Packing Tips – Recycled Prescription Bottles

December 24th 2007
Susan
Uncategorized

I LOVE prescription bottles like you get from the pharmacy. Here’s why: They’re taller than the now hard-to-find film canisters, they have locking, waterproof lids and they are infinitely easy to come by. Unfortunately my health insurance now always wants me to use their mail-order system which doesn’t use the same cool canisters. I did figure out though that if I talk with the pharmacist at my local “Good Neighbor Pharmacy” I can talk them out of 3-4 prescription bottles free of charge if I’m buying something else. I’ve not had so much luck with the big brand pharmacies like Walgreen’s and CVS. Here’s how I use them when packing:

Emergency medicine closet – Advil, Motrin, Tylenol PM and Nyquil tablets all go into one before every trip. All of these pills are different colors if you buy the name brands and I use a sharpie on the outside to identify which color is which so I won’t get them confused when I need them while traveling.

Q-tip holder – This is why I especially like the pharmacy bottles. They are just tall enough to fit about two week’s worth of q-tips in them, which are good for all sorts of things when on the road. Also, in hostel bathrooms it’s great to be able to make friends by sharing your q-tips which backpackers often forget or get soaked with inadequate packaging.

Quarter/1 quid/change holder – in the UK, EU, Canada and US a prescriptioin bottle just happens to be the perfect size for the coins used in most laundry machines! Great way to quickly horde the change you need for phone calls and laundry while on the road. Also, I keep one in my pocket, the side of my backpack or my travel purse for collecting change. I didn’t do this when I went abroad for the first time and when I got back and emptied my pack I found I had enough change at the bottom to have taken myself out for a nice dinner- remember change abroad is frequently worth more than US travelers think it is!

Sewing kit – needles through a piece of paper, some colors of thread and a whole bunch of safety pins shoved into a little bottle keep them together but out of the way. Better to use than the traditional film canister because you can see through them and the lids lock on which will ensure your needles don’t end up where they shouldn’t be.

My favorite – Mini-gifts for fellow travelers. I put something small from the US in one, my address & email and a mini-golf pencil to give to people I meet and want to stay in contact with on the road. I usually use an American flag pin or something else small that can be bought cheaply in bulk but which will remind people of me when they get home.

Ahhh… what can I say? The possibilities are endless. For someone with a container fixation (I’m permanently barred from The Container Store for my own health) like me these little things are inspiration waiting to happen. What do you use them for?

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.