What items do you reuse to save money?

lunch bags, plastic bags, paper/envelopes when it comes in the mail to write on the back of them, clothes! (we get hand me downs and pass along clothes that dont fit my kids!) that sort of thing

We recycle our pop cans and take them in for money to use to buy more with. I reuse all sorts of paper as I can always find a use for it. That is a good idea for the cats. I don't have cats but I like the idea.

i recycle few things to save money such as plastic bags, glass bottles from jam/spread and food container... i use plastic bags as a garbage bag so that i don't have to buy... i use glass bottles as jars to put many things that i need to keep so i don't need to buy jars... i use the food containers from restaurant to keep my meat and frost them in the freezer...

I don't know how unique my ideas are ;) but there are a few things that I reuse to cut costs. A few examples are: ~ newspapers: use them to clean windows and mirrors, I also keep a stack of them for use as packing material and for art projects. ~ plastic grocery bags: when I don't use a cloth bag for my shopping I use plastic bags for a number of things. A bin for the kitchen (hang it on the pantry door), nappy bags (so much cheaper than buying those little scented ones and a few drops of essential oil mean I can hang it on his changetable and change it and the end of the day- would recommend taking dirt nappies straight out to the bin though =D ) ~ soft drink bottles: I make shakers out of them with some coloured rice, which my son loves. Or put some coloured water in there (glitter is optional). I also use them in the garden- cut the top off and take the lid off, so it's like a funnel, put the narrow end into a pot plant and fill with water and the water goes in slower. The bottom bit can be used for raising seedlings. ~ formula cans: ashtrays, pencil tins, storage for nails/ and other odds and ends, storage for flour/etc, also use them as change tins/money boxes. Okay I'm going to stop there, thats just a handful of the things I reuse.

I love figuring out new ways to use things that would otherwise go in the garbage. My big ones are primarily reusing the backs of blank sheets of paper and envelopes, both of which make great scrap paper. I also reuse paper towel or toilet paper tubes (the cardboard center part), by rolling up my knee high or thigh high tights and putting one pair in each tube. I can mark on the outside which one is in there, and it always keeps the pair together. Finally, I reuse old pill bottles (rinsed out, and with the label removed) to hold things like Q-tips or pens. If I keep the lid, too, I can use them to store smaller things like paper clips or thumbtacks.

I reuse envelopes. I open them with a letter opener so it stays intact, then I place white labels over the written parts and the stamp parts, and use them again. I rarely buy envelopes. I also use the brown paper bags I get from the supermarket as book covers, it's sooo durable! And it's fun if you have kids, to have them decorate it. The plastic bags I use for trash bins. The empty containers from things like cream cheese or mayo I use for anything I might need - a sauce I made or for candy or paperclips/pencils if you have an office, or beads and pins and such if you're into crafts. I reuse everything! Does that scream cheapo or what? LOL.

well you can use the news paper to clean window too, works great, ever see the movie big daddy, you can use the paper for anything lol.

I reuse our newspapers to line my parrots' cages. I reuse the grocery store bags both at the grocery store (some places take a few cents off your order for using your own bags) and for the trash baskets in the house.All plastic containers and glass jars with covers get reused to hold leftovers or whatever. And I've made my own cloth diapers & covers out of recycled clothing.

I can tell that a lot of mylotters are just as thrifty as I am, and I do a lot of the stuff that has already been mentioned. In our house we also reuse plastic bags for nappy bags, garbage bags in the bathroom, and for lots of other stuff. I also use the envelopes, and any other white surface paper to write my grocery lists on, and then I put the coupons I will use in a particular store inside the envelope. I do have two filled coupon sorters, but I usually go to three different stores (Winn Dixie, Publix, and CVS or Walgreens) on my weekly shopping trip, as they are located very close by. Having the coupons inside the envelope for each store, makes my system much better. We also reuse or 1 gallon water bottles, as we refill them at the convenience store. We figure it is all "tap water" that they are selling anyway, it taste the same as the expensive water in the store, and one thing is for sure it is a lot better than the tap water we have at home.

Hi. We rinse and clean our plastic milk containers and mix up drinks in them, saves buying drink bottles... We also use these bottles for storing cold water in the fridge...

I have several things I reuse but the one I am proudest of is that I get the old sample wallpaper books from stores and make greeting cards and gift bags out of them and donate them to the troops and also to nursing homes.

Hmmmmm..... Plastic milk jugs I cut the tops off and use for funnels. I also use them to empty my grease from my deep fryer into. Actually I use theese for alot of things. LOL. Watering my plants, I mix up miricle grow and store this in them. We use them for alot of things. Jelly Jars(small ones) I cleaned them and ripped the label off and use them in my betheroom for cotton balls, qtips ect. It looks really nice believe it or not. Oranges- I use the peels to freshen my garbage disposal Mesh onion bags- Add leftover pieces of soap and make a scrubber Coffee cans-My grandfather uses theese to put his needles in after doin his insulin and I also use theese to hold leftover flour, suger ect at xmas time This is all I could think of. ope it helps

i reuse everythign I can from plastic bags, fabrics, containers, boxes, whatever you can think of. I use fabrics to make cloth pads and use containers until they literally fall apart. Its something I've been doing for awhile before the 'craze'.

I reuse plastic bags as a gabbage bags because in my country you will get a lot of plastic bags when you purchase something. So at the end i don't need to buy any black gabbage bags and a bit of money. Old newspapers usually we sell them to some collector who will then sell them to paper recycler manufacturer.

no , i do not use any thing, but you have grate idea to save money and energy

We reuse as much stuff as can be. We use the plastic grocery bags as garbage bags, and we wash out and reuse plastic sandwich bags too. Although now we have those plastic sandwich boxes, which are a bit sturdier and easier to reuse, too.

I wash out my zip lock bags and reuse them. I use the plastic garbage bags as trash can bags, that is those I do not return to the store. We don't get the paper anymore. I use the glass jars we get our spaghetti sauce in as well as the large and small peanut butter jars to store dried pasta, rice, specialty flours, and sugar. We refill the large wide bottom ketchup containers as well.

I tend to reuse paper a lot. Also, I reuse shipping supplies. If I get a package, will save the bubble mailers or boxes for items I sell on ebay or half.com.

Water bottles, Cans and bottles that comes with the other food stuffs , are some of the things we reuse in our home to save money. Also we use the things more carefully, so that they last longer, which again save the money too.!

I am lucky that here most everything is recyclable. Plastic, paper, cans etc and composting so very little gets in the actual trash. But I reuse shopping bags for liners in trash or to carry things in. Ice cream containers to hold small toys, makeup, berries I pick and freeze, and lots of other uses. I don't buy the newspaper but once a we we get flyers and use them for wrapping paper and the kids decorate it up. Parcel boxes get reused for sending out stuff, playhouse for toys, crafts, projects etc. One thing I do is that I make my own cakes and baked goods to bring to the school for birthdays and stuff and I don't want to bring anything back home so I make a carrying tray out of cereal boxes and foil them up and put some stickers on them. Looks fancy like a store but it is homemade. HEHE