Fall is one of the most exciting times to live in Ann Arbor. However, it can also be a time filled with unexpected expenses. Here are some tips to reuse items that can help your wallet AND reduce waste!
New Purposes: Reducing Costs & Waste
- Empty jars and bottles: can be a cheap and effective way to get rid of fruit flies in your kitchen: Pour a thin layer of vinegar into the bottom and place a paper funnel into the opening. The vinegar will attract and drown the flies, while the paper funnel prevents them from escaping.
- Alternative Household cleaners: try cleaning surfaces with used dryer sheets and liquid soap.
- Prefer to take notes by hand? Try using the blank backs of old assignments instead of notebooks. Your recycling bin could provide you with enough paper for the whole semester! Then, all you need is a three-hole punch and a binder to make your own notebook.
- Zip ties to bind your notes: can be used to bind last semester’s notes for future reference, or create your own binders. Loop a zip tie through each hole before removing the notes from the binder. Then, you end up with a neatly bound set of notes to archive and an empty binder, ready to use!
Contributed by Marissa Nazareno