Stop Throwing Away Your Old Pill Bottles: 12 Useful Ways to Reuse Them at Home
Empty pill bottles are small, sturdy, and usually have secure lids, making them surprisingly useful around the house. Before reusing one, remove the pharmacy label completely and make sure the bottle is thoroughly cleaned and dry.
1. Store Small Craft Supplies
Use them to organize buttons, beads, sequins, sewing needles, or other tiny craft materials. The screw-on lid helps keep small pieces together.
2. Organize Screws and Nails
Keep different sizes of screws, nails, washers, and other small hardware in separate bottles. Label the outside so you can quickly find what you need.
3. Store Small Batteries
Pill bottles can keep loose batteries contained and prevent them from rolling around drawers. Keep batteries away from children and pets.
4. Make a Travel Sewing Kit
Put a few needles, buttons, thread, and a tiny pair of appropriate scissors or other sewing supplies inside. It makes a compact emergency sewing kit.
5. Protect Small Keepsakes
Small items such as coins, charms, beads, or other little keepsakes can be stored safely inside a clean, dry bottle.
6. Organize Desk Supplies
Use bottles for paper clips, pushpins, rubber bands, erasers, or other tiny office supplies that tend to disappear in drawers.
7. Store Plant Seeds
Clean, completely dry bottles can be useful for keeping small quantities of labeled garden seeds organized. Store them in a cool, dry location.
8. Create a Mini Emergency Kit
A bottle can hold small non-medication items such as safety pins, a few bandages, or other tiny first-aid accessories.
9. Keep Small Spare Parts Together
If you have tiny pieces for glasses, electronics, toys, furniture, or household repairs, a labeled bottle can prevent them from getting lost.
10. Organize Beads and Jewelry Findings
Crafters can use several bottles to separate jewelry-making supplies such as clasps, jump rings, and small beads.
11. Store Small Hardware for Electronics
Tiny screws and other removable components can be placed in a labeled container while you’re working on a project. This can help prevent important pieces from being misplaced.
12. Use Them for Household Organization
Keep small items such as keys for locks, spare buttons, tiny clips, or other miscellaneous objects that need their own container. A collection of labeled bottles can turn a messy drawer into a much more organized space.
Important Safety Tip
Never reuse an old pill bottle to store food, drinks, medicine for another person, or anything that could be mistaken for medication. Even after washing, the container may retain traces of its previous contents.
Also keep reused bottles away from young children and pets, especially when they contain small objects that could be swallowed.
Bottom Line
Old pill bottles don’t necessarily need to go straight into the trash. Their compact size and secure lids make them useful for organizing small household, craft, gardening, and repair items. Just remove all personal information from the label, clean the container thoroughly, and avoid using it for anything that could be confused with medication or food.
