Don’t you love creative reuse and up-cycle?
When I set out to gather a few ideas on how we can reuse plastic bottles, I did not expect to find so many amazing and useful things to make for our home and garden!
Proceed at you own risk: you may never look at plastic bottles the same way again!
1. 2 Liter Bottle Fruit Picker
All the peaches, apples and pears are no longer out of reach with this easy picker made from a 2 Liter bottle and a 1×1 shaped into a handle. According to Allan, it takes only 20 minutes to make, and works great! ( Grit | Allan )
2. Irrigation Reservoir
Learning from a failed strawberry tower last year, we made several improvements. This built-in plastic bottle reservoir made a huge difference! ( A Piece Of Rainbow )
3. Shampoo Bottle Garden Light
Cut a translucent bottle, pop in a LED tea light. We get an elegant garden light in under 1 hour. ( Instructables | Ruud )
4. Plastic Bottle Charging Station
Love this organization hack and the gorgeous fabric added onto the bottle with Mod Podge ! If you are concerned about hanging it directly on the plug, just hang it on the wall next to an outlet. ( Make it Love it | Ashley )
5. Soda Bottle Bird House
I don’t want to use this over used word … but just look at those “roof tiles”, so CUTE! ( Cool2Craft | Heidi )
6. Instant Mini Greenhouse
This super quick “greenhouse” can effectively raise the temperature about 10 degrees! There are 3 tips on how to use them well. ( A Piece Of Rainbow )
7. Soda Bottle Cat Planter
I will never look at a soda bottle the same way again! Ingenious! ( Bru DIY )
8. Painted Bottle Passive Heating System
I LOVE the use of old jugs that have been spray painted black in this greenhouse. They are filled with water. During the day the water warms up, and at the night, they radiate extra heat inside the greenhouse! ( Heather | How Does She )
9. Plastic Bottle Watering Can
I have this love for watering cans…. one can never have too many of them, right? ( A Journey To A Dream | Astra )
10. Plastic Bottle Sprinkler
Squeal! How much fun is this?!?
( Clever Crafty Cookin Mama | Jenn )
11. Soda Bottle Zipper Pencil Case
Imagine going on a field trip, this would be perfect for keeping an art journal! ( Doodlecraft | Natalie )
12. Chicken Waterer
The basin type waterer can get contaminated quickly by these active little cuties. Heather used sturdy plastic jugs ( like juice or vinegar jugs) and these easy to install Poultry Chicken nipple – Waterer to make some great hanging waterers. ( Scratch Cradle | Heather )
13. Hanging planter
So many ways to make hanging planters from plastic bottles. We may have to make all three versions!
( Bitrebels | Hello Natural | SCJohnson )
14. Plastic Bottle Greenhouse
A very green greenhouse that looks like a magical crystal castle! ( Master Gardening Blog , also a great tutorial by IzzyM )
15. Soda Bottle Canopy
OK, most of us may not be ready to do this : 1,500 recycled bottles with a bit of colored liquid in each bottle – but the magnificent canopy sure inspires us to see new levels of possibilities! ( Treehugger | Garth Britzman )
16. Plastic Bottle Kayak
Merrily merrily… life is a dream. Plastic bottles and Liquid Nails PolyAdhesive are all we need for a carefree day floating on a lake! ( Instructables | Jake )
If you don’t want the up-cycled magic to end, check out 18 inspiring ideas for upcycled glass bottles and jars!
Or these 21 DIY greenhouses with lots of recycled materials!
Miss Angie
Oooh, I really like all of these ideas! How great!
Lindsay @Artsy-Fartsy Mama
These are all such fun ideas!! Excited to try making some of these with my daughter this summer!!
ananda
yes! especially that sprinkler! =)
Lily Lau
Yes, yes and yes to all these 16 new opportunities! What an useful post, I won’t toss a pastic bottle again.
ananda
thank you lily! the possibilities are endless! xo
Abbie @ Growing Roots and Wings
These are amazing ideas!! Thank you for sharing!!
Ashley S.
So cool! Thanks for sharing!
Charlene Asay
What an awesome round up. Thanks for sharing!
Christina
These are great!!
ashley
What awesome ideas! I love being able to epicycle things I’d generally just toss in the trash or recycling bin. Will have to try some of these out!
ananda
woo i love the word “epicycle”!! xx
The Daydreamer
Dear Ananda,
This month has been a nightmare for me and my family and God knows I need a little piece of rainbow. Your site is infused with such happiness, it is a safe spot. Loved #3 and #4 above: the first for its poetic beauty and the second for its lovely efficiency – definitely need to grab a pair of scissors and make it. Your posts always encourage me to actually ACT, and I enjoy this 🙂 Speaking of plastic bottles: I did find on IG at some point lovely and colorful works of art made with plastic bottle caps – think along the lines of mosaics, collages etc. totally doable with kids… Cannot wait to try too. Have a great day!
ananda
hey my friend! sorry to hear you had a tough month! life can be complicated at times, take good care and find time to do small things that makes you smile!! xoxo
Kristi @ Inspiration Kitchen
OMGosh Ananda! What a great post. You are right – I will never look at bottles the same way again!
ananda
thank you dear kristi! i see an ingenious culinary use coming… =)
April Stewart
wow what a great way to use up plastic thanks for shareing.
Katie Norman
These are so great ideas! My sister is trying to reduce her family’s waste and recycling, and reusing different items is a part of the process. I’m sure she’ll love these clever ideas and will get to work immediately. Thanks for the inspiration!
Marci
These are fantastic ideas. My kids are always asking to keep everything and find a new use for it. Going to try some of these!
ananda
thank you marci! kids never fail to teach us about creativity! =)
Missy Simpson
I want to apologize to you for my earlier comments about grammar and spelling. Spending years learning to be a reporter, I was held to a high standard and part of that standard was spelling correctly and using proper grammar and tenses. I stand by my review of your site, it truly is incredible, creative and mind blowing. There are so many ideas and simple DIY choices, I can do so much more with my grandson. Thank you and I hope you will forgive me.
ananda
hi missy simpson, thank you and no worries!! =) i grew up speaking a language that does not use past or future tense, and i never worked hard on spelling haha! my writing definitely can use lots of improvements, thank you and happy to have you as part of our community! =)