If you find yourself with an extra empty glass bottle and you’re wondering what you can do with it (other than refilling it with one of our refill options), we’ve got a few ideas for you. Our glass bottles are easily recyclable, but where possible we do try and look for ways to upcycle any items we buy because while recycling is something we should all do, it still comes at a certain cost as it takes energy to pick up, separate and process the material.
There’s actually so many ways to reuse these bottles because they’re so versatile and gorgeous, so look out for part two of this coming soon. For now, here’s a couple of quick ideas to get the upcycling juices flowing!
1. Flower Vase
This one is super easy. Our amber bottles are already quite decorative so using them as a vase adds a lovely aesthetic to the room. To remove the label, just soak it in warm water and our Liquid Dish Soap for 10 minutes and scrub them off. The neck of the bottles is quite narrow so it’s best to put flowers or greenery with a delicate stem or dry flowers. If you have a few bottles, you can group them together for a classy table centerpiece or line them up in a window or on a bookshelf.
2. Garden Night Lamp
This is a bit more involved but still relatively easy! How about turning your empty bottles into fairy light lamps and placing them around the garden? It’s a vibe! First, take the label off the bottle by soaking in some warm water and dish soap and scrubbing them off. After that, all you’ll need to do is fill the bottle with small string lights (copper string lights are especially nice) which are battery powered. For hanging lanterns, wrap wire or durable string around the bottle neck and secure a loop of wire or string to that to hang them.
3. Plant mist spray
If you’re anything like us you love a plant in the house! One thing we make sure to do quite often, in addition to watering regularly, is to gently mist our houseplants with an empty (or almost empty: see below) spray cleaner bottle filled with water to give them a humidity boost. It offers plants a range of benefits that will help them thrive, especially in the over-air conditioned homes of the UAE. Of course, check the needs of the type of plant you have to make sure you’re not over-misting or overwatering (guilty!).
We mentioned "almost empty" above because did you also know that soapy solution makes for a great homemade insecticidal soap for plants? Yes! Mixing around 5% of our spray cleansers with water will give you just the right gentle solution for controlling soft-bodied insects in your garden and on houseplants. Tap water is fine to dilute with but if you have hard water, you may want to use bottled water to prevent soap scum from building up on your plants.
So many more of these to come, but hopefully you founds these quick and easy ideas useful. And remember, our refills are an eco-friendly way to reuse your glass bottles and spray nozzles when you do run out. Keep an eye out for some exciting refill news from us very soon too!
Got any other ideas? Have you used your bottles in other creative ways? Let us know and we'll spread the word in our next blog post!