Why You Shouldn't Throw Away These 13 Kitchen Items

From the grounds in your daily cup of coffee to the aluminum wrapping your leftovers, many everyday kitchen essentials we think of as disposable are actually good for much more than their intended single use. As natural alternatives to cleaning and deodorizing, and more eco-friendly storage, many of these items are candidates for continued reuse because they're made of certain compounds or durable materials. The reason they won't break down in the compost or landfill is the same reason they can be repurposed many times before they've seen better days — you'd be surprised how long some everyday kitchen objects' lifespans can be.

There are numerous thrifty strategies for these typically single-use items that can cut back spending while making the most of kitchen materials that often get thrown out without a second thought. For reasons both ecological and economical, here are 13 kitchen items that should always be reused and repurposed so you can truly get the most out of them.

Eggshells' nutrition content makes them suitable for a few household uses. The calcium in eggshells, specifically, is a valuable resource. Constructed predominantly of calcium carbonate, these shells contain about 380 mg of calcium per gram. While it's not safe to consume eggshells directly as a calcium supplement, this mineral component can be utilized in other ways around the house to maximize its benefits.

Instead of adding cream and sugar, try adding a crushed eggshell to your coffee grounds. The alkaline calcium in the shells naturally cuts the acidity of the coffee, resulting in a milder brew. Just make sure any shells are cleaned first before you use them, to avoid any potential threats of salmonella or other contaminants. Perhaps the most risk-free way to reuse eggshells is to let them nourish your home compost, garden, or even potted houseplants. Crushed into small pieces and mixed in with the soil, they'll add a healthy dose of calcium to nourish growing plants.

Nutrients aside, the texture of eggshells is valuable too. When ground up, eggshell becomes a mild abrasive tool and works well as a scrubbing hack to get at the hard sticky parts at the bottom of pots and pans. This trick saves on sponges and elbow grease, and also works for the kitchen sink.

Coffee may be an essential start to the day for many of us, but once you've brewed your morning cup, there are a lot of surprising uses for the leftover grounds. The natural antioxidants and caffeine content in coffee beans are what make them such a versatile household item, and both have been proven to show positive results when using coffee grounds as natural beauty products. Mixed with a bit of oil or water, used coffee grounds become a natural skin exfoliant. 

Coffee grounds also contain nitrogen, which makes them an easy way to nourish houseplants or compost, and also transforms coffee grounds into a natural deodorizer. Storing an open bowl of grounds in the fridge works as well as baking soda, and keeping dried grounds in shoes overnight is all it takes to have footwear smelling fresh again.

The gently abrasive texture of used grounds is also a wonder for a kitchen or bathroom deep-clean. Coffee grounds are good for scrubbing pots and pans, and can work for cutting away grime in sinks and bathtubs too. It is, however, advised not to rinse grounds down the drain to avoid clogging, so it's best to wipe them out instead. Furthermore, grounds aren't the only reusable part of a coffee-making routine. If your machine requires a filter, that can be reused multiple times too — just rinse off the filter and ideally let it dry before brewing your next batch of coffee.

Tea bags, convenient for a quick cuppa, also have a long list of other uses. The tannin content in tea leaves is what makes them an effective deodorizer, though this DIY hack works most effectively with leaves that have had the chance to dry out after being brewed. Remove dried leaves from a used teabag and keep a dish of them in the fridge, or place some dried tea bags directly in a stinky pair of shoes for 24 hours and the odor will dissipate. Used tea leaves also work for deodorizing musty carpets — once dried, they can be sprinkled over the surface before being vacuumed off. The same trick works with used loose-leaf tea.

You can save up your used teabags for an all-natural household cleaner too. Brew up a few and use the liquid in place of furniture polish to revive darker wood furniture and hardwood floors. This works best with black tea which has the most substantial tannin content. Used tea bags can also make for a handy streak-free glass cleaner. You can steep a few and use this weaker brew with a towel to wipe down streaky glass, or use moistened tea bags directly on windows, mirrors, and glass table tops before buffing with a cloth. Once you've gotten as much use as you can, the tea leaves are also compostable, and some of the bags themselves are too — though you should check first, to make sure. 

Aluminum foil is another household staple that's often treated as a single-use item. But if employed for cooking, it typically only needs to be rinsed off before it can be used again. Among the unconventional uses for this versatile kitchen item, you can store salad greens in aluminum foil, as this keeps them fresher for longer. Once the foil is past its prime, however, it can still serve a purpose in other ways. 

If you have real silverware, used aluminum foil can transform into an easy trick to restore the natural shine without the hassle of typical silver polish. Add a sheet or two of used foil to a plastic bucket or container filled with boiling water. Mix in some salt and baking soda then add your tarnished silverware. Let it sit for a few minutes and be sure the silver and aluminum are in contact with each other. A chemical reaction will cause the sulfur responsible for darkening your silverware to transfer to the aluminum. Wipe off the silverware to remove any lingering hints of tarnish, and your cutlery will shine like new. 

Once there's nothing more you can do with used aluminum foil, it's recyclable. The only catch is that not all local recycling centers accept foil — look into whether or not your nearest center will take it before you show up with a pile. Otherwise, there are specialized recycling depots that will take it.

Among gardeners, citrus has often been considered a taboo item for the compost pile. The peels take a long time to break down, and their acidity can potentially be harmful to worms or plants. If you're worried about their compostability, there are many other ways to reuse citrus peels instead of simply tossing them. For one, a piece of orange peel in a bag of brown sugar will keep it from sticking together. 

Where citrus peels shine is in cleaning. They work as a natural deodorizer — sticking a handful in a smelly pair of shoes should be all it takes to remove unseemly foot odor. Citrus also works as a natural furniture polish. Try rubbing the white side of an orange peel on wood furniture to give a similar effect to polishing with orange oil, helping to protect the wood. Using a citrus peel to rub salt on the inside of mugs works as a DIY magic eraser for coffee and tea stains. Citrus peels added to vinegar become a fragrant cleaning spray with an antibacterial boost, thanks to them containing a terpene called limonene.

All these uses aside, citrus peels are also edible and a great source of calcium; it's only their characteristic bitterness that makes them unpalatable. Fresh orange peel, in particular, can be brewed as a tea with some cinnamon sticks, for a fruity infusion and an immunity boost. For those who like homemade preserves, citrus peels can also be candied or transformed into marmalade.

While it may be tempting to go out and buy a uniform set of brand-new glass jars to store things with easy visibility in the pantry, you've likely got everything you need from the contents of your grocery list. Save the glass jars that your pantry staples already come in — they're free and exist in versatile sizes, making them great for continued storage use. Using bigger glass jars is a good reason to buy dry goods in bulk, which also may prove to be more cost-effective. Smaller jars are ideal for storing spices or homemade salad dressings. But these also aren't limited to kitchen storage — they make effective containers in the garage, bathroom, or craft room too. You can even reuse the jars as cups.

Of course, these can also be repurposed for making other jarred foodstuffs. If you're cooking up homemade preserves or fermented foods, you can easily give used glass jars a second life, as long as they've been properly cleaned and inspected for damage. Reuse them for homemade yogurt, jam, sauces, pickles, kimchi, and sauerkraut. You can also store home-pressed juices, fresh-squeezed lemonade, or home-brewed iced tea — the possibilities are endless.  

One handy trick to ripen fruit is enough reason to keep at least one paper bag on hand for continued reuse. This works for many fruit varieties, such as pears, peaches, and avocados — storing them in a closed paper bag holds in the ethylene that the fruit naturally release, making them ripen faster. For another hack when storing garlic and onions, paper bags can give these foods a longer shelf life — all you have to do is punch a few holes in a used bag to let enough air circulate.

For those who have a home garden, paper bags can be invaluable. Save them to cover and protect plants from winter chills, or as a natural weed barrier when growing new plants. If you don't have a garden, you can simply use paper bags as trash can liners, or as a convenient way to take out the recycling, which can conveniently get tossed with the contents since it is also recyclable. Furthermore, deconstructed paper bags can be transformed into gift wrap or continually used in the kitchen in place of wax paper or plastic wrap to prepare sandwiches or cover dishes for refrigeration.

Dish towels are an eco-friendly alternative to single-use paper towels, but they won't stay fresh forever. Soaking them in vinegar before the next wash, however, is one trick to remove the mustiness that sometimes overtakes them. This can help freshen them up, improve their absorbability, and generally prolong their lifetime in the kitchen. You should do this before adding them to your regular laundry load of towels, as they'll still need to be rinsed and then washed with detergent after a soaking.

Once they're truly past their prime with frays and stains, you can still get a lot of life out of these versatile towels. Cut them into smaller pieces and use them in place of a sponge or paper towel to mop up any spills or mess that a disposable cloth would have been used for — once dirtied they can still be rewashed and reused again and again. If you're a pet owner, assigning old kitchen towels to pet baths is another good use.

Eventually, however, there comes a time when dish towels have turned into bonafide rags. Once they've reached this state, they make for an effective all-purpose rag for dusting, window washing, furniture polishing, and anything else you can think of. If they're no longer up to snuff for household use, they can continue to get repurposed for car washing or any other exterior cleaning job.

Plastic containers are another freebie that comes built into your grocery list, and can be very useful for kitchen or household storage. Larger plastic containers like those for yogurts and sour cream are particularly useful for storing things in the fridge or freezer. You can use them like Tupperware containers for keeping leftovers or liquids, though it may be helpful to label these tubs accordingly to be aware of their new contents.

These containers can also freeze leftovers or homemade soups and stocks. They hold up well in the freezer because they're durable at cold temperatures and seal well on their own. If you regularly have guests over for meals, plastic containers of all sizes are also convenient to keep on hand for dishing out takeaway leftovers after the next brunch or dinner party.

Beyond the kitchen, these containers are just as good as storage containers anywhere else in the house. While they may not make for pretty decor, they're helpful for storing things out of sight, and make useful drawer organizers for unwieldy objects. Keep them on hand in the garage or craft room as tool and utensil storage, or for future painting projects. If you're an avid gardener, these containers can also be used for sprouting seeds.

While we know plastic straws are an insidious landfill contaminant and many eateries have converted to other materials for their straws as a result. But if you do have any leftover plastic straws from takeout, they have plenty of home uses. The narrow diameter makes straws a unique tool and a quick fix for a variety of unexpected tasks. Cut off the bendy ends, if there are any, and use them as jewelry organizers to keep necklace chains from tangling. Or, treat them as a prop for droopy flowers the next time you've got a bouquet and want to prolong its longevity — if flower stems are thin enough, stick them into the straws and arrange them as normal for an easy reinforcement trick.

When it's cherry season, you'll find that plastic straws are a cherry-pitting hack for quick, mess-free, and easy eating. They can also save the day when a broken cork risks contaminating a bottle of wine, as a straw with a bit of suction can effectively remove the broken pieces. Useful for these unexpected hindrances in the kitchen, used plastic straws are something worth hanging onto — you never know when they'll come in handy.

Ziplock bags are another item frequently considered to be single-use, but they're often made of highly durable plastic. While this is a problem for the landfill, it is also a reason why these bags are highly reusable. If dirty or grimy from whatever food was stored in them previously, ziplock bags can easily be washed with soap and water and left to air dry. The exception to this are bags that have stored meat or any items that were greasy or moldy, as these are best discarded. Otherwise, these sealable plastic bags can be reused repeatedly until they no longer stay together.  You can also employ re-used ziplock bags as a means of storing food in the freezer. This is particularly effective for freeing up more space as an alternative to bulky plastic containers.

In addition to making convenient storage for single-servings and snacks on the go, reused ziplock bags are also great for storing crafts or tools in one place. They're convenient for travel, too — use them to organize toiletries. They can also keep items like books or electronics safe from getting wet.

Once a ziplock bag is coming apart at the seams, it might still be good for one more use. Cut up the bags and treat them like sheets of plastic wrap for sandwiches — they can be held together with rubber bands or string. These bags are also recyclable. They may not be accepted by all local recycling programs, however, so it's best to research whether curbside recycling or a local recycling center is the better option near you.

The mesh structure of the bags used most commonly for grocery citrus has a strategic purpose — it allows for maximum airflow, helping the fruit inside to stay fresher for longer. Because these bags are typically made of plastic, they aren't especially landfill-friendly, but this also means they're highly durable. One effective trick for reusing these mesh bags is to transform them into homemade pot scrubbers. By simply wadding a few of these mesh bags into a ball you've got a handy sponge that's great for scrubbing tough spots but soft enough that it won't leave scratches. They're equally good for pots, pans, and surfaces, and will last for a while.

Though most are made of plastic, these mesh bags are not typically accepted by normal recycling centers — their mesh structure causes them to get tangled up in the sorting machines which can pose major problems. However, it's possible these may be recyclable at specific recycling centers, and local grocery stores may even take them.

That plastic bag holding the cereal inside your cereal box is another common item that gets thrown out as soon as it's finished with, but in fact, these bags are very useful. They're very durable, and can be used like regular ziplock bags for food storage. Their larger size makes them fairly versatile, too. Cut them into flat pieces for ready-to-use sheets of plastic wrap and fasten the final result together with tape or twine. Otherwise, you can leave these bags intact and use them to store food in the freezer, or as a way of keeping bread fresh. 

Cereal box liners are a handy tool for baking as well. Cutting one open into a large rectangle and laying it out on the kitchen counter makes rolling out pastry dough a cinch. Sprinkle some flour onto the plastic sheet and roll out dough as normal, to avoid the usual mess sticking to the countertop. Once you're finished with them, cereal box liners are also recyclable, so they need never end up in the trash.