FOOD What do you do with your empty food cans?

[Safecastle]

Hey everyone! We've got a burning question for you: What do you do with your empty food cans? Share your go-to way of repurposing them in the comments below, and let's inspire each other to get creative!

Here are some options to get you started:

Option 1: Use them as storage containers.
Option 2: Transform them into herb planters.
Option 3: Repurpose them as candle holders.
Option 4: Create a DIY desk organizer.
Option 5: Turn them into utensil caddies for gatherings.
Option 6: Use them as pencil holders on your desk.
Option 7: Convert them into miniature planters.
Option 8: Make bird feeders out of them.
Option 9: Craft DIY lanterns for outdoor ambiance.
Option 10: Get creative with various craft projects.

Can't wait to hear all your amazing ideas! Don't forget to tag a friend who might have some brilliant suggestions too! Let's make the most out of those empty cans! #Repurpose #DIY #CreativeIdeas

 

[Lone_Hawk]

I.... put them in the trash...

 

[billet]

Recycling

 

[WalknTrot]

#10 cans (like the big old 3# coffee cans!) go for feed scoops, grit/ de-icer containers, odds and ends in the garage, a million things. They all get used, and I'm always scrounging around for another one.

The everyday food cans go in the garbage.

 

[phloydius]

Don't do it any more, but used to use them as a place to transplant seedlings to to give them longer to get bigger before putting them into the ground for later planting.

 

[Publius]

I have used many coffee cans to store all kinds of items like nails, screws nuts and bolts.
I have given up coffee and today soup cans and the like in that size range go to the local recycling center.

 

[phloydius]

My father used to use the wider larger cans in the garden area. He would leave them set out in the garden, and when it rained he collect it and save it, and use it to water the garden for a few days after the rain had left.

 

[subnet]

I.... put them in the trash...

Same even when in cali, if they want crap separated they can do it, i pay to have it collected not do work for them.

 

[Sacajawea]

Gramma used to cut them flat and then make Christmas tree decorations (gloves & tin snips) with them.

 

[inskanoot]

Somewhere, I saw a roof made out of beer cans.

 

[ComCamGuy]

Friend of mine would fill beer cans with concrete and use them for solid shot ammo for his cannon

 

[coalcracker]

Many years ago, my grandfather cut his large cans from top to bottom and hammered them flat. He then used these squares to create a metal roof on a shed. That particular roof lasted well past his death in 1972.

That generation (the ones who lived through the Great Depression) never threw anything away.

 

[Terrwyn]

Used to save the big coffee cans. I only have the small soup cans etc now. Only plastic and glass goes to the recyclers and those small cans go in trash. I pay almost 80.00 every 2 months for pickup and they go through everything there.

 

[PrairieMoon]

I feel like the cans I get these days are too flimsy, so they get tossed. I do keep glass jars and larger nice plastic ones for DH to use for his shop storage. No recycling here, but we do pay $35/month for garbage pick up (3 miles away). So we are planning to drop this expense and burn what we can; compost what we can, and drop the rest is SIL's garbage periodically.

 

[Milkweed Host]

I have used #10's for storage in the garage, otherwise I clean the cans,
remove the paper and recycle what I can.

Waste Management will haul everything thrown into the trash/garbage, to
Illinois where it is buried. These huge storage dumps are left for
future generations to dig up to deal with, and they will be pissed.

Many people handle their trash by throwing it out of the car as they drive
down the highway. Instead of throwing garbage out of a moving car,
why not just save it for the next time they gas up and deposit in the trash can.

 

[Dobbin]

Owner cuts the bottom of milk cartons off to make a square box to keep nuts and bolts in the parts drawer.

He has drawers that are filled front to back and side to side with the little boxes. Every one a different size/thread bolt.

Dobbin

 

[Bad Hand]

Edith collected tins so I have these decorative tins with metal lids that keep out bugs and mice, some of them are valuable. I keep rice, sugar, flour and a lot of other dry foods in them. As for the other ones I store nuts, bolts and nails in them.

 

[fi103r]

I.... put them in the trash...

or recycling if they are steel or alumimum

 

[Meemur]

I keep a few clean cans around in various sizes. They have a lot of uses, including emergency repairs. The rest of the cans go into the recycling bin. Yes, I could reuse them in craft projects, but I have other priorities right now.

 

[Doc1]

Depends. Coffee cans are used to hold different sizes of brass for reloading and I have one on a workbench that I use for chisels and striking tools. Common sized cans are usually just thrown away. I do use cans - sometimes - to hold diesel for cleaning tools.

One type of container we actively save are very large plastic jars, which we use for bulk foods like rice and beans.

Best
Doc

 

[WalknTrot]

Will admit, I used a soft metal SPAM can a while back to make a tight flange for the hole where the propane line comes through the kitchen floor for the stove. Darned mice were sneaking up that way, and the soft metal was easy to cut, shape, and tack down to perfection. No more meeces.

 

[Terrwyn]

I feel like the cans I get these days are too flimsy, so they get tossed. I do keep glass jars and larger nice plastic ones for DH to use for his shop storage. No recycling here, but we do pay $35/month for garbage pick up (3 miles away). So we are planning to drop this expense and burn what we can; compost what we can, and drop the rest is SIL's garbage periodically.

Our trash pickup is compulsory. If you don't pay your bill they can put a lein on your house. They used to have free dumps up here but now there is only one that you have to pay for.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Most metal cans are just thrown in the trash. We do save plastic coffee jugs for other uses. Cary reuses most of those. I also save those plastic jars/jugs that bulk foods come in from Sam's for use to store dry foods such as rice and pasta.

 

[ChetekTech]

I may use one occasionally for cleaning paint brushes or parts. However, they all eventually get thrown in the trash. I have no need for additional storage.

 

[Old Goat]

There are claims that iron and steel are beneficial in the soil due to their electrical influences. So I add some cans here and there by stomping them into wet ground or using a shovel or hoedad when it is dry. They corrode away in a few years in moist soil.

 

[hiwall]

I always keep a few clean tin cans in the shop for various uses. I often use one in the forge to melt lead for projects. I used a small tomato paste can as a mold for making a nice sized lead hammer (cut the can and removed it after the lead hardened).
When I was younger I often used tin cans to patch the exhaust pipe on my old cars.

 

[susie0884]

I store plastic screw on lids for canning jars in the # 10s. them.I have quite a few. Sometimes I store food that comes in plastic bags in them with a plastic lid on.

 

[psychgirl]

I use bigger ones to pour old grease into or things I’m throwing away

We saved cans. Smashed em and bagged up to sell.
Once.
Did that thankless job for about six months too.
Drove 15 minutes to cash em.







We got 15 whole dollars for that worthless task.

 

[dioptase]

Mostly mine get thrown into the recycling bin (we don't have to separate out our recyclables in our city). Occasionally there will be one that I just can't get cleaned out, and that one I just throw into the trash. In the rare event that I am browning meat and throwing away the grease (like when I am making spaghetti sauce), the grease goes into the can and that solidifies, and that gets thrown out.

I have enough junk around here; I don't need to be hoarding metal cans. (My dad used to save old cans, though, for storing things like nails and screws and such.)

Now, if we are talking about TINS, with LIDS (like from cocoa mix or tea), that's another matter. I have a handful of those in my pantry. I also tend to accumulate small tins with lids (like from mints and such) as they have a variety of uses (small purse-sized first aid kits, and the like).

 

[Tundra Gypsy]

I put quick set cement in the veggie cans; then immediately set a solar yard light in them. Once set, I can move them anyplace around the yard, patio, around our travel trailer, or path out to craft room. Those on the lawn can be easily moved when I get ready to mow.

When I used to go 'glamping,' the gals loved the lights around my decorated area.

Or, you can bring them inside when the power goes out and I have lights all over the house and down the hallway. I spray the cans different colors as well.

 

[WalknTrot]

When I was younger I often used tin cans to patch the exhaust pipe on my old cars.

Oh yeah!! Done that on many occasions. Hahaha...add haywire and that crappy old muffler tape for a real professional job.

 

[psychgirl]

Mostly mine get thrown into the recycling bin (we don't have to separate out our recyclables in our city). Occasionally there will be one that I just can't get cleaned out, and that one I just throw into the trash. In the rare event that I am browning meat and throwing away the grease (like when I am making spaghetti sauce), the grease goes into the can and that solidifies, and that gets thrown out.

I have enough junk around here; I don't need to be hoarding metal cans. (My dad used to save old cans, though, for storing things like nails and screws and such.)

Now, if we are talking about TINS, with LIDS (like from cocoa mix or tea), that's another matter. I have a handful of those in my pantry. I also tend to accumulate small tins with lids (like from mints and such) as they have a variety of uses (small purse-sized first aid kits, and the like).

Yep.
Tins are cool! I love those!

And yes to no more junk!

 

[Lei]

I wash them out and fill them about 1/4 full of rocks. Then I put them on a nylon string about 2 feet apart and then tie the string on posts bordering the yard. The noise tells me when wild pigs and other creatures are trying to come into the yard.

 

[Wildwood]

Target practice.

 

[workhorse]

Put them in old washer or dryer going to scrap yard

 

[Pancakes45]

I save them to make camp stoves and camp cookware. Or I use them for targets. I’m kind of a packrat…

 

[changed]

I put tea candles, matches, lighters and hand warmers in a large metal coffee can and put it in the car in the winter.

When we were teenagers, we went camping by a river and a cornfield. The corn was ripe, but hadn't hardened yet. We picked some and boiled it in a coffee can over the campfire. Still tasted awesome even though it was field corn.

 

[anna43]

I recycle mine.

I recall (I'm old) when I was younger seeing flattened cans used as roof shingles on houses and sheds. Also recall seeing them used to cover mouse holes. Used for containers of nails, screws etc. in shop. I know they were used for other things but do not recall what.

 

[Safecastle]

Thank You, Everyone!

A huge shoutout to each one of you for your fantastic participation in our poll! Your enthusiasm and creativity have truly made this thread a smashing success! We're blown away by all the incredible ideas and inspiration you've shared for repurposing empty food cans.

Thank you for joining us on this journey of creativity and eco-consciousness. Together, we're making a positive impact on the world, one can at a time! Keep the creativity flowing, and let's continue to spread the joy of repurposing far and wide!

Stay tuned for more fun and interactive discussions. Until next time, keep shining bright! #Gratitude #CommunityLove

 

[Satanta]

Bag and sell as scrap metal.