22 Clever Pill Bottle Crafts and Reuse Ideas You’ll Actually Use
From fire starters to seed storage, discover 22 pill bottle crafts and reuse ideas that turn empty containers into something useful and fun.
I do my best to rely on herbal remedies around here, but I’ll be honest… plastic pill bottles still sneak in now and then. And since I hate tossing things (seriously, it makes me twitchy), I’ve gotten pretty good at finding new uses for old containers. At this point, I’m probably an upcycling addict. But honestly, there are worse habits to have.
So when I found myself staring at a mountain of empty pill bottles, I hopped on Pinterest for inspiration. (If you’re not following me there, you should. It’s where I stash all my harebrained homestead ideas.)
Here are some of my favorite ways to repurpose pill bottles: some practical, some just for fun.
#1 Fire Starters
Pill bottles make easy little fire starters. I’ve seen people call this a fun project to do with kids… I’m not sure my crew qualifies as calm enough for that, but if you’ve got responsible kids, this could be a good bonding project. Stuff them with cotton balls or dryer lint dipped in wax and they’ll catch fast, even if the wood’s a little damp.
#2 Hide-A-Key
Make a cheap, quick hide-a-key by gluing a rock or pinecone to the lid. I can’t promise it’ll last forever outside, but since it costs basically nothing, replacing it now and then doesn’t hurt. Pro tip: pick a spot that blends in naturally and rotate locations so it’s not too obvious.
#3 Travel Bottles
These bottles are just the right size for shampoo, conditioner, and lotion when traveling. I’m pretty sure they meet airline liquid rules, but double-check before you pack so you’re not stuck tossing them at security. I slap some painter’s tape on them so I’m not stuck guessing which one’s conditioner halfway through a shower. Permanent marker (it turns out) isn’t actually permanent.
#4 Portable Sewing Kit
Turn a pill bottle into a mini sewing kit with a bit of thread, a needle, and a few buttons. Bonus points if you glue a tiny pincushion to the lid. I like keeping one in the car for those “oops, lost a button” moments. Toss in a couple safety pins, too. They’ve saved me more times than the needle and thread.
#5 Survival Kit
My outdoorsy boyfriend has made about twenty of these survival kits, and they live in every glove box, backpack, and tackle box he owns. I’ll admit, they’ve saved the day more than once on hikes. Think waterproof matches, a bit of fishing line, and a couple of bandages (the kind of little things that feel huge if you’re stuck outside).
#6 Crafting Storage
These little bottles are perfect for craft odds and ends: cake piping tips, beads, needles, paper clips, safety pins. I use them to keep the gems from my diamond painting kits corralled, too. A quick label on the lid makes it easy to know what’s inside without digging through a drawer.
#7 Halloween Decor
Spray paint a few bottles and turn them into Halloween potion bottles. I made some last year for the mantle, and they were a hit! Just the right touch of spooky to mix in with my pumpkins. A ring of hot glue around the cap gives you that old ‘wax seal’ vibe if you really want to go all in.
#8 Snowman Ornament
Not into spooky? Use them to make winter snowmen. My youngest once built an entire snowman village out of pill bottles. Did they clash with my vintage Christmas village? Yep. Did I still display them? Absolutely. Paint sticks better if you rough up the plastic with sandpaper first.
I’ve got plenty more thrifty holiday craft ideas where that came from. Check out my favorite Christmas decorating projects on a budget for more Santa-approved inspiration.
#9 Rainbow Crayons
Use pill bottles as molds for rainbow crayons. Extra credit if you’re also upcycling broken crayons. (Yes, I hoard broken crayons too. Don’t judge.) Just remember the bottles aren’t oven-safe. Melt the crayons first, then pour them in.
#10 Unique Vase
Nest pill bottles together and you’ve got yourself a faux bamboo vase. The vacuum seal makes them watertight without glue (bonus science lesson included). Wrap them in jute or give them a coat of paint and they actually look pretty classy.
#11 Nail Polish Remover
Make a quick nail polish remover tub: stuff a pill bottle with cotton balls and pour in acetone. It’s way less messy than pouring from the bottle, and you’ll waste less polish remover too. Cut a sponge to size and swap it in if you want that salon-style dip jar.
#12 Ammo Storage
Pill bottles keep ammo dry and organized. Around here, those bottles get tucked into an old Christmas cookie tin in the gun cabinet. Sadly, it’s not cookies. Toss in a silica packet and it’ll stay dry even longer.
#13 Yarn Baller
Knitters and crocheters, this one’s for you. Use a pill bottle to make a center-pull yarn ball so your skein doesn’t roll across the floor. Before my friend gifted me a “real” yarn ball winder, this trick saved my sanity. Drill a hole in the cap for the yarn to thread through. It keeps the tension nice and steady.
#14 Ink Dauber
You can even make ink daubers. At first, I had no idea what those were (BINGO night, maybe?), but it turns out scrapbookers use them too. Glue a bit of felt on the bottom and you’re good to go for stamping or blending.
#15 Coin Storage
Need a spot for quarters? Toss them in a pill bottle coin holder and stash it in the glove box. Handy for car washes, vacuums, or laundromats. (Not that I’d know. My kids swipe my change before I get to it.) Adding a slit in the lid makes it a mini piggy bank for kids.
#16 Party Lights
I’ve seen pill bottles turned into quirky amber-colored party lights. I’m not sure when you’d use them. Maybe at a med school graduation party? Still, it’s a quirky little project if you’re the crafty type. Paint the outsides different colors for a string-light effect.
#17 First Aid Kit
Mini first aid kits in pill bottles are a lifesaver. I keep one in my purse for scraped knees and mystery bruises. (Let’s be honest… usually caused by one rambunctious child in particular, but I won’t name names.) A couple of antiseptic wipes fit in there too, and trust me, they’re worth their weight in gold.
If you want to take it a step further, here’s how I stock a homestead first aid kit that actually works. You’ll find practical, affordable essentials that go way beyond a few bandages in a box.
#18 Tooth Storage
Parents: this one’s for you. Put a tooth in a pill bottle so the Tooth Fairy can actually find it in the bed sheets. Trust me, it’s a lot less stressful than digging through stuffed animals at midnight. A dab of glitter nail polish on the lid turns it into a magical “Tooth Fairy jar.”
#19 Hair Supply Container
Perfect for corralling bobby pins and elastics. I swear I’ve been working off the same pack of bobby pins for 15 years because they just vanish. The elastic bands wrap nicely around the outside of the bottle too. Add a strip of magnetic tape inside to keep the pins from scattering.
#20 Q-Tip Holder
Keep cotton swabs in one so the kids don’t decide to “help” each other with ear cleaning. (Yes, that happened here. Never again.) Stick a label on it if you also keep them for makeup. No one wants ear swabs touching mascara wands.
#21 Seed Storage
Don’t want to make printable seed packets? Pill bottles are perfect for storing seeds, and the childproof caps mean no accidental spills all over the floor. Taping a seed packet label to the outside helps keep varieties straight.
#22 Battery Organizer
And finally, battery storage. Because the bottles are watertight, your batteries are less likely to corrode. Group them by size so you’re not digging through a messy junk drawer when the remote dies.
Your Pill Bottle Upcycling Questions, Answered
Still curious about what to do with those bottles once the medicine is gone? Here are a few of the questions I hear most often about reusing pill bottles and the simple answers that make it less of a headache.
If you liked these ideas, pin the image below and share it with your Pinterest crew.
Health doesn’t come from a plastic bottle, but if it does, at least you can turn that bottle into something useful afterward.
Want more ideas? Check out 12+ Fun Ways to Upcycle Holiday Cards After the Season, Mason Jar Crafts You’ll Love to DIY, and 12 Uses for an Old Milk Jugs.
Repurposing pill bottles proves a little creativity goes a long way. From seed storage to quirky decor, they definitely don’t have to end up in the trash.
What’s your favorite way to reuse pill bottles? Share in the comments. I’d love to hear!
i use a couple of big ones to hold my edc, with hair elastics, duct tape and dental floss on the outside. i also have no small humans, so i get the airtight regular caps. you could store just about anything in these puppies.
Great idea using the outside of the bottle as well as the inside.
I buy seed beads in bulk and use/label old pill bottles for storage. An old shoe box can hold quite a few of them and if you label both the cap and the bottle, it is easy to tell what you’ve got by lifting the lid of the box.
I need to take some time to do that. I’ve got loads and loads of seed beads in plastic envelopes and they always manage to pop open.
How funny that I’ve been saving the little “power bait” containers and not the Rx containers…. Am beginning today for seed storage. I have many containers from the in home nurses visits while caring for my late great mother in law that I have used for envelopes of seeds. That changes this month! I’ve always thrown medicine vials away but since I’m 60 and my grandkids live on the Other Coast… yeah. I appreciate this. I don’t follow Pinterest but I Do follow Hometalk. don’t forget about them!
Thank you for this Jessica!
when storing buttons or beads in old prescription bottles………… you should glue a sample to the lid. Then you can see at a glance what’s inside.
Great tip!
These are some great ideas! However, I can’t agree with putting anything edible in bottles that have stored prescription medication, and definitely not giving the edible stuff to others. I am probably paranoid, but these days, you just don’t know what may leach into or out of something.
Wow, great tips thanks!
I use the pill bottles in weaving: broken warp threads can be threaded through the proper heddles and then put into the pill case with a proper amount of weight (creating the proper tension). These then just hang at the back of the loom.
That’s a great use. I don’t weave yet, but it’s on my list of things to learn.
I agree with some of the previous commenters. Pill bottles should never be upcycled for anything having to do with children, most especially to hold candy! When I had small children at home luckily there were still camera film containers that could be upcycled. Pill containers should only be upcycled for adult purposes. Children should never think it is okay to handle or play with these Containers. Better safe than sorry!!
I agree…..same as pet toys! It is NEVER OK to let pets think pill bottles are ok! I had a neighbor do that and eventually the dog got a bottle full of medication and chewed through it and DIED!!!
I’m 14 and I was always told “never put candy in a pill bottle that looks normal” so much the snowman idea and the Halloween idea would be great.
I store random screws, paper clips, micro and SD cards and other items that could be lost easily
Great ideas
And thumb drives. use a sharpie to label what is on the drive. And I love all these other ideas. Grabbing some bottles out of my recycle bin right now.
Some clever ideas here, however, NEVER put candy in a pill bottle.
I, sadly, have to take a number of prescription meds. I get the snap-on caps rather than the screw-on ones because there are no small humans in our home. I suppose you could use this tip for either type of cap, though. Punch a number of small holes in the cap. Fill the clean canister part with powdered sugar. Put on the top. Instant shaker for baked goods!
Just a tip for you, psiamiam – and for anyone else: If you flip the white screw-on cap, it is no longer childproof, so for people who prefer not to have to fiddle with the little tab – and don’t have vulnerable people in the home – it’s an alternative to getting the snap-on version. Also, once you flip the tops, pill bottles stack better.
I don’t have any younglings in the house so used the snap-on covers. When I changed pharmacies, they used the screw-on ones. I didn’t like it when you flip those covers so I just used my toenail clippers to cut off the protruding thing in the bottle.
The pill bottle is obviously the film canister of the 21st century! Nice post!
I used a larger pill container to put my contact case in for traveling – they always leak a little. The smaller ones are perfect for folding up a plastic grocery bag in – much neater that way and you can have a few in your purse or car for that trip to Aldis!
I have some tall ones that I have made nail kits with. I put a metal nail file, a few cheap emery boards, (because they are small), large and small nail clippers, cutical scissors and I also put in tweezers. I keep one in the car and one in my purse. They come in so handy.
I use them for my thumb drives for my computer. Just print a mailing label to tell what’s on the drive.
#6 never use them for candy, if there’s any chance a child can see it. Actually, just don’t do it at all.
We have a 4 month old and a 16 month old. We have random items that make different sensory noises in old pill bottles EVERYWHERE. So rattles is my top!
We did the same thing for our baby. We used pill bottles filled with different materials (such as rice, beans, bells, etc) to make different kinds of rattles. Then we sealed & decorated the bottles with colored and patterned duct tape.
these would be neat stuck inside a small hand-made stuffed animal…
This is a great idea! I have a 19-month old. Thanks for the suggestion!
You’re so welcome 🙂
A friend used them to organize her garage. She used them to keep nails, screws, etc. separate. She also used them to store small craft items.
My husband does that. He also utilizes baby food jars for all the little tidbits.
The small altar candles that come in glass jars with lids also work great for that.
My daughter is always taking her ear rings off when she showers,leaving them on the bathroom sink counter. I keep a pill bottle on the shelf to put them in, it keeps them from being dropped in the drain.
Great idea! I’ve lost my fair share of things down the drain…
They work great for storing buttons.
Why not use them for storing your spices when you go camping.
Great idea!
That’s a great idea!!
I used to use old camera film canisters for camping spices but with the advent of the digital camera I have now run out. This is a great alternative.
I use mine to store beads and small items for my crafts. I also use them to mix small amounts of resin for jewelry and accessories. sometimes I use them to ship small items in because they will be better protected than just an envelope and smaller than most boxes. Love the crayon recycle idea. I actually do that with left over resins. Makes cool barrel beads.
That’s a great idea!
I use mine for sorting and storing beads I have saved to make jewelry. I also sort colors and types of buttons, samples of fabric to match at the fabric store, sewing machine needles. I like the idea of using bottles for yarn and spices while camping. When the grandkids come to the beach, we could collect small shells and some sand.
That’s a great idea. This is a creative and interesting blog post. Thank you for sharing your great ideas. I am off to find out some other ideas for recycling!
“Health doesn’t come from plastic bottles” – Oh, I love that! Great round up here. Thanks for sharing these ideas! I think I like the seed saving idea the best 🙂
I love this list! I frequently have pill bottles looking for a new life. My son goes to college in Chicago and I drive the 6 hours to visit him every month or so. I always have a pill bottle or two filled with quarters in my car for highway tolls and parking meters! (I like turning the lids upside down so they are no longer hard to open!)
A roll of quarters fits perfectly into a pill bottle. And I also put a roll of stamps in mine to keep in my purse. Makes it easier to find them.
I love the stamp idea. We either can’t find them or our toddler finds them first and decides they’re stickers.
Seriously awesome post Jess. I had a huge bag of these, which I recycled. My daughter used some when she had gestational diabetes and put the used needles in for disposal. I recently started saving them again. Like you, we don’t take a lot of prescription meds but they do seem to pile up anyway. I was trying to pick my favorite idea from the list but it sure is hard. maybe the cute little snowman? Could you still fill his innerds with candy?
That’s a great idea! I’m not sure why you couldn’t. His little hat comes right off. How cute would it be to use them as little party favors for kids that come with their parents to holiday parties?
It’s really not a good idea to put candy into pill bottles. Children can get confused candy with pills and the ends be disastrous. No matter how cautious you try to be there is always that split second, and no one wants to endanger a child.
so wrap the bottle with colorful sticky patterns so they don’t know it’s a pill bottle?
That’s quite a list. I saw the topic in my inbox and thought, “I can only think of one – firestarter kit. Wonder where that clever idea will be ranked.” Haha!
I’m glad to hear my titles bring in fabulous readers like yourself 🙂
These are very interesting. Do you have any other recycling crafts/ tricks?
Thank you! I have hundreds, but the two I’ve posted include 16 New Uses for Old Bed Sheets and 10 New Uses for Old Greeting Cards.