Stop Tossing Empty Prescription Bottles When There Are 16 Clever Ways To Reuse Them

Prescription bottles are common one-use plastics in households since every new prescription comes in a new receptacle. This makes it easy to stock up on more than you know what to do with, but if you have a bunch lying around, think twice before throwing them away. There are plenty of ways to get more use out of them by repurposing them in your home and everyday life.

Repurposing plastic prescription containers is a great way to explore your creative side and embrace sustainability at home. You'll be surprised to find that this choice has a seemingly insignificant but actually important impact on the world around you. Now, plastic pill containers are technically recyclable. However, their small size makes them hard to process, and they often end up in landfills instead of being reused.

Rather than taking the chance that your prescription bottles aren't getting properly recycled, find ways to repurpose them yourself. Below are 16 clever prescription bottle hacks that you can use inside and outside of the home. Like the genius ideas for reusing wine corks and other single-use household items, these ideas will keep you from ever tossing these pill bottles out again. Thankfully, many of these hacks don't require any extra steps to DIY. You simply have to put the pill bottle to work as an adorable mini organizer for anything from bathroom products to tool supplies. There are also more creative routes that transform pill bottles into unique, one-of-a-kind decor.

It's tricky to keep sewing supplies in order, especially as a collection builds up. Many sewing accessories are tiny and come in bulk quantities that get mixed up during projects. Keep all of these items accounted for by separating them into individual, emptied-out pill bottles. Separate your buttons, needles, thimbles, dressmaker pins, safety pins, and other miscellaneous sewing supplies by type. Translucent pill bottles make it easier to see what's inside, but you can also add sticker labels, like the Avery Multi-Use Removable Labels, to identify each container's contents.

If you have a large collection of eyeliner, brow pencils, lip pencils, and other similar cosmetics, keep them from getting mixed up by sticking them in empty pill bottles. The pencils will likely cause the pill bottles to topple, so you'll need to tuck the bottles into another organizer, such as a reused old plastic container. Paint or embellish the containers for added aesthetics so you can leave them on your countertop. If you don't want to dress them up, it's just as easy to store them in a bathroom cabinet or closet.

There are several household DIYs that turn empty containers into winter or spring decor. Transform a bottle into a gnome using Dollar Tree products, including two fabric squares, twine, and a wood knob. Follow the steps in Loli Ds Creations' YouTube video, using the squares for the gnome's outfit, the twine as the beard, and the knob as the bulbous nose. This original idea is Christmas-themed, however, you can slightly alter the idea for other seasons by using different fabrics, like pastel or floral prints for spring.

Create a classy stand for electronic candles that nobody will believe is made from empty pill containers. This project requires two wood lids from Dollar Tree's candles, a wooden bead garland, and adhesive gems. Don't worry about the color of these items. After they're hot-glued together like in @lolidscreations' YouTube short, paint over the entire design with FolkArt Home Décor Chalk Finish Acrylic Paint. Dab another neutral-colored chalk paint on top to create a weathered look, and insert an electronic tea candle. This piece would look great with farmhouse-inspired arrangements.

Instead of spending money on a fake rock for hiding keys, make your own using items already at home. Grab an empty pill bottle and a rock from your yard. Hot-glue the lid to the bottom of the rock, then drop a key inside the bottle before screwing the lid on. Tuck the setup into a spot in your yard, and it'll be indistinguishable from the rest of your landscaping. The only caveat of this hack is that you must remember where you placed the rock otherwise your household might not be able to locate the house key.

Take the sewing storage hack a step further by turning the prescription container lid into a DIY pincushion. Sew a small piece of fabric around filler material, such as Lokunn's Polyester Fiber. Hot-glue the cushion to the inside of the prescription lid, ensuring the cushion is small enough that it won't impede the container from closing. Drop some pins in the bottle and stick some in the makeshift pincushion, so you have a safe storage spot where you don't have to worry about losing these micro-sized sewing materials.

Old prescription bottles are small, but they hold a surprising number of items. Create a miniature DIY safety kit using travel-size and individually packed first-aid items, such as band-aids, burn cream, antibiotic ointment, and hydrocortisone pouches. Also add tweezers, aluminum foil, a mini flashlight, and a lighter or matches, and any other potential life-saving tool you can squeeze inside. Don't be afraid to tape extra supplies to the inside of the cap and around the outside of the container to optimize every inch of the prescription bottle.

Start by sawing off the raised top edge of a long, narrow prescription bottle using a heated utility knife. Drill a hole in the center large enough to fit a smallwooden dowel. Insert the wooden dowel, and surround both pieces with Caydo Black Self Adhesive Felt Sheets. Use hot or super glue to connect the wooden dowel to a Jeteho Velvet Jewelry Tray to create a countertop jewelry holder. The repurposed prescription bottle can hold all of your bracelets, making them easy to browse without getting tangled.

It can be nerve-racking to ship tiny items, like earrings, keychains, and cash. Instead of loosely tucking these items in an oversized envelope, add another packaging layer so they can't fall out of small rips in the envelope. Prescription bottles are lightweight enough to not jack up shipping prices. They're also completely legal to send through the mail as long as no pills still reside inside. This idea can be more than utilitarian. Add cute labels or paint the sides of the bottle to give the DIY shipping container more charm.

Most sewing machine spools of thread are around 2 inches tall, making them just small enough to fit in a standard 3-inch prescription bottle. Put spools in individual bottles to keep them from getting lost under larger sewing supplies in storage. This also keeps them from getting unwound, stained, or otherwise damaged. Like other similar hacks, you can add labels or even paint the lid of each container to indicate what color spool is inside.

There are plenty of travel bottle kits designed for getting toiletries past TSA, but why buy a kit when you can upcycle a product already at home? Clean and empty prescription canisters are made of sturdy plastic with tight-sealing lids. They aren't completely water-tight, but they do protect against some sunlight and light moisture. These are all satisfactory qualities for storing common bathroom essentials like shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, and skincare creams while travelling.

Declutter a garage and workbench by separating tiny hardware pieces into individual plastic canisters. These bottles fit bolts, nails, nuts, screws, washers, and other tiny pieces that are easily lost in the depths of deep tool drawers. Up the organization further by adding Hybsk 1x2 inch Oval Stickers to the outside of each container. These pill bottles easily fit in a workbench drawer sideways or standing straight up, dividing items so it's easier to find the exact piece needed for a project.

Wreath centerpieces are a common element of spring decor. Craft a one-of-a-kind springtime wreath using a foam ring, artificial foliage, and six empty pill bottles. Cut a pool noodle into narrow rings and slide them about one-third down each pill bottle, as seen in Loli Ds Creations' YouTube tutorial. Paint the outside of the pill bottles with chalk paint before sliding KSWING Short LED Flameless Taper Candles into the center of each pool noodle. Hide all of the foam with a thick arrangement of flowers and other accessories.

Throwing a party but don't have enough shot glasses? Use empty pill bottles as a funny and practical alternative. Make sure the pill bottles are completely empty, then scrub them in hot water and dish soap. To be extra safe, you can also boil them for sanitization. This also removes any remaining labels and label residue, so you have an arrangement of bright orange plastic cups to party with. Consider dressing up the pill bottles with name labels, stickers, or other accessories to add more personalization.

If you've stocked up on many identical-shaped pill bottles, you're in luck. Start by fully removing all of the labels and sticker residue with boiling water. Stack the bottles around a large glass mason jar, and hot glue them in place. Put a medium-sized electronic light in the center, such as the Candle Idea LED Pillar Candle. This creates a contemporary and eccentric style table lamp for rooms that need a pop of color.

There are some everyday essentials that are near impossible to organize and keep together. Hair ties and rubber bands are within that category. The next time you purchase a bulk pack of hair accessories, unbox them into a pill bottle. This keeps them together and from slowly spreading out throughout your drawers and cabinets. Storing them like this also makes it easier to tell when you're running low and need to restock. Separate the hairbands by type, for example, keep small rubber bands in one container and spiral coils in another.