How to reuse old toiletry bags 10 ways

Zoe — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 08:00:00 +0000

Even if you’ve never bought a make up or toiletry bag in your life it’s very difficult to avoid them. As so many gifts sets are given in bags they seem to pile up. I have a drawer full of toiletry bags, many of which have sat there for years doing nothing. They are either too big or too small, or just not as attractive as some of the other ones. However, you don’t need to leave them in your cupboard feeling sad and lonely! If you are wondering how to reuse them, there are loads of ways

10 options for how to reuse toiletry bags

How to reuse toiletry bags as an organiser: Some toiletry bags have different compartments and these ones make great organisers. Especially if they have clear ‘windows’ – I used the one pictured above to organise ribbons. Other sewing or craft supplies would work well in here too. You could also store puzzles in it!
In a handbag or backpack. Small items float around my handbag getting lost at the bottom. Pop them in a toiletry bag keep them together. It also makes it easier to transfer from one handbag to another
Some plastic lined toiletry bags could be useful as lunch bags or snack containers
Re-gift the bag to kids. They love little bags and boxes as they are perfect for keeping their small toys and treasures in
As a pencil case. Even the large ones could work well if you have a lot of stationery to put in them!
Bike maintenance kit. Add in a puncture repair / spanner / torch.
As a jewellery bag. A pretty patterned makeup bag could work well for this or even an oddly shaped shaver bag!
Fill it with plasters and make it into a first aid kit!
Flannel bag. Use for kids instead of wet wipes/ bag for wet clothes (kids potty training)
To store hair bands and clips

If you still have more bags than you know what to do with they could make a great alternative to wrapping paper when giving a gift to someone else.

After years of learning how to declutter, tidy and organise my home, I am now offering my services as a professional declutter. If you feel you could benefit from help in this area, check out my website: Tidy with Zoe for more info.

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Introducing a new concept – upusing!

Zoe — Mon, 22 Feb 2016 19:52:00 +0000

Have you ever felt really frustrated because you couldn’t quite place a word you wanted and then felt so relieved when it eventually comes to you? I had a concept floating around in my head and I decided there wasn’t a word out there that was working for me. I had a burning need to put a word to it though, so I made one up and here it is: upuse – ta-da!

I might not be quite the Oxford dictionary, but here is my definition of upuse:

To use something for more functions than it was originally intended for without altering or damaging the original object in any way.

The reason this was bugging me so much was because it is something I have started doing semi-regularly. The closest descriptions to it I could think of were making do, but I didn’t feel that was specific enough and upcycling but I think that implies that the item is altered in some way.

Some examples of upusing I have done around the house include:

I used to have large mixing bowls and similar sized serving bowls. It honestly had never occurred to me that I could use my serving bowls for mixing (or vice-versa), but the mixing bowls disappeared during my Year of Eco Challenges (read more here) when I was buying nothing new for myself and it didn’t take long to realise that my serving bowls, which were rarely used previously, would work just fine as mixing bowls. Now I make bread dough in them regularly. Incidentally it turns out after getting Mr ETL to read this post before I published it, he has been been doing some upusing of his own and we do still have them!
I used to put the plastic bags I brought home from the supermarket in a plastic bag dispenser. Now I use the dispenser to store and dispense reusable cloth wipes for use around the kitchen (read more here)!
I have written about this quite a few times on the blog, but I now use a freezer bag to keep food cool and hot and as a kind of thermal cooker – perfect for making yogurt in or to keep bread dough warm .
My kids decorated some mugs at a club last summer, which I haven’t used because we didn’t really have room for them on our shelf of mugs. I didn’t want to get rid of them, so now they are being used as attractive and personalised pen and pencil holders!

The benefits of upusing things:

Looking at things with upusing goggles on might mean that you don’t need to buy something new (or replace something which is broken and can’t be repaired) if you find you could do the job with something you already have.
Upusing can also help guide decluttering – looking for the multiple uses in your stuff could help you identify duplicate equipment you might not have noticed before that you don’t really need.
Upusing doesn’t alter or damage the object in anyway, so it means you can still use it for what it was originally intended for as well.

I’m sure this kind of thing happens all the time and I’d love to hear your examples of upusing!

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The post Introducing a new concept – upusing! appeared first on Eco Thrifty Living.

upuse Archives - Eco Thrifty Living

How to reuse old toiletry bags 10 ways

10 options for how to reuse toiletry bags

Introducing a new concept – upusing!