth of contents. Most won't leak, but throw them in a Ziplock bag, just in case. Easy to pack and carry to your bathroom, too!
Tips
- Do not re-purpose pill bottles as toys for young children.
- Sticky notes are the perfect size to label your pill bottles. One edge of the sticky note has the sticky stuff. Write your label along that edge of a sticky note, trim to fit and apply. For longer lasting labels, cover label with a piece of scotch tape.
- Contact lens containers make great travel bottles. Simply wash out thoroughly and leave to dry. The small round ones are great for dollops of toothpaste, hand cream, lotion, face cream etc. The larger squeeze bottles are perfect for shampoo etc.
- Use a piece of scotch tape to label the contents of each bottle.
- Using a hair dryer can help peeling off the sticky labels, just be careful not to burn yourself.
Warnings
- Use caution in storing edibles in pill bottles -- only do this if the original contents were very benign (food supplements or vitamins, for example) or the bottles are cleaned very thoroughly.
