You probably get through a few wine bottles a month, right? Hopefully you’re a keen recycler, too. If you are, you’re among the one-in-three US citizens that recycle their glass bottles, so good for you.
Recycling your wine bottles keeps them out of landfill, but it also costs a bit of energy to do the recycling, so why not up your game a bit and re-purpose a few empty bottles? You’ll save energy and a few dollars, so see if any of these ideas appeal to you.
Make a rolling pin
An empty wine bottle makes a perfect rolling pin – it’s smooth, cylindrical and you can also fill it with cold water to stop your pastry getting too warm.
Just soak the label off the bottle by submerging it in soapy water, then refill it with water, reseal with a cork or screw top and chill it in the refrigerator.
Make a candelabra
Many Europeans use old bottles as candle holders, but not as you might imagine. They use specialised inserts that can hold two or more candles as once, rather than just jamming a candle into the bottle neck! You can find some decent ones for $30 or so.
Safety first! Weigh the bottle down with water, sand or marbles, or the candelabra will make the bottle very top-heavy which you don’t want if there are candles involved.
Make a water jug
Obvious, yet not many people do this. A wine bottle takes up less space on the table than a regular jug, and if you can get a clear glass bottle, or even a pale blue one, you’ll add a really nice and unusual touch to your table settings.
Oil storage
If you buy your olive oil in large tins, then you’re to be commended on your economic sense and (usually) your taste in oils. However, those tins are unwieldy and a bit of a pain to use every day, so you can decant some oil into an old, clean wine bottle to make for easier drizzling. Another advantage is that the dark green glass protects the oil from the sun.
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