A Dozen Uses For Empty Soda Bottles

There are lots of things you can do with an empty soda bottle, here’s just a dozen of them.

• Splint: Cut off the top and bottom then slit up the side. It will roll back in on itself making it multi sized. Use to keep dressings clean, to stop kiddies pulling dressings off or as a splint until you can do things properly.
• Store: It’s food grade plastic so they are suitable for storing dried foods or water. Agitate the water before drinking to make it taste fresher.
• Collect water: Cut off the narrow neck and slide over a tree branch. You’ll have a drink by morning.
• Water plants: Make two holes in the stopper, fill and set aside. Dig a bottle sized hole next to the plant you want to keep watered and place the bottle upside down in the hole. The water will seep out and less will be lost to evaporation than with surface watering.
• Store: Small stuff you want to keep together, nuts, bolts etc. Small packets of seeds carefully rolled and slipped into the bottle will stay dry and fresh, just cut the bottle to get them out.
• Floatation device: Speaks for itself. It’s not ideal but is buoyant enough to keep a head above water in an emergency.
• Wasp Trap: Put something sweet in the bottle and fill one third with water, wasps will get in but more often than not can’t get out.
• Fly Trap: Wipe meat around the inside of the bottle, use a skewer or something similar. Fill one third with water. Like wasps the flies hit the shoulders of the bottle when they try to fly out.
• Solar still: Put a small container with the contaminated water in at the bottom of a bowl. Cut the bottom off the soda bottle and stand it over the top. The evaporation of the dirty water causes condensation which rolls down the inside of the soda bottle and collects in the bowl. To get a more useful amount of water use a planting trough without drainage holes. Mine holds six bottles, I use washed tuna cans as the dirty water holders.
• Skittles: let the kids decorate a few then put a little sand or soil in the bottom to give them a bit of weight, and they have a home made skittle set. The designing part kept mine happy on a rainy day and they really did play with them…bargain!
• Window Repair: Cut off the top and the bottom and slit up the side. Roll it the opposite way to the way it wants to go and fix with elastic bands. Put the roll in hot but not boiling water for a few minutes to encourage it to flatten out. Keep a few stored as flat sheets for emergency repairs.
• Plant protectors: Cut off the bottom and stand over the seedlings to protect from frost, heavy rain and wind.

Take care

Liz