How to Use Empty Vegetable Cans

You might be surprised at how many uses these have. You should re-use most things before you send them to the garbage dump. One of the things you can do with them is use them to form lard and birdseed blocks for feeding the little birds. Another use is for chimes, that takes a little more work because you don't want to just hang a bunch of cans, so you will want to make them look nice. You can also make a kids outside musical instrument if you can take the noise. You can put water in them and freeze it for really big ice cubes for your cooler. They melt slower than the small cubes you buy it bags.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Empty cans
• string
• paint
• something to punch holes in the cans
• lard or suet and bird seeds (with or without peanut butter)

1. After you take out the contents of the cans for dinner, remove the labels, and wash them out well and let them dry. Store them in a bag or box until you have the time to make your project. For the ice cubes you just freeze them then run hot water on the outside just to get them out of the cans. For bird food molds in a bowl mix the suet or lard with peanut butter, and bird seed and pack it tightly in the can. Chill long enough to harden the mix in the can, then cut out the bottom of the can and push the molded bird food out, roll in some more bird seed to coat the outside like a cheese ball, but for birds. Run a long piece of twine or yarn through it and hang it on a tree branch.

2. For wind chimes, use different size cans, wash, let dry, and then paint them different colors and if you want paint little designs or pictures on them. Tie metal washers or button to wire or strong string, like kite string and hang them at different lengths on a 1 inch dowel or painted clothes hanger.

3. You can also use them for different kinds of yard art if you paint them nicely and display them properly. Poke a couple of holes in the bottom and use them for tiny planters. Take several different size cans and paint them and glue the plastic lids on so the kids can't get to the sharp edges and send them out back to drum and bang, the neighbors will love it.

Tips & Warnings

• The large cans like coffee and shortening cans, can be easily used to plant things in and you can really make them look nice with just a little paint.
• Most cans will have sharp edges inside from the can opener so you don't want kids to play with them, or get cuts, you probably wouldn't like it much either.