Rock Bottom Frugal Living tip 8

Frugal Kitchen Tips (more uses for plastic before putting it into a landfill)

* Reuse empty plastic liners from cereal boxes as freezer bags or wax paper. Can alsobe used to wrap sandwiches and other lunch items.

* Reuse plastic mesh bags (the kind used in the produce section for onions, etc.) tosecurely hold small items that you want to run through the dishwasher. Or form it into a ball (a little like how we used to make pom poms as kids) and use for scrubbing pots and pans. They can also be used as a little drip-dry bag.

* Wash and save plastic containers used to package convenience food to storehomecooked meals and leftovers.

* Cut the tops off of empty plastic milk/juice cartons and reuse as funnels. Milk jugswork well in gardens early in the season to keep your tomatoes from harm during frosty nights. Cut the bottoms off to stick them into the ground, keeping the lid on at night.  

* Pour old baking soda from the refrigerator down your sink drain to freshen it up.

* Old pantyhose can be reused to hang onions and potatoes. Cut off the legs at thethigh section, put knots in between the vegetables, and hang from the ceiling of your pantry.

* Save butter or margarine tubs, cool whip tubs, and sour cream and cottage cheesetubs with their lids. I have often bought large amounts of flour (such as a 50 lb. bag). When I get it home, I divide it up into these plastic containers and store many of them in the freezer. Label them well. The same principle can be applied to dry beans, rice, split peas, and dried fruits such as dried cranberries. Freezing doesn't hurt them, and you run less risk of spoilage over time. It helps to have a good size freezer.

Another benefit of filling your freezer with these types of items is that they hold in thecold, so that if you do experience a power outage, they help keep your freezer coldlonger. And a full freezer is more energy efficient than a half full freezer.

*Another use for plastic tubs is that when we break something glass, it can be swept up into the container, with the lid on, before placing the glass into the trash. No one gets accidently hurt by broken glass.

*If you are a mom with a child that loves Lego and their ilk, those plastic tubs make great storage containers.

*Used laundry detergent bottles make great little scrub buckets for small cleaning jobsaround the house (like periodically washing door knobs and door frames during fluseason).

*We save bread bags. They come in all different sizes, and sometimes we use thoseinstead of plastic wrap when putting leftovers in the refrigerator.  Store leftover cheese in bags to keep them from drying out. A 5 lb. bag of flour fits into the larger bags nicely, so that it protects the flour from insect invasion, especially in the summers. An opened box of pancake mix fits into hamburger bun bags.

What are your thrifty kitchen tips?