Free Style Recycling

I use a Freestyle meter and test strips. The test strips come in these really sturdy little containers with a flip top and they close really securely.

As such, and being the “must use this item again” person that I am, I save every one of them and stick them in a drawer that is now overflowing. Every now and then, I actually find a use for one of them, or someone else in my family does.

Just in case you have a drawer-full too, here are a few of the ways myself and others I know have used them…

* Drill bits. I come from a family who does construction and my brother had some really expensive, smallish drill bits. And wouldn’t you know it? They fit in a Freestyle test strip container.

* After-shave stick. My husband bought this stick thingy that you rub on your cuts after you shave to make them feel better. He usually just kept it on a little dish in the bathroom, but when we went travelling, he wanted to bring it. It’s now permanently stored in a Freestyle test strip container.

* For my wedding, I wanted to carry some sugar-free Tums in my bag for my way-too-often heartburn. I pasted some pretty Japanese art paper around the outside of the container and slid in my Tums. Works perfectly and looked pretty inside my wedding bag. Now I just use a non-decorated one to throw a few Tums in and put them in random bags I carry. (Also great for Tylenol and other small pills.)

* Balsamic vinegar. This morning I made a salad to bring to work. I usually put my vinegar in a tiny Glad container you buy at the grocery store. However, my dog Molly thinks these containers are like dog bones and chews through them whenever she gets the chance. I didn’t have any tiny containers left, so I grabbed a Freestyle container, washed it out really, really well and put my vinegar in there. Didn’t leak even a drop. Quite possibly my new most favorite usage, just for the sheer inspired genius of it.

I’m still thinking that on top of the practical uses I’ve found, there has to be an art project in there as well—some sculptured piece I can create and hang on the wall. I’m still mulling that one over.

I’ll keep you posted on any other good uses I come across, and feel free to share if you’ve come up with something good.

As always, more to come (perhaps in a Freestyle test strip container)…