Many people already use empty pill bottles to carry small items while traveling — but one YouTuber posted a hack that takes the repackaging game to the next level.
The scoop
YouTuber Factor 85 Labs (@factor85labs) posted a video detailing the hack, explaining that certain pill bottles actually have reversible lids. These lids, he demonstrates, can screw onto a bottle from either direction; they function as a child lock in one direction and as a normal lid in the other.
However, there's another benefit to this fact — it means, he explains, that "you can put two pill bottles on either side of the same lid."
He demonstrates this, screwing the cap onto one bottle before attaching another bottle vertically on the other side of the cap.
"So you can take one pill bottle with your firestarter," he says, "and another with your lighters, stick 'em together on the same lid, and you've got a fire kit, all in one."
How it's working
He goes on to explain that this hack isn't just useful for fire kits — he advises that people can also store small miscellaneous items for survival kits, fishing kits, camping gear, and go bags. "They're great for keeping things dry," he adds.
Indeed, the possibilities for these bottles are nearly endless — which is great news, considering they're usually difficult to recycle through traditional methods.
In addition to the methods suggested in this video, people have also used leftover pill bottles for carrying TSA-approved amounts of liquids on flights, curling hair, organizing seeds, making lunchbox-sized ice packs, storing sewing needles, and more. One Redditor even suggested using them to bring a measured amount of powdered laundry detergent to a laundromat, in order to avoid lugging big bottles or boxes back and forth.
And if you don't have a use for them personally, you can always donate them to shelters or churches to keep them out of the landfill.
What people are saying
Commenters were eager to test out the hack themselves. "Super cool," one person enthused. "I never thought to stick them together."
"Outstanding!" another said.
This hack is relevant to most people; according to Statista, over half of Americans take prescribed medications daily, so these bottles are likely already on hand for many households.
"I love repurposing pill bottles like this," one commented. "So useful for many applications."
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