Deciding what to do with an old pill bottle can be a pain. But instead of figuring out if you can recycle them, you can use them for storage and organization.
TikToker and teacher Kelsey (@mrskelsnels) shared a tip to turn them into thumbtack holders.
The scoop
Kelsey, with over 45,000 followers and 1.3 million likes across all her videos, regularly shares tips on teaching and upcycling.
In this short video, Kelsey shares her favorite "'tack'tic," showing how the thumbtacks fit into the upcycled pill bottle. As she exclaims at the end, it's "perfect."
@mrskelsnels One of my favorite classroom organization "tack"tics is to store your thumbtacks in an old pill bottle. This way they are all in one place and you can easily carry them around the room when needed. #teachercommunity #teacherhack #teachertok #organization #newteacher #firstyearteacher #teachertip #teachertips #newteachertip #classroomideas #teachersoftiktok #classroomsetup #middleschoolteacher #teachersbelike #classroommusthaves #classroomorganization #teacherlife #middleschool ♬ original sound - Kelsey | Teacher Life
For an additional pill bottle tip, if you've got sticky residue from peeling off the label, check out this homemade recipe to wash away the gunk.
How it's helping
The hack is a great way to declutter your home or office space. No more impaling a finger on a stray thumbtack when rifling through a drawer.
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The bottles could also be used for a variety of other small office supplies. Staple refills, small erasers, and paperclips are just a few items that would fit nicely into an old pill bottle.
They also make decent piggy banks, holding $10 in quarters.
Upcycling existing items saves money on buying additional items that you might not really need. Why spend additional money on organizers, which are often made of plastic, when pill bottles are already lying around?
Every time you reuse a container instead of buying a new one, you reduce the demand for manufacturing new plastic products. This helps lower the heat-trapping pollution associated with plastic production, which involves both dirty energy and energy-intensive processes.
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Saving money 💰 It's also helpful for the environment.
Reusing these plastic bottles keeps them out of landfills, where they can take up to 30 years to break down, according to Medical Waste Pros. They can also end up in waterways and oceans, damaging and disrupting ecosystems.
What everyone's saying
Commenters appreciated Kelsey's hack.
One said, "I might have a lot of pill bottles and I wanted to make them useful! One down at least."
Another suggested an alternative storage item for thumbtacks. "I store mine in an old bouillon cube container," they wrote.
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