Stow it!

We all have those moments: we are cleaning up the kitchen, and we hesitate in front of the trash can or recycling bin, wheels turning in our head...should I really chuck this? I'm sure I can use it...but how??? And the object returns to the counter, or the junk drawer, awaiting that moment of inspiration when you say, "I have just the thing!"

Here are a few ways to use the more common items that we hate to throw out:

Take out containers. Obviously, we keep these and reuse them instead of buying plastic containers. But have you ever noticed how you end up with a bunch of lids and no bottoms? I wanted something small but sturdy to pack some sandwiches for my guy to take on the plane with him. I opened the cabinet to find...no bottoms! So I grabbed two lids, and they snapped right together, creating the perfect sandwich holder.

There is no wiggle room, so the sandwich won't fall apart mid-flight. And I won't feel too bad if he
doesn't bring it home again.

Plastic egg trays. Why do my organic eggs come in plastic trays? I don't know. But until someone in the egg industry sees the irony I will continue to try to find uses for them.

I have found that they are great for holding all those odd little things that you know you will use one day, but then when you want it you can't find it. The clear egg tray keeps everything separated, so you don't have to empty the whole thing, and you can peer into it without even opening it!

They are also perfect for any sorting job you might have to do. Just dump all your odd buttons, hooks and eyes, beads, etc into the square tray, then as you find matching objects you can put them into their own shell.





This is a great way to keep kids entertained on a rainy day.

Once you have everything sorted, pop them into those little zip-lock bags that come with the spare button from a shirt.

You can also use your plastic/cardboard/Styrofoam egg containers to store small Christmas ornaments. Also use the plastic or Stryofoam ones as palettes to mix your watercolors.

Have you ever had rice crackers? Yummy! I really like the wasabi-flavored crackers. And once they are gone you can use the packaging to keep all your spools of thread neat. Even the really big ones. Put an end to all that rolling about, unwinding and tangling that drives us all insane. Just line a drawer or your sewing box with a few of these and you've got that problem licked.

Prefer sweet treats to savory? A lot of cookies come packed in the same type of tray!

I love to get presents, especially if they come in a nice box. The gold Godiva box is a favorite of mine--they are all sizes, useful to hold anything, but they all match so they look nice on your shelves. Plus every time you see them you think of the nice person that gave you the chocolates.

I really lucked out one day at work. We got all the Christmas cards for the different office to send out, and the boxes they came I were so nice I kept them. I bet if you go to your local stationer, they may have boxes that you can have.

These hold all the larger strange things that I hold on to until just the right costume comes along: holsters, shoe clips, belt buckles, broken compasses, whatever... Again, just by having all this "junk" in this nice neat stack of matching boxes, I instantly go from "Totally Insane Studio" to "Super Organized Studio!" I want to go the extra step one day and make some parchment paper labels for them...but that's another day.

How many tins of Altoids do you have lying about? I can't bear to throw them out! I keep hairclips, paper clips, binder clips...and you can see one used to hold a bunch of little gold confetti stars.

I use them for travel all the time: they hold just enough jewelry, foreign coins, safety pins for a short journey. You an turn a tin into a travel sewing kit--just don't take the scissors on the plane with you!

And what to do with those silly mesh garlic bags? Again, perfect for storage because you can see what's inside. Great for holding little toys. And perfect for washing little things, like grimy buttons from a flea market. Just soak, swish and hang dry.

So I hope I have inspired you to not throw away your trash--it might just make you more organized if you keep it. Let me know how you use your throwaways.