How can I reuse or recycle ice cube trays?
We’ve had an email from Abby:
got lots of ice cube trays. don’t know where they all came from since we hardly ever make ice! ideas?
To speak like a marketeer for a moment, you have to think outside the box. Or outside the cube as it is in this case.
Don’t just think about freezing water, lots of other things freeze well and are useful in cube size quantities. I’ve made frozen grated fresh ginger in the past – to stop it going off before we could use it and also because it’s useful for dropping in stuff – and I know other people make concentrated stock cubes too. Any other cool things to freeze in cube shapes?
Other than that, the little compartments would be great for sorting beads, or small screws or the like. Novelty shapes could be fun jelly moulds too. Ooh, the square ones could make jelly bricks and imagine the construction fun!
Any other ideas?
(Photo by Prattflora
Very useful if you have weaning babies – whizz down whatever you have eaten and pop it in the ice cube trays and voila, several meals for little ones!
I like lemon in my tea, so I squeeze lemons and freeze the juice in ice-cube trays – not only do i get the right amount of juice, it also cools the tea enough to drink immediately!
Freeze herbs. Also, if they are neat shapes you could make chocolates in them. That’s what I am doing this Christmas.
Ice cube trays make killer desk, junk drawer, and hardare organizers.
The kids use one while painting. Keeps the colors separate (at least until they dip the brush in all the colors without rinsing it off first!)
garden and kitchen: you can use them as propagation trays for flowers, vegetables or herbs… you would have to make a little hole in each cube, but they will help to improve germination of seeds…
my boyf makes sofrito and freezes it in ice cube trays to use like boullion for the perfect dish-sized serving of seasoning. you can also freeze herbs and spices or sauces like pesto for small servings. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofrito
I use for for repairing stuff – especially for computer takeaparts. Would work for any tech takeapart – electrical device, bicycle, car…
Carol’s suggestion about paint trays is great. If you put water-soluble paints like goache and watercolor in them, you could have a nice palette.
If you could seal the top well enough, you could also use one to keep samples of your wall colors for touch-ups.
It would be a fun thing to fill the sections with little candies and crushed cookies for a sundae bar.
This may sound odd, but when I’m having a grown-up party, I like to make Jell-O shots in ice trays. I freeze them to set, rather than setting in the fridge; when the time comes to serve, I put them on a platter and everyone helps themselves! It is much greener than using a zillion little paper or plastic cups. (A non-alcoholic version would be good for a kids’ party!)
When I was a kid (a poor one) my mom would make mini popsicles using juice, toothpicks, and an ice cube tray.
Just fill the tray with juice, cover with plastic wrap (or tape paper over the top…anything really so long as it keeps the sticks upright) and poke a toothpick into the top of each section. Then freeze and enjoy.
It would probably be safer to use stir sticks or something else that isn’t pointy like a toothpick though. ;)
Clean them thoroughly and donate them to charities for their Jumble Sales. Women’s cooperatives, youth centres and community centres might all want them for their pantries/tea rooms or projects.