14 Items Preppers Shouldn’t Throw Away
Every time we finish eating from a container or pull on a pair of blue jeans for the last time, our first instinct is to discard them. But if you consider yourself a prepper, that’s a habit worth breaking.
Even when something no longer serves its original purpose, it doesn’t mean it’s useless. With a bit of creativity and resourcefulness—a skill Native Americans mastered long ago—these everyday items can be repurposed into valuable tools for survival, storage, or trade.
Here are 14 items preppers should never throw away, along with innovative ways to reuse them.
Related Topic: 8 Must-Haves for Choosing the Perfect Bug Out Location
14 Items Preppers Shouldn’t Throw Away
When it comes to prepping and emergency preparedness, it’s easy to overlook the value of simple household items. Many of the things we toss without a second thought can actually serve multiple purposes in survival situations. Here are 14 everyday items preppers should never throw away—you’ll be surprised how useful they can be when times get tough.
1. Worn-Out Clothing
Your old, worn-out t-shirts can be used instead of paper towels or wash rags—whether you’re cleaning tools, doing dishes, or handling greasy repairs. Clothing that’s too small can also be stored for barter or trade in a crisis. Reuse towels, prepping supplies, DIY cut cleaning cloths, emergency bandages, or reusable wipes.
T-shirts become cleaning cloths, jeans make strong patches, and old jackets can be cut for insulation.
In case you missed it: Prepping Items You Can Find at Thrift Stores.
2. Newspapers.
Newspapers are a prepper’s best friend! They can be used as:
- Tinder to start fires
- Insulation for doors and windows during winter
- Mulch or compost in your garden to retain soil moisture
Before you recycle, think twice: paper has power.
3. Grocery Bags
Plastic grocery bags have endless uses. Protect your shoes in the rain, line small trash cans, or even braid them into rope. You can also repurpose them for waterproof storage. Reuse grocery bags for emergency water protection or prepping items.
Keep them for waterproofing, waste disposal, or even braiding into strong cordage.
Check out: 45 Ways to Reuse Plastic Grocery Bags
4. Coffee Cans or Metal Hangers
Don’t toss those empty coffee cans! Use them to:
- Store small tools or emergency supplies
- Protect your toilet paper from moisture
- Start seedlings or even bake bread in a pinch
- Bend into hooks, roasting sticks, or plant supports, handy in any survival situation
More ideas here: 15 Ways to Repurpose Coffee Cans
5. Glass Jars
Glass jars are great for storing liquids, dry goods, or small pantry items. Even spaghetti jars can double as reusable drinking glasses. Strong, durable, and endlessly reusable—glass is gold in a prepper pantry. Use them for water storage, mini greenhouses, or drip irrigation systems.
6. Baby Food Jars
Perfect for organizing nails, screws, bolts, or seeds. You can also make DIY candles in them for power outages. These small jars are compact and sturdy, making them ideal for small storage spaces.
7. Old Tires
Old tires can be repurposed as planters, playground material, or even outdoor furniture. Cut them into strips for weed barriers or fill them with soil for raised garden beds.
8. Plastic Bottles
Empty 2-liter and milk jugs can be reused to:
- Store short-term water
- Create drip irrigation systems for gardens
- Make a scoop or dustpan by cutting it in half
Note: Thin plastic jugs aren’t safe for long-term water storage; they can leak or crack. Use thicker detergent bottles for more durability.
9. Cardboard Boxes
Cardboard boxes are helpful for storage, organizing supplies, and moving. Flatten and stash them to save space. If you ever have to bug out, these boxes can help pack and transport essentials quickly.
10. Dryer Lint
Dryer lint makes excellent fire-starting material. Store it in a ziplock bag to keep it dry.
Safety tip: Avoid burning lint made from synthetic fabrics, such as polyester or nylon, which release toxic fumes.
11. Egg Cartons
Egg cartons are perfect for starting garden seedlings or creating DIY fire starters using lint, Vaseline, and cotton balls. Choose cardboard cartons; they’re biodegradable and safer for the environment. Reuse egg cartons for seed starters and eco-friendly crafts.
Use them for seedlings, fire starters, or organizing small supplies.
12. Wire Pieces
Small wire scraps can be used to secure fencing, tie garden plants to stakes, or make quick household repairs. Keep a small bundle in your emergency repair kit.
13. Pantyhose
Even with a run, pantyhose still have value! Use them to:
- Prevent blisters during long hikes
- Filter debris from water
- Create a makeshift tourniquet in a medical emergency
Lightweight and versatile, add them to your go-bag.
14. Bacon Grease
Don’t pour it out! Bacon grease adds rich flavor to meals, acts as a fire starter, and can be used for cooking, lubricating, or waterproofing.
Learn more here: 13 Ways to Use Bacon Grease
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why should preppers avoid throwing things away?
Because in prepping, efficiency and resourcefulness matter. When you repurpose everyday items rather than discarding them, you reduce waste, save money, and build a stronger, more sustainable stockpile. This principle aligns with the “reduce, reuse, recycle” mindset often promoted in prepping. See more about waste reduction strategies in How to Reduce Waste as a Prepper.
2. What are some household items I can reuse for prepping?
Pretty much anything with potential, such as glass jars, plastic bottles, containers, old clothing, and tin cans. For example, glassware and mason jars are incredibly versatile in prepping. Read Creative Ways to Reuse Glassware for Prepping Purposes for specific ideas.
3. How can old clothing or denim be functional?
Old clothes can be cut into cleaning rags, used for insulation, turned into bandages, patches, or trade goods. The thicker fabrics, such as denim, are exceptionally durable and usable in many survival situations.
4. How about plastic bottles: Are they safe to reuse?
Yes, but with caution. Use plastics labeled with recycling codes 1, 2, 4, or 5, which are considered safer for reuse and less likely to leach chemicals. Be cautious with bottles that contain chemicals or have intense flavors. The article How to Use Plastic Bottles for Prepping offers more guidance.
5. Are there any items that should be thrown away for safety reasons?
Definitely, discard anything moldy, contaminated, structurally compromised, or chemically unsafe. Always inspect carefully; keeping something that’s dangerous is worse than throwing it away.
6. How can I store repurposed items without cluttering up my space?
Group and categorize: containers with containers, fabrics with fabrics, and so on. Label your bins. Use shelving or stackable systems. Keep frequently used repurposed items within reach. You may find ideas in the post 16 Hacks for Repurposing Old Household Items.
7. Can repurposing really help in emergencies?
Yes, in a crisis, resources are limited. Being able to reuse what you already have can mean the difference between solving a problem and being stuck. The creative reuse of everyday items has saved many in survival scenarios.
Final Word
Many of these everyday items have been tossed in the trash for years without a second thought. But a true prepper knows how to repurpose and reuse. Before throwing something away, ask yourself: Could this be useful later?
Every item you save adds another layer of security and self-reliance to your home.
What other items do you keep for prepping? Let’s share ideas in the comments! May God bless this world.
wow ! doing something right ! i use my plastic jars for putting stuff in freezer & other than that ,you got it covered ! never throw out plastic jars ! they dont break ! i have water in plastic bleach jugs ,jus in case !
Hi Daphne, yay!! I love hearing your comment! I love hearing the items you are storing water!! Linda
I guess I am a preppier! I have all of those items saved, especially newspapers! There are fewer newspapers being printed, due to the internet. I also have a good collection of dark jars, like amber, green and cobalt blue, since I have become interested in herbology.
Hi Debbie, I know newspapers are becoming extinct!! LOL! In Utah, they deliver once a week if they deliver at all. Everyone has gone to the internet for watching TV about what’s going on around the world. I love hearing you are learning about herbology! Stay safe, Linda
I use old t-shirts for the ear loops on masks. I make masks for my family and I cut the t-shirts one inch wide and the length I need. Give it a tug on each end and you’ve got a nice soft loop to go around your ears. Old t-shirts can also be cut the same way as above and crocheted or woven into rugs that are very durable and are machine washable.
Linda, love your article, but please tell your readers not to store water in milk jugs. You can never
get all of the milk out of a plastic jug, and bacteria can grow, making the water undrinkable or usable.
Hi Rose, I just changed that sentence. I always assume my readers know they are the worst containers for storing water, but newbies may think they are fine to use. Thanks for the heads up. Linda
We never buy eggs in the styrofoam/plastic containers, cardboard only! The entire egg carton can be burned. We fill them with dryer lint, cotton balls dipped in vasoline, etc. This way we can cut out the portion we need to use as tinder.
Hi Karl, a great reminder about the cardboard egg cartons and filling them with dryer lint, and cotton balls with vaseline! I love it! Linda
Linda, toilet paper rolls stuffed with dryer lint is also great for use as tinder.
Hi Frances, I keep hearing so many people store, I need to get on the bandwagon, and save my lint and toilet paper rolls. Thanks for the reminder! Linda
I use plastic mayo jars to freeze my pumpkin purée. Also old nylons are great for hanging onions. And, we save the plastic juice jars to freeze apple cider!!
Hi A Noel, oh I love freezing pumpkin puree! Great tip! It’s so awesome that we can share how we use all the different items. Linda
Linda,
I would caution against using dryer lint for tinder inside if you dry any garments made with synthetic material. Polyester, nylon, orlon and many other synthetic materials can give off noxious fumes when burned. While the content may be small in a batch of dryer lint, it would still be best to use it only outside where there is significant ventilation. Just my two cents worth.
Hi Harry, thanks for the heads up! I’m going to go add this to my post. I would only use them outside but some people may have a fireplace and use them inside. Great two cents!! I love it! Linda
Hi Linda. I use plastic juice bottles to store sugar, salt and some dry goods. These types of bottles can also be used to hold cereals in them. They take up less space and they help in eliminating all of those cardboard boxes that accumulate and draw bugs in the pantry.
Hi Deatra, those plastic juice bottles are really sturdy! Great tip! Linda
We use various single drink size and 1/2 gallon jugs for freezer bottles. Always need for grocery shopping to keep cooler cold. I have read it is more efficient for your freezer to be full, even if with those water bottles. When out of town family return from our home, we always have the frozen bottles to send with them.
Cardboard and the shipping paper are great to keep weeds down in garden. Bubble wrap has so many uses even for art play with shipping paper with the grands! (If Poppy doesn’t get it first)
Love all the suggestions as I was born with a practical bend as well as a little tight with the $$
Hi Marilynne, I love the idea of the smaller bottles of water and the 1/2 gallon size frozen!! Bubble wrap is always fun to have around and the cardboard is great for crafts! Love this, Linda
Hi Linda! We save most of these. No newspapers though. We have a lot of cardboard boxes. Not planning on moving any time in the near future, but I do put the things I take to the thrift stores in them. I save most of my jars, glass and plastic. Don’t save milk jugs though.
On thing that I do stock up is Apple Cider Vinegar. It’s good for a lot of things. I drink some apple cider vinegar and honey in water. It makes me feel good after drinking it.
Hi Deborah, wow, I admire you for drinking apple cider in water. I hear it’s good for you, but I gag, yep, I gag. I don’t save milk jugs either. But for some people, that’s their only choice. The heavier bottles are a little better. Linda
Yeah I save my dryer lint in empty toilet paper rolls.
I save my used motor oil as well. Lots of uses for it.
Hi Matt, great idea, yes indeed, lots of uses! Stay safe, my friend, Linda
I make fire starters with egg cartons (paper board type), dryer lint and wax. I save candle stubbs and melt those down then drizzle a bit ove wax over the lint filled egg cartons. Once they are solid again, I can tear or cut one off to start a fire. I only use these outside.
When I was a Girl Scout leader, I took my troop camping quite often. The girls were required to bring a bunch of newspapers to put between the ground and their sleeping set up – mat and bag. The purpose is to cut down on the cold and damp getting to the sleeping bag. You sleep warmer!
Two other things I haven’t thrown away for years – plastic/vinyl shower curtains (I have 4 in my preps) and outdoor vinyl table covers. These make great ground covers when camping and can also be used as rain ponchos.
The internet is full of ideas for repurposing just about anything! Pinterest is my go to for ideas.
Hi Leanne, I hear you on repurposing just about anything! Linda
My grandfather would nap after spreading his newspaper over himself. As kids we just thought he was a crazy old man. But once when I lived at the tip of the mitt in MI, I got stuck in snow in my office attire. I didn’t have my winter box in my van yet but had a stack of newspapers i has picked up from a friend. I crumbled pages up, stuffed inside my dress slacks, wrapped my feet up in them and waited for my husband to come rescue me. Along with finally realizing the importance of newspaper, I learned to always have both winter/ summer boxes in my van all year. That was the beginning of my serious prepping learning!!!
Love this page!!!
Hi Lisa, thank you for your kind words. It’s funny how we learn as we go along. You are so lucky you thought to use those newspapers! It sounds like we all feed a winter and summer “box” in our cars! Great comment! Linda
Linda,
I was blessed to be raised by parents and grandparents who had been dirt poor. Growing up, we knew no lack of anything from food, clothing and love. We just didn’t have the brand new expensive things that didn’t really matter. I think I was 13 before I figured out just how poor we were.
So I’ve always had a small stash of things for the what if times. That changed over the years and this past year while everyone was running around trying to get things, my grocery budget and TP lol budget never changed.
Although after years of not gardening because it’s just me now, I’m going to start back with a small garden. It’s time. I can’t eat all my flowers lol.
Lisa
Hi Lisa, my husband and I both grew up poor, but we didn’t realize it at the time. Mark wanted button-down shirt collars so he sewed some buttons on them. He had a newspaper in his shoes to keep his feet dry. I grew up with a working single mom, and my sisters and I took the laundry to the laundromat when I was 8 years old. My older sister was 9. I can’t imagine sending kids that young to a laundromat, not today, anyway. We learned to do without and never wanted for anything. We learned to work. The flowers, I love flowers! Just plant some carrots around them! Life is so good! Linda P.S. be sure and plant tomatoes, nothing beats home grown ones!
Linda, I agree that these things could be useful in an emergency. I just don’t want to end up on “Hoarders, buried alive”.
Hi Janet, oh my gosh, I don’t either!! LOL! This is the best comment ever! LOL! Linda
Since most baby food no longer is in the old style glass jars, my hubs started using empty prescription pill bottles for the small washers, nuts and screw storage.
Hi Beth, oh that’s a great idea! I get the baby glass jars from a neighbor when she has a 12 or so she that she doesn’t need. I think only. few companies have the baby food in jars now. Great reminder! Linda
There are so many great comments here…and I was really pleased that we’ve been doing alot of them all along that I had forgotten about. We always keep egg cartons and use them (alone) to start the fire in our woodstove. We reuse canning jars for tons of stuff like airtight containers for Amish popcorn. We save all our toilet paper rolls for cordminders. Vinyl shower curtains are a must to keep for just about anything needed outdoors. When we had baby food jars, we used them for nuts, screws, extra paint, etc. One of my favorites is to save the Tropicana orange juice jugs for water. They’re super sturdy and thick and clean up really nicely. All of my husband’s old socks go into the rag pile for cleaning, polishing, etc., as do old kitchen towels. It’s amazing what’s out there for prepping/emergencies if one would only think outside the box. Great article, Linda…and everyone else for their awesome comments/suggestions!
Hi Robbie, I just washed out a Tropicana Orange juice container this morning! Life is so good when we share ideas with each other. Linda
Here is where I hang my head in shame. I have failed Linda’s Prepper Class. I am a neatnik MARRIED to a neatnik. Everyone straightens drawers, closets and cupboards monthly right? And January is the annual file clean out and shred isn’t it? And it’s totally understandable to chase the garbage truck with one last piece, as if they won’t be back in 7 days…… Even when we have traveled by car, south for the winter, we pack a travel-and-trash wardrobe to cut down on laundry. Clutter makes me nervous. There’s no hope for us……
Hi Chris, oh my gosh, this the best comment EVER! I got the giggles so bad. I wish my husband was a neatnik, he’s a hoarder, don’t tell anyone. LOL! I LOVE LOVE LOVE your comment, and you get an A+ for the class! You made my day!! I will treasure this comment forever! Linda
A couple of things. In the PNW it doesn’t pay to use old tires in the garden for any reason. We have huge slugs that love to live in them and then come out at night and eat your produce. I know, because I tried this years ago. Another thing is using old pantyhose. I use knee-highs and when I get a run, etc. I cut them across the leg area and then again to make strips. I use these on my tomatoes, etc. because they are soft, yet strong. Saves me money, too.
Hi Cheryl, great tip on the tires and the knee-highs, thank you! Those darn slugs show up in my garden every once in a while.Those would be perfect for tomato plants. I love it! Linda
Linda great post, I also enjoyed reading everyone’s comments so much. I was so lucky and blessed to always be around those who grew up during te great depression, or was remembers the turn of the 20th century, or elderly folks who grew up in deep in Appalachia, or in the swamp. The common denominator with all of these great people I had been blessed to have in my life is that they had no choice but to make do with what they had to be able to save just a penny here and there because just a few pennies saved made such a big difference. I grew up always hearing them say “A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned”. Finding new uses for those items that most people would throw out is a form of self sufficiency in an of itself. Now here is just a few ways I get the most use out of thing as possible. I live in a townhome with 3 birch trees in my back yard so I use all the fallen limbs in a used charcoal barrel grill to burn while I cook breakfast it dinner in my cast iron skillet or cast iron dutch oven, I used the junk mail, or any papers that most people would shred as a firestarter (paper only no shinny slick paper), this saves me money on my power bill each month as well as cleanes up my yard, plus once I have enough cooled wood ash I save it to spread over my yard to deter certain pests and bugs as well as use it in the wintertime through the complex to keep the sidewalks and parking lot from icing over.
Hi Dee, we were really blessed to have learned so much from our grandparents, and great grandparents. I’m always amazed when people ask how to make biscuits or bread. Growing up we all know how to make them, it was second nature. I remember the penny saved is a penny earned. I went walking this morning and I saw a “lucky” penny on the ground. Yes, I put it in my pocket!! You know my uncle used to have a barrel grill, they are the best because they are so deep!! They were large and cut in half lengthwise and he had two lined up end to end. Then he made or welded grills for them. We use those to stay warm in the winter outside with marshmallows on a stick grilling hamburgers in the summer! Great memories. Your birch trees are free fuel, I love it! Linda
Thank you Linda, I also have reused 2 Liter Soda bottles given to me by my soda drinkin’ friends and family (50 total) that I use to go 20 miles away to fill up will 3 weeks worth of free spring water for drinking, cooking, and canning. Save the shaker caps from parmesan jars bc they can fit on regular mouth glass jars as well as the plastic mayo lids. (Tip: soak beans in a glass or with one of the parn shaker lids on so that you can use the jar as its own colander, quick and easy). Reuse tuna or chicken size cans (only if you used a safety can opener on them) and cut cardboard to the highth of the lid and coil the cardboard inside it until filled, then pour extra bacon grease, or saved candle stubs in to fill up, and you have an emergency heat and cooking source. Great to bring along for restricted camping trips. Save used dryer sheets to put on the bottom of the swiffer to use instead of the swiffer refills and works ever better. Just a small bit of the ways I reuse as well as save money. Hope it is helpful to someone.
Hi Dee, oh, I love spring water, what a blessing you have access to that! I can almost visualize all 50 bottles in your car! Thank you for sharing all the awesome tips on how to reuse cans and lids. Life is so good with reusable items. Thank you!! Linda
Thanks Linda, I feel very blessed to have access to all the resources, which I probably would not have if I were raise any differently. I also learned from a very early age how to sew, crochet, use power tools to build things, learned to work on cars some as well as machines (I started learning to work on lawn mowers at 8 yrs old) garden, forage , transplant wild native plants (i.e. dogwood trees, ferns, wisteria, muskendine, and honey suckle vines) as a kid. I truly believe that if you learn any self sufficiency skills at a young age it helps to round you out as a teenager and adult. By the time I was 15 I could fix my dad hydrolic lift and use the neighbors welder to fix brackets. Although I am a girl I was encouraged to lead any skill I wanted for my parents and grandparent knew the true value in skills. For these skills is often something we tend to not think about as something that can be be reused over and over again like the items you wrote about. Yeah, I was a weird kid, and not a typical gen x’er.
Oh wow–now I have a sore shoulder from patting myself on the back… LOL! ( was raised right, by two Depression survivors. Actually, most Yankee farmers save all sorts of stuff that might be needed for mending something, sometime…)
Those 2-liter soda bottles make great trees for tall boots. And those gallon jugs–cut the bottom off, turn over, and you have a mini-greenhouse (cap can be taken off for venting as needed).
All of the mentioned items get saved and used around here. Other items:
–Baling twine. I know, not something the average urban/suburban family will have, but still… Mends anything…
–Toilet paper and paper towel tubes. Cut up and use for seedling collars against cutworms. Also fill with lint, etc., as fire starters.
–Sacks from feed, shavings. Best trash bags! Also used to store dry leaves and pine cones. Woven feed sacks also make earth bags or sand bags.
–Cotton from pill bottles. Not sterile, but still good for quite a bit of cleaning (haven’t bought cotton balls in decades) as well as for fire starters.
Hi Rhonda, you should be patting yourself on the bad!! I love it! I never thought to use a toilet or paper towel tubes for seedlings! Why didn’t I think of that??? Great comment! Wow! We always learn something from each other! Linda
LOVE reading all the comments & learning new things !
a day is not wasted if you learn something new OR reminded
of something old !
Hi Daphne, I totally agree! Life is good! Linda
I hate to see things thrown away when they can be reused. So I keep what I can use now and try to keep some raw materials to make things as needed. And any money we save means more funds for things we can use and must stock up on.
I recently began to go through the closets looking for old clothing and washing everything. Then I decide what fits and what to keep or give away. The winter and cold or cool weather doesn’t last long here in Florida so It’s easy to rationalize we only need just a few cool weather items, but if things get bad, we would need and want more.
I have survival gear like many people. It’s the other stuff we need to make sure we are supplied with.
Just by going through what is here I am finding we have a lot more useful stuff than I realized.
Hi Frank, you are so right. I have finally convinced Mark, my husband to donate some old shirts that he hasn’t worn in 10-15 years. Of course, they are a bit out of style but someone could use them at the thrift store. We have a lot of people out of work so they are being put to good use. I’m an organize freak, I own it. Here’s the deal if we need some items we have them. But we moved from a bigger house 15 years ago to a smaller home. If we haven’t used some items for 15 years and will probably never use them we are going to clear out stuff every week. We are getting older and I do not want my kids to have to back up a dumpster in our driveway (LOL) to get rid of our 51 years of stuff we have accumulated. But my preps stay, of course. Stay safe, Linda
I am still a work in progress on this. I recently sorted thru closets and drawers and separated unneeded clothes into two piles. Fabric good for rags will be cut up and I will save the buttons. I still remember my grandmother’s old fruitcake tin filled with buttons. The rest will be donated.
HI Chris, I need to donate some capris I just found. I want to declutter just like you. I remember the fruitcake pans, oh my gosh that brings back wonderful memories! I save buttons as well. You never know when we may need one. Linda
Linda, shredded cardboard boxes make great bedding material for worms if you do vermiculture. But only use ones made in America as boxes from China and elsewhere contain toxins. You can tell if a box is made in America because it has a round box certificate stamp on it that tells you where it was made and by which company.
Oh, I’ve been recycling plastic grocery bags for trash bags for decades. I mean when you buy trash bags you are buying trash.
Hi Ray, oh my gosh, I never thought about where the boxes were made!! I will now look for that stamp, yikes! Good to know!! Another reason why we need to be careful where we put the discarded boxes (toxins should not go into our garden)! Great tip, thank you, Linda