Repurposed Plastic Jug

I trash-dove this morning.

Okay not really into the trash and I didn’t really “dive” – more like I snuck a plastic jug from my friend’s recycling.

After you see what I did with it, you’re going to go in search of recycling to pilfer as well.

I’ll start with the need, so you know where I’m coming from;

that is how my children store their goggles – thrown over the edge of the pool to land anywhere and everywhere.

The next time they hop into the pool we start the barrage of questions: “Mom, where are my goggles? I can’t find my goggles? Have you seen my goggles? Can you pass me my goggles?” The questions are fired back-to-back in that order EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. they get into the pool.

My friend Lisa had her recycling out all set for garbage pick-up when I spotted several of these plastic jugs:

and it got me to thinking about what I could possibly do with one – like cut it open maybe?

So that it had a handle for hanging and an opening for storage maybe?

An exacto knife cut through this like warmed butter and then I lightly sanded the edges to give you the impression that I cut perfectly straight and smooth. I then drilled a hole large enough to fit a command hook through and added a few drainage holes in the bottom.

I hope the command hook can withstand a bit of rain? It’s under the overhang of the pool, so I think it will be okay.

PERFECT goggle storage – it’s like this plastic jug was meant to be repurposed!

This plastic jug was a relatively large one, but you could do this with milk jugs or soda bottles as well – the size will determine what you can store inside it.

If I’d made two handles, instead of a handle and an opening, I could have used this for the beach to store toys or shells. You could shake off the sand in the container and/or dip everything in the lake to rinse it off and the water would just drain out.

What about tucking a couple into your cooler – without drainage holes – so that you could store sandwiches and snacks in the ice, without the food actually touching the ice and getting soggy.

I’m hoping Lisa will let me pilfer a few more of these plastic jugs so that I can hang a couple on my peg board to corral random nails and screws and to keep gardening gloves in one spot.

Use one to put umbrellas in – sort of a small umbrella stand – I won’t keep them upright, but it will keep the water from dripping all over your floors.

Store clothes pins on the line. Keep sidewalk chalk for the kids. Hang a small one on the side of your chair to hold your hot or cold beverages. Use one as a caddy for condiments. Hang by a command hook in your car for garbage.

There are so many options – what can’t you upcycle a plastic jug to do?