Looking for another excuse to have a glass of wine? Well, a clever hack on TikTok puts empty wine bottles to work in the garden.
One creator demonstrates how to turn empty bottles into self-watering systems for houseplants, and her tip is grabbing people's attention with a low-cost, low-effort solution to the all-too-common problem of thirsty plants and empty bottles.
@susannezirkiev Reply to @amykumar20 insanely easy and effective for your extra thirsty plants! 🪴💦 #plantcare #houseplantdiy #plantdiy #selfwatering ♬ Choking on Flowers - Fox Academy
So, drinking wine can be both a win for plant care and a win for the planet.
The scoop
Susanne (@susannezirkiev) shared the wine bottle hack in a quick, no-fuss video.
"Here's how to make a self-watering system using nothing but a wine bottle and a drill," Susanne says.
According to her video, the process is simple: Drill a pea-sized hole through the bottle's cork or cap, fill the bottle with water up to where the neck begins to taper, and then close the bottle back up with the cork or cap.
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When inserted upside down into the plant's soil at an angle, the bottle gradually releases water and keeps plants hydrated with minimal effort.
How it's helping
Beyond keeping houseplants healthy for frequent vacationers and forgetful plant parents, this hack can help plant lovers save money and use what they have instead of buying store-bought self-watering systems, which can range from $28 to $75.
Since Susanne encourages reusing existing bottles instead of tossing them or buying new, the hack is great for the environment too.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, glass bottles can take up to a million years to decompose in a landfill.
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Energy savings 💰 Though glass is recyclable, only 33% of glass that's disposed of in the United States actually gets recycled.
While recycling is important, reusing materials is even better because it reduces the energy and costs involved in breaking items down and manufacturing something new.
Repurposing containers helps reduce waste that will stay around for a long time, and that equates to less waste in landfills and less pollution in oceans.
What everyone's saying
This glass-repurposing hack garnered praise among plant lovers, who have proved their creativity with other tips, such as adding hydrogen peroxide to soil and giving plastic bottles new lives.
"Have to try this! At least those wine bottles won't be wasted," one user said.
Another joked, "Can I drink the wine first?"
The consensus? Turning wine bottles into watering systems is a fun, easy way to give trash new life and keep houseplants alive.
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