10 Genius Ways To Reuse Laundry Detergent Caps In Your Home And Garden

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Doing the laundry is a lot of people's most disliked chore. It takes a long time to get through one load. Folding clothes is tedious, and you have to do it often. The fact that bulky laundry detergent bottles take up so much space in the laundry room and the caps fall off, cluttering the floor, could be another, less-talked about reason. You shouldn't throw out empty bottles without trying these genius hacks. It stands to reason that there must be something you can do with all those pesky caps, too. Rather than throwing them away, reuse them in your home and garden. Some ideas include transforming them into hanging outdoor décor to liven up your garden, pots for tiny houseplants, or storage containers for small items in your office or bathroom.

Plastic takes a long time to break down, and it can be damaging to the environment. If you're conscious about sustainability or looking for ways to be more environmentally friendly at home, upcycling your detergent caps is a smart idea. In a roundabout way, it may even help you to save money doing laundry — or at least make the most of what you're spending on it. Plus, detergent caps come in different shapes and sizes, so there's likely a cap to suit any repurpose you have in mind or DIY you want to tackle. There are numerous possibilities for reusing laundry detergent caps that are practical, functional, and fun. Here are 10 such ideas.

Crafting is always a fun way to repurpose things you have in your home, as this DIY gnome by YouTuber Evrim Taşer Yılmaz proves. Cut the bottoms off two laundry detergent caps so that they sit flat on the floor. Then, cut a paper towel tube in half. Glue and tape your caps to the bottom of the tubes to create legs. Make your gnome's body from a soda bottle. Fill swatches of fabric with stuffing to create the arms, nose, and hat. Display your gnome indoors.

If you have young kids who love noisy toys, this is a great way to reuse your laundry detergent caps. Pour a little uncooked rice into one cap. Glue another cap to the rim, trapping the rice inside. Make sure the laundry caps match so they fit together without any gaps. It can also be helpful to tape the joint, creating a more secure seal. Your kids will have hours of fun shaking their homemade maracas!

Hanging décor is a great addition to your garden. You can make it yourself by simply poking a hole through the top of a laundry detergent cap and threading weatherproof string through it. Wrap and glue twine around the outside of the cap to give it a rustic look. If you drop the string down inside the cap, you can hang whatever your heart desires from it, like a bell or glass beads that will sparkle in the sun. Hang it beside other cute garden decor you couldn't pass up at the thrift store.

Keep your small sewing supplies in one place with this easy hack. Take a pin cushion (or make one) and glue it to the inside of a laundry detergent cap. Glue a piece of ribbon to the rim of this cap and the rim of another, larger laundry detergent cap. The second cap should fit snugly over the first. Decorate your sewing kit however you wish, then push pins into the cushion and store buttons and other sewing notions in the larger cap.

Decorating your home in a steampunk theme this Halloween? Adorn your tabletop pumpkins or that skull in the center of your spooky front door wreath with goggles made from laundry detergent caps. Per a clever tutorial from eHowArtsAndCrafts, cut out the top of two caps. Then, add thumbtacks around the rim. Punch a hole on one side of each cap and glue the two lenses together. Paint the goggles with Rust-Oleum Stops Rust Metallic Spray Paint in Dark Copper for authenticity, then glue or otherwise attach them to your décor.

If your laundry detergent bottle has small, flat, and round caps, give Mana Creative Corner's cute kitchen utensil or key holder DIY a try. All you need is some flexible wire and a cap. Punch a hole in the side of the cap. Punch two more holes on the opposite side. Thread the wire through the first hole, creating a loop, then pass it through the other holes, bending it up like a hook.

Here's another helpful organizational tool you can make using laundry detergent caps. All you need to do is cut out the top of the cap, leaving the sides intact. Get some strong twine, yarn, or wire and tie the cap securely to the center of a clothes hanger. Then, loop a second clothes hanger through the cap. It should hang straight, freeing up room in your closet and helping you better organize your clothes.

This easy DIY allows you to create a trendy display for all of your tiniest houseplants. Fill the smallest plastic planters you can find, like these Yuvori 1.1 Inch Mini Pastel Terracotta Pots, with soil and a mini succulent. Glue four popsicle sticks around the outside of a laundry detergent cap to create legs for a stand. Then, place your potted plant inside. Make multiples of these stands to build miniature indoor garden.

If you own a lot of small items and are looking for clever ways to sort and store them, laundry detergent caps can help. Find a square or rectangular plastic container with a lid that can hold three to four laundry detergent caps — or more, if you need something larger. Arrange the caps snugly inside the container, making sure they're upside down so you can see the hollow interior. Then, fill them with everything from beads and sewing notions to screws, nuts, and bolts.

Get really creative and make a one-of-a-kind pen and pencil box. You'll need a paper towel tube and two laundry detergent caps that fit into the tube. Decorate the outside of the tube however you prefer. Paint or otherwise decorate the caps, too. Glue one of the caps to one end of the tube, leaving the other end open. The other cap functions as a removable lid, keeping your writing implements inside. Your kids can show off their new pencil boxes at school!