July Reuse-It Item - Pill Bottles

July's Reuse Item is pill bottles! These little things seem so useful, it's hard to throw them away, and we see loads of them coming through the Reuse Centre. Read on for some practical and unique ways of reusing this common household item!

Lana

Blog team member Emma thought this would be perfect for
Walking Dead or Hunger Games aficionados!

Waterproof and compact, prescription pill bottles are great re-purposed as a travel container. But even if you're not going far away, one would make a perfect little "emergency kit" for day to day. A few spare safety pins, needle, thread (or dental floss), and buttons, and you can fix and prevent a wardrobe malfunction. Include plaster bandages, allergy pills, and a rolled five dollar bill and you'll likely have all bases covered!

Sarah

When pill bottles came up this month, I thought I was going to have a hard time coming up with something other than "put stuff in them", but you really can find anything on the internet!

Can you believe that these gorgeous earrings were made from cut up pill bottles? Check out this article on LilacPOP for more really fantastic examples of jewellery made from pill bottles, including necklaces and more earrings.

The examples on that blog are all made from orange bottles, but the Reuse Centre also sees plenty in blue, fluorescent green, and clear that would look great, too!

Emma

Always forgetting your key? Try keeping a spare somewhere covert with this awesome stealth key hide.
Simply glue a rock to the top of your pill bottle, close up your key inside, and push it down into the dirt. Now you just have to remember which rock it's under!

Visit Thrifty Fun for this and other great ideas.


Nichole


When I see pill bottles, I think of handy ways to keep hair pins and craft supplies organized. When artist Mary Ellen Croteau sees them, however, she sees the potential for installation art.

Her ongoing "Endless Columns" collection, featuring plastic bottle caps, jar lids, pill bottles and other materials that aren't easily recycled, is a social critique and visual challenge for us to look at everyday things in a different way.

Visit her online gallery to see more photos and learn about this innovative art project.



What are your favourite ways to reuse pill bottles? Share your ideas in the comments below!