Repurpose This Medicine Cabinet Staple To Safely Travel With Liquids

Since 2006, travelers have been asked to put any liquids they're bringing onto a flight into a clear plastic bag. You can't take more than three ounces for each item, and if you have full-sized products you love, you've probably bought endless little bottles and jars from the drugstore travel section. The likelihood is that you can't squeeze them enough to get the product out, and you've ended up tossing them away. Most are notoriously made of stiff plastic. If you buy your products in a travel-sized container, it ends up getting pretty expensive over time. Either that, or they only come in full travel kits, meaning you're paying for items you're not using. 

Before you give up and use that hotel conditioner that shreds your hair into bits or wash your face with hand soap, we have a travel hack for you that's going to make things so much easier when you jet off to new locales. Even better? It uses something that's likely already in your medicine cabinet. 

According to Smarter Travel, the hack is to use old prescription bottles to store your liquids on the plane. You know, the orange ones with safety tops that we keep around for some reason after the medication is gone (or disposed of safely). The site suggests that you use these to store things like shampoo, conditioner, face wash, and other liquid items that are impossible to squeeze out of those travel containers. They are usually spill-proof (test them first with some water), and those child-safe tops mean they're not going to unscrew during the flight due to pressure changes or being jostled around. We've all had that one trip where the cap loosens on the shampoo bottle, and everything you packed is soapy.

The best part here is that, as the site points out, you can actually get the product out of them because you can likely fit fingers in there. They suggest that you "soak the labels off and affix a masking tape label on the side." We're adding that you write the labels in marker so they don't smear, and make sure you've washed any medication residue out of there first. (You can also use a daily pill organizer for things like makeup, though you should test the closures.)

These little bottles are really useful for travel. If you have more lying around, there are some other ideas for you from Crafts by Amanda. The site suggests things using them to store cotton swabs, bobby pins, and hair ties, which always end up at the bottom of your bag. You can store jewelry like earrings or necklaces so they don't get tangled or lost in your suitcase, create a mini sewing kit for quick clothing repairs, and store anything small you don't want to lose. You can even keep a few bucks in there if you're heading to the beach and don't want to have a traditional wallet. It keeps the sand out and your ice cream money in. 

On top of that, reusing our plastic prescription bottles keeps them out of landfills and oceans. The possibilities are endless for these little items. Just remember to take off the labels, which can have personal information on it like your name, doctor, and which medication it contained.