A helpful woman dedicated to sharing travel and frugal hacks on TikTok documented an easy and cost-effective storage hack made out of objects that are probably taking up space in your house: empty medicine bottles.
The scoop
"I always feel bad throwing away certain containers," the creator 4pepper (@4pepper) shared at the start of the video. She discovered that the medication bottles are perfect for storing items that may get lost during travel, like disposable flossers, Q-Tips, and even toothpaste.
@4pepper Empty medication bottles for the win! What do ya'll use them for? #travelhacks #pharmacy #frugal ♬ original sound - 4pepper
She mentioned how perfect the hack is for storing items that typically come in large packages, but are difficult to take with you on the go.
"Super easy!" she said.
Many creators have showcased creative repurposing hacks to share how easy it is to repurpose empty medicine bottles. An item that used to go straight to the landfill is becoming a staple in storage and travel hacks.
How it's helping
Americans go through 194 billion prescription pill bottles per year, and most of them are thrown away. Meanwhile, people in the U.S. typically spend about $1.2 trillion annually on "nonessential goods," which The Wall Street Journal describes as items that aren't needed. These are typically items like storage containers or travel bags which, when bought, cause excessive consumption that induces their demand and, in turn, environmental degradation.
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By repurposing products like these, you are stopping them from ending up in a landfill and saving money on organization products. It's a win-win to find clever ways to reuse medicine bottles.
When waste such as these plastic bottles ends up in landfills, it contributes to soil contamination, air pollution, and habitat destruction. Small but effective ways to make a difference can actually make a large impact.
What everyone's saying
"I'm curious, do any of you guys use these for other things?" the creator asked at the end of the video. The comments flooded with even more ideas.
One user mentioned that before cellphones, their dad "filled a prescription bottle with quarters and wrote on the outside with tape" so that they could call home in case of emergency.
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When it came to taking off the label of the bottles, the OP mentioned that all she had to do was pull it off.
If you want to reuse containers but find it difficult to open these bottles, one user even mentioned that flipping the bottle lids makes them arthritis-friendly.
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