Day 11 of our Green Year: Tin Can Uses

Everyone know that you should recycle your tin, aluminum and glass containers, but surprisingly very few people do it.
As part of our Green Year, Layla and I are making the effort to recycle everything that we can, including tin cans, aluminum cans and glass jars. However, the whole point of this blog is to show ways that things can be done that help the environment, and there is nothing better for the environment that recycling items into new items for your home.

So, Layla is making pen jars that can be sold through request to us through the blog (quite cheaply) and through a local farmer's market. By taking the cans we have and converting them into something else, that is a little bit less energy used to create containers for pens, knick-knacks, junk and more. The one on the left is made from a tin can, the one on the right, a Pen Monster, is made from a glass jar.

Recycling your tin cans, either through a recycling program or by turning them into things you can use in your home, is incredibly important. Each year, 15 billion cans are simply thrown away. This is very unfortunate because recycling one tin can can save enough energy to power a TV for three hours, while the average American throws away six pounds worth of tin cans every single month!
Make sure to recycle the tin, aluminum and glass in your home and try to be creative to create things out of those cans that can be of use to you in your house. The Earth will thank you.

Here are just a few of the uses you can get out of cans and jars:

1. Plant Pot
2. Candle Holder
3. Pencil Holder
4. Portable Compost Container
5. Edge your garden with tin cans to create a unique marker
6. Gift Box
7. Soap Container

Here are a few uses for cans and jars from the Home and Garden Network:

1. Tomato juice cans covered in pretty fabric or ribbon make great wine holders for gifts.
2. Make a picnic holder from two coffee cans and four soup cans. Spray paint them in fun colors and hot glue them together. Place paper plates and napkins in the large cans and flatware in the small ones. The wind won't blow them away.
3. Make a decorative umbrella holder from four coffee cans. Open both ends, hot glue them together end-to-end, and cover them with adhesive-backed paper. Leave the end on the bottom can for a base.
4. Use a large coffee can to make "round" bread. Remove both ends and lay on the side while baking.

As well, here is a great sight for creating tin can lanterns, great for Halloween or other holidays:
http://www.crafty-moms.com/tin-can-luminary.shtml