Re-Purposing Empty Veggie Cans

This is more of a reuse than an organizing entry, but in the end reusing means purchasing less which means you're more likely to be organized. :)



I have a ton of different pens/writing utensils for scrapping and have always kept them in a big bin (as you can see), but didn't want to pay the big $$ for a special organizer so I decided to make my own. It was very simple to make.


Items Needed:
6 vegetable cans (rinsed & dried)
2 sheets 8 1/2x11 paper (any color or design you want)
Any stickers or decorations you want
Hot glue gun
Double sided tape

Once you have all the items gathered & prepared, just wrap each can with paper (you can also spray paint the cans for a more industrial look) then decorate and stack together with hot glue.

If you only need a single a pen cup, don't spend $4 on one at walmart, make your own for essentially free. You can always just take a white sheet of paper and have your little one decorate it and use that to wrap the can.

Here is a single one that I made for my glitter pens:


Some other ideas for your cans:

1. Starter pots for plants before transplanting outdoors
2. Grow herbs in your window sill in your kitchen, then you're saving even more money as you won't need to buy spices anymore
3. Spare change jar/container on your dresser so your loose change isn't floating around
4. Hold straws so they're easily accessible
5. Hold silverware for a party so it's not all lying out, you can even decorate it to match the theme of the closest holiday or the these of your party
6. When your candles get low or the wick is gone and you still have wax, heat it up in some boiling water/in the microwave and fill the can with it and add a new wick (you can get wicks on amazon.com for $3.99/100ft or 96 low smoke with base for $6.99)




I found this one on-line.

There are many many more things you can do with your aluminum cans rather than just throw them out. What ideas do you have?