One of the ways you can save money and reduce household waste is to attempt to get one more use out of anything before throwing it away or recycling it.
Recently, people have been doing quarantine takeout as a substitute for normal weekly date nights and to support local restaurants. Particularly those that are currently relying on takeout to stay afloat.
Smart Ways to Reuse Chinese Takeout Boxes
You can compost some of the Chinese takeout boxes in the compost bin. Others are the hard plastic types that you can’t compost or recycle because they’re constructed from number 5 plastic. Chinese takeout boxes, fortunately, are exceedingly easy to recycle, making them extremely useful.
Begin planting your spring garden
Before adding soil, seeds, and water to seed starting trays, drill or punch a few drainage holes in the bottom. Plastic containers that are durable enough for the weight can also be used as planters. However, avoid growing edible plants under plastic for lengthy periods of time because pollutants may be absorbed by the plant.
Use containers and lids as saucers under pots for another plant idea.
The compostable sugarcane containers with clear plastic lids may have caught your eye. Make a few drainage holes in the bottom, add dirt, and plant seeds 2cm deep and 4cm apart. In the cooler months, replace the lid to form a little greenhouse, and remove it once sprouts appear.
When the seedlings have their first true leaves (the leaves that appear after the first two), report them – or simply bury the entire container, which will decay. To help plants grow straight, use plastic flatware (which is not recyclable owing to its weight) as stakes.
Pantry storage for dry goods
The Chinese takeout boxes are a dream to keep your pantry organized because they are stackable, lightweight, see-through, and have leak-proof seals that are near to airtight.
And at “free with food purchase,” the price is right — especially when you consider that plastic food-safe containers can cost upwards of $10 per unit. Because they’re inexpensive and intended to be changed over time, scribbling notes, dates. And other valuable information directly on them. Or labeling them hastily with a permanent marker or masking tape and ink, isn’t a big problem.
People adore using them for baking ingredients like chocolate chips, sprinkles, brown or granulated sugar, and confectioner’s sugar. Or different types of flours for all of these reasons. They’re also wonderful for spaghetti, dry grains, oats, granola, and beans. And their predetermined size makes eyeballing how many cups of your components you have left a breeze.
Snacks to bring on road trips
It can be difficult to feed the family while traveling. Ensure each rider’s survival by tailoring snacks in Chinese takeout boxes. Plus, instead of letting the containers gather on the car floor, you may recycle them when you arrive at a rest stop.
Chinese takeout boxes as gift boxes
Place little gifts into takeout cartons instead of a gift box. Line the inside or outside with fabric or wrapping paper for added style. This saves both money and natural resources.
make art project disposal simple
If you have children, chances are they’ve completed at least one art project in your home. People sometimes avoid in-home art projects because they don’t want to deal with the mess. Keep craft supplies organized in Chinese takeout boxes to save money.
Chinese takeout boxes provide excellent crayon storage, and the lids may be quickly transformed into paint palettes. You may relax knowing that the cleanup will be completed before you can say “boo!”
Storage in freezer
Because of their uniform forms, sizes, and stackability, those entrée containers can safeguard your saved-for-later foods while also helping to keep your freezer nice.
Ziploc bags just won’t cut it when it comes to preserving delicate foods for later consumption. With a careless toss of the bag, cookies, crumb cakes, wontons, pie slices, pierogies, and anything else with delicate edges can shatter and crumble.
They’re not an ideal long-term option because they’re not airtight unless you plan to plastic-wrap them first to avoid freezer burn. But as a stopgap measure to protect you from devouring the entire batch of handcrafted goodies? Yes, they will be OK.
Make a gallery wall
Paint the containers with colors designed to attach to plastic, whether for a classroom project or an at-home art project. Choose a subject such as wild animals, local wildflowers, or a sky filled with rainbows.
The painted Chinese takeout boxes should then be stapled to a wall or corkboard. Foam in takeout containers helps to attenuate noise in an echo-y space.
Storage for toys
When Legos, soldiers, trinkets, and doll accessories aren’t strewn across the floor like so many stabby land mines, they can easily be lost in a big toy box. (No judging.) Even those of us without children have been there.)
Multiple Chinese takeout boxes let you categorize and keep these small bits together, and when they’re well-organized, your child will have to choose a toy theme to play with rather than just scattering whatever they come across.
Over time, puzzle boxes can become cumbersome and stack up; instead, discard the original packing and toss the pieces into these food-storage containers. Have you had a pile of playing cards building up recklessly and falling over? Fill the rectangular containers with the regular packs.
Organize your receipts
It always works. You need to return something but can’t locate the receipt. Put all of your receipts in a single takeout bin in your workplace or kitchen. Make it your first stop when you come home from the store, as well as if you need to return or exchange something.
Memorabilia Storage
Into Chinese takeout boxes, toss ticket stubs, dried flowers, bracelets, and other mementos from special occasions. For some quality reminiscing down the road, label the lid with the event name and date. Multiple Packages provides the best custom food boxes for food packaging.