By Gail Marsh
Every 30 days. That’s how often I end up with an empty medicine bottle. Over time, all of these translucent, amber bottles pile up. If you have excess medicine bottles, you might check with your local recycling outlets to see if they accept the bottles. Our local recycling company does not recycle them. Neither will our pharmacy. So… what do I do with all of these bottles? I upcycle them!
Check out these nifty uses for medicine bottles. You’ll want to thoroughly clean both the outside and inside of the bottles before repurposing them. You can use contact paper or craft paper to decorate them, if you like. Then, let your creativity take charge.
Sewing helpers
• Machine tools. I like to sew, and my sewing machine comes along on almost every extended RV trip we take. One medicine bottle neatly holds my machine bobbins. Another bottle contains machine needles, and yet another holds fabric pins. Larger bottles could corral different pressure feet and spools of thread, as well.
• Sewing kit. Here’s a tutorial that shows you how to make a bottle cap pin cushion (you won’t need a sewing machine for this). I followed the video directions to make a pin cushion for the cap of a medicine bottle. Inside the bottle, I store sewing needles and a thimble. A small spool of thread also fits inside. Now everything is in one convenient place when I need to replace a button.
• Buttons. Speaking of buttons, I keep a few white and black “shirt buttons” inside a bottle—just in case.
Coin corral
• Laundry coins. I keep quarters inside one of my medicine bottles. At least two dollars’ worth of coins will fit. I tuck the bottle into my clothes bag and the money is ready to use at the campground laundry.
• Shopping cart. If you shop at Aldi’s you’re probably familiar with their shopping cart policy. In order to get a cart, you’ll need a quarter. By keeping quarters inside a bottle in our car, I always have a coin ready for a cart.
• Snacks. When we receive change from fast food eateries, I slip the coins into a medicine bottle instead of dropping them in the car console or into the hidden depths of my purse. The bottle keeps the coins gathered together and we use the money for future snacks and treats.
• Parking meters. Our stash of coins in the bottles also comes in handy if we need coins for parking meters.
Jewelry
• Rings. I don’t always take my rings with us when we travel. If, however, we plan to be gone for an extended period of time, I’ll pack my rings inside a medicine bottle until I choose to wear them.
• Earrings. I also take along a few favorite pairs of earrings in a separate bottle. This keeps earrings paired and together in one place.
Personal care
• Hair care. Medicine bottles easily contain shampoo and conditioner for short RV trips. (Ditto for hand lotion.) I put a different color rubber band around the outside of each bottle for quick and easy identification. You could also use a permanent marker to label each bottle.
• Polish remover. I fill a larger bottle with cotton balls. Then I add fingernail polish remover to the bottle. Medicine bottles seal tightly so I have ready access to polish remover when we’re on the road. To use, simply insert your finger into the bottle and twist.
• Hair pins, clips. Store your hair clips, rubber bands, and pins inside a medicine bottle.
Campsite helpers
• Campfire. Coat cotton balls with Vaseline for quick fire starters. Store the fire starters inside a bottle and keep the bottle with the s’mores equipment or other campfire items.
• Matches. Medicine bottles work great for storing stick matches.
• First aid. Follow these directions to turn a medicine bottle into a first aid kit that will fit inside a pocket.
Hobbies, crafts, and more
• Craft supplies. If you take crafting supplies along as you RV, medicine bottles can help hold small items for you. Think beads, sequins, glitter, and more.
• Seed keeper. I store garden seeds inside medicine bottles. Use a permanent marker to label the bottles.
• Batteries. Keep high humidity away from batteries by storing them inside medicine bottles.
• Earbuds. I’m no longer losing my earbuds! Why? Because they “live” inside a medicine bottle when I’m not using them! Now they’re much easier to locate.
• Baking. Medicine bottles can store cake decorating tips and nozzles.
• Tool items. Keep track of small nuts, bolts, and screws by storing them inside medicine bottles.
• Knit, crochet, etc. Forget buying that ball winder. Instead, wind yarn around a medicine bottle. It will create the yarn ball with the central gap you need. Here are directions.
Inspired? I hope so. If you can add to this list, please do so in the comments section.
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##RVDT2657
My mother who passed at 103, used empty prescription containers to store paper clips, push pin, and an assortment of small screws…..
Store AA and AAA batteries in separate pill bottles. Orient them as in all the same poles are on the same end.
I didn’t think of keeping my earbuds in them.
Or batteries. I didn’t realize humidity affects batteries. Thanks for that tip.
I use pill bottles for vitamins so that I don’t have to bring the bigger bottles with me on trips.
Save the dehumidifier packets from other items and store with batteries
Another hint if you don’t have small children, check bottles with flip-top lids to see if the lids will fit other over the counter bottles. If so, keep those lids and transfer them to bottles without flip-top lids. Eventually you will have mostly or all flip-top bottles. No more dropped lids and easier access.
Another place to take these bottles is to local animal shelters. The bottles are used for pet prescriptions. We donate all our clear/amber medicine bottles after we wash them.
I didn’t know that Don, I support my local animal shelter, I’ll have to check it out thanks
Lots of good ideas for the prescription bottles, although when it comes to having a stack of quarters for laundromat days, we use a Crown Royal bag…Lol It holds lots of quarters and won’t roll around on the table or machine.
I store spices and herbs in labeled prescription bottles to take with me when we camp. Takes up far less space than the original containers.
You can also cut a slot in the side of a proper size bottle and use it for a doggie poo bag dispenser.
Thank you for the many suggestions, Gail! We haven’t many of these (yet), but I will save them and begin to take advantage of your suggestions! Have a great day and safe travels!