…prescription bottles 
What to do with all those old, empty medication bottles??
I go through at least 10 prescription bottles a month. Multiply that by 12 months a year = 120 bottles a year. 120 bottles a year multiplied by 11 years with lupus and that equates to 1,320 medication bottles, more or less during the time I have been diagnosed with lupus. 1,320 bottles! WOW, Holy molly that’s shocking.
There has to be a way to re-purpose them. Of course it’s a given to recycle them. But I would love to use them for something else. Sure, they can be used to store small stuff: nuts and bolts, push pins or paper clips, etc. If only pill bottles would seal 100%, then they could be used to hold liquid – perhaps a shot of your favorite alcohol… just a happy thought. Seriously though, there are some great options for empty medication bottles. Here are some of my better ideas:
- When traveling, use the bottles to hold your jewelry (earrings, rings, etc.), lotion, shampoo, conditioner, liquid soap…
- On the go lunch or snack foods: peanut butter, hummus, almonds… (You may get some weird looks, but it’s a great conversation starter.)
- Traveling q-tip or bobby pin holder
I have long thought about how to turn my left over medication bottles into fabulous crafts, but I’m not very creative. I can’t even cook without a recipe or instructions from a box, and my crafting imagination falls right in line with my lack of cooking skills. Plus, I’m somewhat (okay a lot) uptight. I prefer to say I’m “super duper organized and pay strong attention to detail”. I wish I was able to be a spontaneous, flexible, going-with-the-flow lady. If I had these personality traits, then I might be more creative and visionary, throwing caution to the wind with my hot
glue gun in 
hand, bedazzling, glittering, painting and decorating all those hideous shade of orange prescription bottles. Sadly, I blankly stare at my oodles of empty bottles with a simple dream: to give them a new purpose.
Fortunately, other folks have some amazing ideas for re-purposing your medication bottles. It’s inspiring.
- A lady named Barbara has a true gift at recycling items. What she makes is absolute art. Here she has recycled old medication bottles into beautiful coin purses/coin holders http://www.oasisoriginals.net/recycled.html (there’s even one with a butterfly on it. Get out!)
Here’s a sample of her work…
- Another lady named Jessica compiled a fun list of ways to reuse prescription bottles. My favorite idea is making a hide-a-key with a rock or pine cone glued to the lid. Check out her ideas at http://104homestead.com/new-uses-old-pill-bottles/
- Also check out Pinterest for more great ideas
If you choose to not re-purpose your empty pill bottles, please at least recycle them. Of course you can get rid of medication bottles all together by using the company PillPack to fill your prescriptions. (I promise I’m not a spokesperson for PillPack, but if they want to pay me a commission I won’t complain.)
I imagine that turning your empty prescription bottles into something beautiful and artsy would be cathartic in some way. I think I’ll dust off my hot glue gun and make a trip to Michaels for crafting supplies. Oh darn, shopping. Honey, can I borrow your credit card? Honey? Hello…
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