Re-purpose to Save Money and The Landfill
Re-purpose To Save Money and The Landfill
I save everything, thinking I will some day have a use for it. When we purchased our new refrigerator, I took all the drawers and door compartments out before they hauled it away for recycling. At the time I didn’t have use for them, but I stored them in the garage knowing I could use them some where.
As I was re-organizing the kitchen pantry, the bins came in very handy. Since the shelves are coated wire, small items always fall through them plus the shelves are deep and the small items that get pushed to the back of the pantry are never seen again. Not knowing what I have hidden away, I would buy more since I couldn’t see what I had. So, my next project was to tackle the pantry and make it user friendly.
I took one large crisper drawer and put all the jello, puddings and fruit cups in it. These are the things that would “get lost” in the back of the shelves. It’s easy to pull the drawer out to get what’s needed. The other crisper drawer I used to store bags of sugar and flour and get all that off a shelf. That too is easy to pull out to remove the bags when needed.
One of the bins was a funny shape and didn’t have a front but I still managed to utilize that as well. I store the pouches of dinner meals, biscuits and that type of products in it and no problem of them falling through the cracks. It actually works good without the front, I can just reach up and pull out what I want.
The two small door bins that were also but to good use. One was for the sugar, cocoa and other baking products I store in storage bags. I stack them in the bag and again, neatly organized. The other door bin is perfect for small candy bars and gum.
I also had a plastic storage container hanging around and that worked perfect for crackers. I found that by organizing the different products this way, it was much easier to see what I have plus nothing can get pushed to the back.
My pantry is all neat and orderly and now I don’t have to spend money on products that I already have in there but couldn’t see. So if you plan to get rid of your refrigerator, save the drawers! You never know how handy they will be.
This is so timely – because we may be replacing our refrigerator in the next year or so. We don’t have much pantry storage space so anything we already have that we can use to help organize it would be most welcome.
I’m glad the timing was right Alana! We too only have one closet for storage so I need to make it work. I’m all for re-purposing and space saving! Thanks for visiting and let me know when you get your new fridge and what you do with your drawers!
Love it!!!! I am all about re-purposing products, I love the ideas 🙂 Thanks for sharing
Thanks Jennifer, I think I like the challenge of coming up with things like this as much as it being saving the landfill. I have a few more cool ideas coming up! Thanks for visiting!
Oh my goodness! This is so inspiring! I love it. I’m in the middle of a major tidying project (i’m obsessed with KonMari method) and am always looking for better ways to store items. This is fabulous!
Thanks for the positive comments Monick! I love coming up with clever, low priced ideas and passing them on to others. Watch for more of my ideas to come!
Oh my goodness! I love this so much! I’m doing a major tidy of my house (I’m obsessed with the KonMari method) and am always looking for new and better ways to store items (especially repurposed ways to store). We don’t have a pantry, but I have items in my cabinets I can’t see. I’m definitely going to try this for my cabinets.
We don’t have much pantry space and this is a way to utilize every bit of space. I’d love to see pictures if you do this! Thanks for visiting!
Great post. I was brought up on the words ‘waste not, want not’. Repurposing and recycling have served me well over the years 🙂
I was brought up the same way Lee-Anne and it has stuck with me for over 60 years. I also find it as a challenge to come up with ideas for things that otherwise may end up in the trash. Thanks for visiting!