Creative uses for containers from home?

[mad57]

Ok i figured id share what i use reg house hold containers for in the garage... first post is a small creamer container that i use as a fluid transfer vessel ( sounds fancy) but i buy brake fluid in gallon containers and seems im doing alot of brake work recently and needed a way to get just enough fluid into master cyclinder up on the lift in the air, so this container is perfect with its pour spout and when im done with it or it gets to dirty just toss it. This is a for instance use here i know theres tons of brake fliud items out there we dont need to beat just that into the ground so what do you use?? and for what? looking foward to some creative uses.

 

[wfochris]

I cut the tops off of 2 liter soda bottles and use them for disposable funnels. Just rinse 'em out first. The tops fit well into a vehicle's oil fill, and no cleanup when you're done. Store them right-side up with the cap on before you use them and no dust collects in them either.

I use gallon milk jugs for everything under the sun, mostly to pour used oil in to return to the auto store. Their base is much larger than the containers that the oil comes in and it's easier to see how full they are.

I'm sure I'll think of more later.

 

[Radio Flyer]

I use syrup containers for oil and trans fluid.

Easy to top off mowers with oil and snow plows with trans. fluid.

 

[mad57]

I use syrup containers for oil and trans fluid.

Easy to top off mowers with oil and snow plows with trans. fluid.

coulda used that yesterday for transfer case refill.damn

 

[Kenwc]

The big red plastic Folgers coffee containers with black lid. Those things are heavy duty and I used them for soaking small parts in degreaser...Evaporust etc.

I also use them to store bolts and parts from machines that I'm restoring.

 

[UncleJoe]

I did a diet thing where I ate Lean Cuisines for lunch and dinner for 3 weeks. Actually not as bad as it sounds as with Cheerios for breakfast and a couple of 100 cal granola bars as snacks I was easily between 1200 and 1600 calories a day and lost 18 pounds and now I just don't want as much food so I might loose even more. But I digress.....

The black plastic trays that the meals come in make excellent mixing trays for epoxy and small batches of putty. They also work well as nut and bold trays and paint trays for touch ups around the house.

 

[Buckgnarly]

I cut the tops off of 2 liter soda bottles and use them for disposable funnels. Just rinse 'em out first. The tops fit well into a vehicle's oil fill, and no cleanup when you're done. Store them right-side up with the cap on before you use them and no dust collects in them either.

I use gallon milk jugs for everything under the sun, mostly to pour used oil in to return to the auto store. Their base is much larger than the containers that the oil comes in and it's easier to see how full they are.

I'm sure I'll think of more later.

Just gave me an awesome improvement to my idea......I use the bottom part of the 2 liter to finish unscrewing the oil filter, as long as the filter is vertical or close to it you can use the bottom part to catch oil as you unscrew the filter by hand. I used to throw the top away, now I have a use for it!


My coworker has an autistic son who eats peanutbutter like crazy. He gave me a trashbag of old plastc jars....screw the lid to my ceiling joists, put screws/nuts/bolts/whatever in the jar, then screw them onto the lid on the ceiling.

 

[bchee]

screw the lid to my ceiling joists, put screws/nuts/bolts/whatever in the jar, then screw them onto the lid on the ceiling.

awesome idea

 

[dolfans]

I use cat litter plastic bottles for used oil. Holds more than milk jugs etc. On the coffee cans i use those for cooking grease and want to use them to put spare change in. One for dimes,one foe penny's etc

 

[TheGrooveking]

My wife went through a few year period were she drank that International Delight coffee drinks, the kind that come in a small aluminum tin with resealable top. I told her to save them, so I ended up with about 100 of them. I still need to paint them, and then design a shelving unit for them, but they'll be cool once I get some time.

TheGrooveking

 

[vlpronj]

baby wipe containers

good hinge on the lid, fairly sturdy
don't start cracking readily
fits in those fiberboard mail sorters pretty well

 

[lilredex]

For more ideas regarding container reuse, look for the book "Shop Savvy" ISBN 10-0806958006





http://www.amazon.com/dp/155654040X/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Mattlt]

For more ideas regarding container reuse, look for the book "Shop Savvy" ISBN 10-0806958006





http://www.amazon.com/dp/155654040X/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I did something similar to the drawer pictured but used 2-quart juice jugs. Just cut them off 2 - 2.5" from the bottom (I used a table saw to cut them off.)

 

[eborcim]

Big liquid detergent containers (2gal) work great for used oil.

Clear 1/2 gallon cheese and nut & PBJ containers from SAM's work good for misc bolts, zipties, hoseclamps, misc brass fittings. Especially for the racetrack!

Plastic (2gal) ice cream tubs work good for rearend or lawnmower oil drains.

 

[Question]

Heinz ketchup plastic bottles have a flap inside the cap of the squirt bottles that are perfect for adding water to your car battery. Fill with water they don't drip water till you squeeze it. Just line up and shoot, when you stop squeezing the water stops and move to the next cell.

 

[Crooked Beat]

For more ideas regarding container reuse, look for the book "Shop Savvy" ISBN 10-0806958006





http://www.amazon.com/dp/155654040X/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I have owned that book for quite a few years. Always re-reading it.

 

[JC23]

Here's one I just found. I was at my GF's and she offered me some ice cream. I have to admit, I was more into the container than what was in it. There was only about one serving left so I couldn't wait to finish it and wash the container out. It's all plastic and has the recycling logo on the top and bottom. Seals tight, too! The only bad part is the label is silkscreened onto the container and the lid. Well, that's easily fixed!

And yeah, I'm gonna crazy paint one sooner or later...

 

[ears]

Heinz ketchup plastic bottles have a flap inside the cap of the squirt bottles that are perfect for adding water to your car battery. Fill with water they don't drip water till you squeeze it. Just line up and shoot, when you stop squeezing the water stops and move to the next cell.

Along similar lines the water bottle squeeze tops will fit on a quart container. I keep one on a bottle of ATF for refilling PS fluid at work. The gatorade bottle squeeze tops should fit a gallon jug.

 

[jwh]

The 35MM film containers work great as a transfer container for topping off the brake fluid in our Windstar. Ford very thoughtfully put the master cylinder under the cowling, good luck getting a quart bottle in there.

 

[mdbeck1]

okay,
Does using cut off oil cans hold nuts and bolts (and other assorted hardware) count?

 

[IH82BL8]

I saved a bunch of these from chinese delivery. They're great. I can write on them, they have transparent lids, they're stackable and they're rectangular--like the cabinets in my garage. Oh yeah, they were free, too.

 

[fourfeathers]

We use empty washer solvent bottles for icemelt. Keep a bottle in every truck.
The plastic gum containers from Eclipse work well for storing and dispensing hardware or elec. connectors, wirenuts, etc. Small opening or large flap for your choice.

 

[Mattlt]

Another thing I use are empty 12-gauge shotgun shell boxes. Cut them off at whatever height you need. I like that they fit so tightly in a drawer/box/whatever.

Stop and ask at the local gun club or range.

 

[Spareparts]

My son's and I race RC 10th scale cars and all the small parts that is involved in that is a problem for storage, we started using priscripition drug bottles, remove the labels and you can see thru them fairly easy. We even found some large enough to store the electric motors we use.

 

[Matt M PA]

I took two different sized coffee plastic jars. Drilled a hole in the smaller one's lid big enough to jam a length of clear plastic hose through, placing a zip tie on the "inside" of the hose to keep it from pulling out.

With the lid back on, and the hose in...I sit the smaller one in the larger one. I can then place the hose around the outside of the smaller one...still inside the bigger one. Having the smaller one inside the larger one helps keep it from tipping over or falling.

Okay...so why did I do this? For me...the perfect brake bleeder. When done, it's contained and neat. The clear hose slips over the bleeder without an adapter and being clear I can look for bubbles.