Suggested uses for plastic gallon milk containers & 2 liter soda bottles, etc

**TucsonMax** · 06-19-2009, 11:40 PM

I've got dozens of thse saved, but after reading older posts, learned they are no good for water storage... so what do I do with them? I need a few good suggestions, if for no other reason then to tell my wife.

**Rick** · 06-20-2009, 12:54 AM

I wouldn't be as concerned about the soda bottles as I would the milk containers. Those should NEVER be used to store water. Far too great a risk of bacteria contamination with those. You just can't get them clean.

Suggested uses:

Jug fishing
Net floats
Recycle

**Winnie** · 06-20-2009, 07:19 AM

Cut he bottom off the milk jugs at an angle and they make great scoops for flour, animal feed etc. If the soda bottles are clear plastic cut them in half and presto! instant individual greenhouses for seed pots!

**Stairman** · 06-20-2009, 07:23 AM

Tie all the milkjugs together[lids intact] for a hobo raft.

**crashdive123** · 06-20-2009, 07:38 AM

I agree with Rick on not using the milk jugs for storing food. I use the 2-liter soda bottles for dry food storage quite a bit. Clean them, let them dry and then fill them. I've got white rice, brown rice, powdered milk, various peas and beans, etc. They work well. There really are so many uses for them. In addition to food storage, water storage, cheap canteen while hiking, make a fish trap, slice in half (top to bottom) and use for solar still, noise maker (with a few rocks inside), bouys to mark locations, collection container for wild edibles, make a plastic sheath, melt plastic to repair a hole in your kayak - you really are only limited by your imagination.

**Stairman** · 06-20-2009, 07:57 AM

And I see you have quite a good one. Of course a funnel is in order for filling.

**Rick** · 06-20-2009, 09:24 AM

Wychwood - Personally, I wouldn't use the milk cartons to scoop food for the same reason I wouldn't use them to store water.

I cut the top off of one milk container, leaving the handle on, as a bailer for the canoe. No, it doesn't leak but things happen.

**Ken** · 06-20-2009, 09:31 AM

Originally Posted by Rick

I cut the top off of one milk container, leaving the handle on, as a bailer for the canoe.

Try a Clorox bottle. I've kept them as bailers since I was a kid. Sometimes they work faster than the pump.

**Winnie** · 06-20-2009, 11:41 AM

Have to say I've only ever used the homemade scoops for animal feed, didn't occur to me about lurking bugs. I have a cup in the flour sack for scooping.

**Mischief** · 06-20-2009, 11:48 AM

Jug fishing

**Lorna** · 06-20-2009, 01:56 PM

I keep a couple in my car filled with water to use in my radiator. Could also be used to put a campfire out. Also fill with water, freeze and use to keep things cold while outside. They can also be used as an automatic watering system for plants. Leave the cap on, punch a hole in cap large enough to insert a small rope through it,turn up side down and cut the bottom off. Bury in dirt next to plant/s being watered leaving about 1/2" inch uncovered. Fill with water and go on vacation knowing your plants will be alive when you return.

**flandersander** · 06-20-2009, 02:08 PM

Originally Posted by Rick

I cut the top off of one milk container, leaving the handle on, as a bailer for the canoe. No, it doesn't leak but things happen.

Thats really a good idea. In fact a bailing device is required in saskatchewan.

**Rick** · 06-20-2009, 03:33 PM

I also took a sponge and dropped down inside the "bailer" so I could soak up the water from the bottom of the canoe if it's to shallow to scoop up.

**Sourdough** · 06-20-2009, 04:40 PM

I fill them with water and freeze them.....it makes the freezer more efficient if it full, you always have ice packs for the Ice chest, when you go for groceries every four months. And the small pint/quart one make a good frozen water bottle for hiking.

**Chris** · 06-20-2009, 05:41 PM

cut in half they can be used to protect seedlings from a late spring frost.

Also, if you have a really large garden container, you can fill the bottom of it with plastic bottles to keep the weight down and save money on potting soil.

With a cork and a bicycle pump you can also turn a two liter into a rocket, fun project for the kids.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8BLc5uLK7c

**Terri** · 06-20-2009, 10:06 PM

I realize this is only applicable in the colder climates where there is snow, but we keep a couple milk jugs full of sand in the back of the van, so if I am stuck in the snow and need some traction I can just pour the sand under my tires. (So far I have never had to use them--knock on wood).

You can also cut off the top half of the jug including the handle and use it as a makeshift funnel.

My kids have used them as floaties in their friends swimming pool, they all know how to swim but they liked to play with them in the water.

We also take a couple along when we go to the beach. You can use the bottom half & the top half of a milk jug to form certain parts of a sand castle, and a full intact milk jug is great for hauling water up to fill up the moat.

**bulrush** · 07-09-2009, 01:35 PM

Try this link for plastic bottle projects:
************

**Rick** · 07-09-2009, 02:20 PM

That's a pretty cool link. On the "end to end" pop bottles, you could use the necks instead of the base as they did in the instructable and make crawdad traps. I would think that would work.

http://www.instructables.com/id/2L_B...use_Container/