Friday, April 16, 2010

Friday Five: Five Creative Uses for Coffee Cans

Are you a coffee drinker?  Do you end up with empty coffee cans and are looking for a creative way to reuse or recycle them? 

Here are five fun ideas to try:

1.  Homemade Piggy Banks:  Cut a slit in the plastic lid and then let kids decorate the cans with paper, paints, stickers, etc. to personalize their piggy bank.

2.  Create a Rustic DIY Wine Rack:  Remove the bottom of the can with a can opener.  Pick a color that you want your wine rack to be and spray the outside of each can that color.  When they are dry you can use a Super Strong adhesive like Krazy Glue to put them together. 

3.  Sick Bucket... Okay I know- but if you have a kid that is prone to car sickness, coffee cans are the perfect answer.  I keep a washcloth and a small bottle of water in the can with the lid on in the car at all times.  When we are on a bad road or a long trip my sickie can access it quickly when needed if we can't stop fast enough.  (The water is for clean up of the bucket until we get home and the washcloth is for clean up for him.)

4.  Clean them out and use them to package baked treats, hot chocolate mix, popcorn, etc... for housewarming gifts, holiday gifts, and more.

5.  Candle holders.  Use a bottle opener end to cut v-shaped slits all over the can to let light out.  Then you can set a candle inside.  They are great to decorate and paint on the outside.


Hope these ideas get you thinking about some creative ways to reuse your coffee cans to help you get more organized and save money.


1 comment:

Ellen said...

Great ideas. I also use mine to hold yarn in while I knit or crochet. I cut out a little hole in the plastic lid, insert the yard in the can and up through the hole and then close it and start knitting. My ball of yarn doesn't wander all over the place and the doggies leave it alone.