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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Boon or Bane?

vinegar jugs aka pots for bulbs
 
Using vinegar jugs for planting bulbs or even seeds is a boon. I save money since I don't have to buy pots. My parsimonious will not, cannot buy pots at retail. My parsimonious self cannot dislike free potting supplies. Boon
 
However, since I am not doing much potting due to no way to drill holes in the bottom, I have just collected vinegar jugs. They drive me nuts cluttering the yard when they blow from their appointed place. Bane
 
 

which brings me to the solution
 
1/2 bag
 
I cut the bag, first the handle and then right down the center. 

Voila! Rope
 
Tie the "rope" onto one jug. Then, string the other jugs onto the "rope." I have another "rope" just like this for another use for something else. Several more jugs could go onto this string of jugs. this is much easier to carry to the road. 
 


Secure
 
The last jug on the left is a milk jug, also tied. Now, the recycling won't blow all over the street. Now, I don't have to retrieve my garbage.
 
Because of physical problems and blinding rain and forgetfulness, I have not take the recycling out to the road for a month. There were only three cans and milk jugs, none of which was stinky. So, the bin was full when I put the jugs in.
 
Your turn
Now, I know others reuse plastic bags. How? Do you ever make "ropes"?

10 comments:

  1. I use vinegar for the rinse cycle in the laundry among other things. One jug is used to mix plant food or rooting solution. I can recycle the plastic jugs. Or they can be used to store water for power outages.

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  2. Patti,
    Vinegar in the rinse cycle here, too. Plant food holder, too. Aren't these jugs handy. I have about fifty more of these in the basement. So, I am just overrun at the moment. Water storage is a great idea.

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  3. I use plastic bags to collect garbage, to collect kitty litter and innumerable other things. Since stores cannot give them out these days (and I resent paying for them) my stores are running low.
    When my partner is in hospital I snaffle the clinical waste bags each time I go to visit and they stand in for the bags I can no longer get (freely).

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  4. Linda have you thought about heating an ice-pick and melting a few holes in the bottom of your jugs?

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    Replies
    1. I was going to suggest the same thing.....an ice pick was my mother's favorite tool. She would often melt things back together, or poke holes in things to wire them back together. Many of our hard plastic animals had wired on legs and tails. :)

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    2. Janet,
      Yes, I thought about it and tried it. It was clear I did not have enough strength or agility in my hands and fingers. I have hurt myself. It is like cutting with a dull knife--the best way to cut yourself.

      So, why do I think the power drill will work any better? So, I could be wrong. At least I could get exbf to do it. Since he has never owned a drill or electric screwdriver, I could not prevail on him to bring his up.

      I tried to cut little rectangles in the bottom, using a utility knife. I could not make a dent. Exbf could, but he cut huge holes and put many slashes in the bottom...sigh. But, I told him it was okay.

      Yep, the blazing hot ice pick is a favorite tool.

      My plan was to get a board and put it on the table outside and set the cut-off vinegar jug on that so I would not have to be careful about pressing too hard with the drill.

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    3. I would have hurt myself--what I meant in first paragraph!

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    4. It sounds as if you didn't get the ice pick hot enough. When it is red hot it slides through like butter! I made an ant barrier/moat to keep the ants from attacking our humming bird feeders. I melted holes through some pretty tough vitamin bottles with no trouble,

      John used a drill to put holes in some bleach bottles for me.

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  5. I guess I need to say: I have about 50 vinegar jugs in the basement. There are another half dozen in the house. The ones in the yard were dirty. I could have washed the mud off them, but I did not want to. While getting them together and cutting the bag, I decided to show how I finally kept them together. I suppose I could try really hard and risk hurting myself and cut holes in the bottom or burn holes in the bottom. I will not bring them in the house to the stove unless I wash them, I refuse to wash them. I use the electric stove to heat the ice pick.

    Reusing those pesky plastic bags is a big goal of mine. I don't use my canvas bags so much anymore, but I am going to do better to not have them hanging about the house.

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Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.