Frugal Living: New, crafty uses for plastic ice cream tubs

Plastic ice cream containers seem too good to throw away. They're bulky, so you don't want to save them without having a purpose for them. Some are now available as a square container. This makes them great space-saving storage or gift containers.

Here are a few ways to use them.

Kitchen compost: Keep them on the counter or under your sink to hold kitchen scraps that you want to compost. The lid keeps odors to a minimum.

Mail holder: Instead of stacking your mail on the counter, place it in the container until you can pay the bills or sort through it.

Travel container: If you're heading to a picnic or a cookout, use the containers for your potluck dishes, such as salads, chips, popcorn or cookies. The handle makes them easy to carry, and you don't need to worry if you accidentally leave it behind.

In the garage: Use a few containers to store car wash supplies, such as car wax, chamois and sponges. They can hold pet food, birdseed, small tools and snow salt, too. Use one for gardening supplies, such as starting seeds or holding garden markers, seed packets and garden gloves.

Craft supplies: Fill them with supplies to use on a rainy day or as a boredom buster, such as crayons, markers, paints, brushes, scissors, chenille stems, craft foam, fabric scraps, yarn, sewing supplies, etc.

Winter gear: Use one or more containers as a simple storage solution for winter hats, baseball caps, gloves, scarves and mittens.

Kitchen storage: Store seasoning packets, boxed gelatin, sponges, instant oatmeal, coupons, plastic grocery bags, recipe cards, batteries, twist ties or cookie cutters.

Cleaning supplies: Store them under the sink and use them to hold scrub brushes, sponges, scrub pads, clothespins, rags and plastic grocery bags. Use one to hold homemade laundry soap, too.

Toys: Organize toys such as small cars, game pieces, Barbie clothes and accessories, blocks, playing cards or flashcards, action figures and Legos. Take one to the beach for sandcastles; one can also be useful as a snowball holder or for a backyard sandbox. Use one to hold sidewalk chalk or Play-Doh. Fill one with activities for kids to do or small toys to play with during car rides, too.

Sock bin: Each family member can have his or her own container. Or place mismatched socks in it until you find their mates. Use one to hold dryer lint, too.

Bathroom organizer: Organize washcloths, tub toys, soaps, deodorant, cosmetics, hair accessories, free samples, toothbrushes, etc.

Gift container: You can cover the outside with decorative adhesive paper, line the inside with tissue paper and fill as you would a gift basket.

Some ideas include:

• Pet kit: Add homemade treats, a leash, a collar and grooming supplies.

• - Back-to-school kit: Add pencils, a ruler, school glue, glue sticks, erasers, scissors, highlighters, hand sanitizer, a pencil sharpener, facial tissue, etc.

• First-aid: Add bandages, gauze, cotton balls, tweezers, a reusable ice pack, calamine lotion, peroxide, etc.

• Get-well kit: Add chicken soup, puzzle books, magazine, tea, cold medicine, slippers, cough drops, etc.

• Baby kit: Add shampoo, body wash, baby washcloths, towel, nail scissors, bibs, rattle, etc.

• Office kit: Add items such as a hole punch, a stapler, thumb tacks, paper clips, pens and pencils, sticky notes, a calendar, a mouse pad, facial tissue, label maker, calculator, rubber bands, tape, stamps, etc.

• Teen girl kit: Add nail polishes, earrings, cosmetics, brushes, hair accessories, a journal, lotion, a T-shirt, etc.

• Sundae kit: Add ice cream syrups, sprinkles, maraschino cherries, nuts, plastic bowls, an ice cream scoop, etc.

• Kitchen gadget lover: Add a whisk, a melon baller, cookie cutters, an apple corer, dish towels, recipe cards, a spoon rest, potholders, herbs and spices, etc.

• Beach kit: Add sunglasses, sunscreen, a beach towel and a book.

CLEAN A CLOUDY VASE

Dear Sara: I have a small vase that has become cloudy after having water in it. Do you have a remedy for this? I know that you can purchase CLR, but I do not need that much. Thank you. - Carol, Florida

Dear Carol: You can add dry rice and vinegar and water or a squirt of dishwashing liquid and water and swish the rice around the vase. You can use a baby bottle brush, too. Sometimes, a quick wipe with nail polish remover works. Afterward, wash the vase thoroughly with dish soap and water. You can use a toothbrush and scrub the vase with white toothpaste and rinse. Try a denture tablet such as Efferdent with water, and let the vase soak, or rub petroleum jelly inside it and leave it for a few days. Then wash it as usual. Hopefully, one of the above methods will work. But it's possible the vase is permanently etched.

Dear Sara: I need gift ideas for 20 ladies. At the end of the year (usually early December), before we break for the holiday, my dance class has a little party where we eat a lot of food at a potluck, listen to music, dance a little and exchange small gifts. The gifts are in no way obligatory, but I like to give them and have to buy in quantity. In the past I have given homemade bath salts, small silver pendants, bracelets, and last year I gave earrings. I got them wholesale for about $1 a pair and they were pretty nice. Some of the other girls gave candles, incense and jewelry. I'm looking for new ideas for nice, small gifts that I can buy 20 or 30 at a time without shelling out too much. My budget is about $1.50 per person, a total of about $30. I've looked at eBay and have not come up with much. Prices have gone up, of course! I appreciate any suggestions. - C.H., Missouri

Dear C.H.: Dollar stores, Target and Michaels all have dollar items. Check Oriental Trading Company, too; it has candy sticks that would be nice bundled as a gift. You can make custom wrappers for candy bars. Create your own by using the retail wrapper as a template or visit http://classic.kodakgallery.com

/jenny/projects/candy_bar_cozies for felt wrappers or visit www.mr

printables.com/printable-candy-bar-wrappers.html for free printable wrappers.

Other options include: notepad/ pen set, homemade food gifts such as peppermint bark wrapped in cellophane (visit cbsop.com/recipes

/peppermint-bark-hearts or www.

joyofbaking.com/candy/Pepper

mintBark.html for recipes), chocolate-covered pretzel rods, fresh-baked cookies, homemade caramel or flavored popcorn, a pair of taper candles bundled with French ribbon, tea (visit www.freeprintable

.com/free-printables/tea-bag-envelopes for free printable tea envelopes), ornaments or seed packets (visit http://gardensand

crafts.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-seed-packet-templates.html for free printable seed packet templates). Root beer reindeer are cute. Buy root beer or any bottled beverage such as cola, apple juice, Frappucino, etc. Twist pipe cleaner antlers to the top just underneath the bottle cap; just below, add a red pom-pom nose, wiggle eyes and use a thin piece of fleece as a scarf. Hope this helps!

• Sara Noel is the owner of www.

frugalvillage.com, a website that offers practical, money-saving strategies for everyday living. Write to Sara Noel, c/o Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut Street, Kansas City, MO, 64106, or e-mail sara@frugalvillage.com.