Repurposed item ideas

[zoomzoom]

Please post some ideas on items you've repurposed with success.

The first that comes to my mind:
I take Hershey's syrup and ketchup squeeze bottles and use them for chainsaw bar oil. It's hard to dump from a 1-gallon jug directly into a saw. I fill the squeeze bottles with oil from the jug and it's much easier to fill the saw. The Hershey's bottles last longer than the ketchup bottles. Better plastic.

 

[Haertig]

I use a Stihl battery powered leaf blower to clear snow off my deck (the light, dry kind of snow).

 

[Haertig]

I use the plastic caps off of bottled drinking water as little feet under my laptop to keep it cooler on a desk.

 

[Haertig]

I use chopsticks as cleaning tools - they are good scrapers for getting gunk out of corners. And they don't mar things. I also use a chopstick to pry the paddle from my electric bread maker out of the loaf of bread, without scarring up the anti-stick coating.

I reuse old drier anti-static sheets for light scouring duty. They hold up better than paper towels and have a bit of abrasion to them. No absorbing capabilities though.

 

[Morgan101]

I repurpose a lot of food packaging (mostly bottles), and a lot of pharmaceutical bottles. I have found that small pill bottles are ideal for fire starting kits. You can even make them (almost) waterproof if you use some Gorilla tape around the cap. I haven't tested how long they will float, but they do float.

 

[Caribou]

An old toothbrush always finds a way into my gun cleaning kit.

 

[Magpie]

Toothbrushes and old socks fitted over my hands for blackening the stove
Yogurt pots for freezing curries, tomato soups etc - for foods that stain, all kinds of containers for freezing other stuff
Nice tough boxes, like the kind perfume gift sets come in at Christmas for storing craft items, envelopes and bits
Bulk containers to husband for nails, screws etc
Chipped plates or bowls for under houseplants or mixing paint (few artists in the house)
Broken mugs for pens or small plant cuttings
All scrap paper cut and clipped into notepads
I save old denim for a rug thats about ten years in the making now

 

[winds-of-change]

An old toothbrush always finds a way into my gun cleaning kit.

I use old toothbrushes in the kitchen to clean around the crevice of the sinks and faucets.

 

[Caribou]

An old pair of jeans, with the seam split from crotch to waist in the back, then stitched from zipper to back seam, makes a great shop rag bag.

 

[Cabin Fever]

Some of the things we've repurposed:

An enamel basin made into a bathroom sink

A colander made into a light shade. It makes pinecone designs on the wall.

A beaver chewed stump made into a lamp.

An old door used to back an open cupboard (the door was from our local jail when is was remodeled).

Immigrant truck used as a coffee table and a barrel used as a chairside table.

A treadle sewing machine used as a chairside table.

 

[Tirediron]

the top part of old socks make really good dish clothes, if the to is intact they will work for a coffee filter tied in a knot make good cat toys.

 

[Canon29]

Apparently you can repurpose a coat hanger into a machine gun with a pair of pliers

 

[Biggkidd]

I have repurposed hundreds if not thousands of things for various reasons. Old propane tanks are one of my favorites to play with. They can make both decent air tanks and wood stoves. Old pieces of short fencing often become plant cages. Old campers become fodder for MANY projects. Worn out lawn and garden equipment often gets turned into something else to use around the lawn and garden or homestead in general. Power washer engines are often reused on lawnmowers and wood splitters. The angle steel from bed frames is another favorite that appears in abundance at dump sites which is useful for all kinds of projects.