Turn an Aluminum Can Into a Container
- Xinru Li
- Feb 9, 2017
- 3 min read
Did you know that Americans throw away $1 billion's worth of aluminum cans every year? Aluminum is also one of the most recyclable of all materials, so if you're not repurposing them, RECYCLE!
Anyways, you know all those annoying little bits of stuff that's important sometimes but also everywhere/nowhere when you're trying to find them? (paperclips, erasers, staples, hair ties, etc), a great way to organize them is to turn an aluminum can into a mini container, and it's also super easy to make~
difficulty level: easy
time required: 3 minutes
materials needed: aluminum can, scissors, tape
So how do you make it?
Clean out your aluminum can, then cut it into two pieces. I recommend stabbing it with a letter opener to make a hole for the scissors. Try not to cut yourself with the edge of the can, and sometimes it might take a few trimmings to have the edges smooth.
As you may have noticed/foreseen, the edge is still sharp and perhaps a bit dangerous, and we can solve this problem with two different methods.
Method 1: Wrap your tape around the outside of the can so that half the tape is on the can while the other half hovers over the edge. Fold the other half over the outside of the can so it sticks on the inside of the can, and thus the tape covers the jagged/possibly dangerous edge.
Method 2: (a bit more work)
If the previous method seems too easy, here's a more complicated one! I just liked the fact that this turned my can into a nonagon. So you draw a line underneath the edge of your can, then cut little slits to make rectangles (if you like a particular polygon, cut that many slits to make get polygon but I recommend it being at least 6 sides). Fold down the rectangles, and secure it with tape.
You're done! Basically. And if you want to make it seem even fancier, you can decorate it! LEAVE AN IMAGE BELOW IF YOU MADE IT OR DECORATED IT IN A COOL WAY!!!
And to decorate my can, I rescued a piece of tissue wrapping paper from a trip to the gallows. (since tissue paper isn't recyclable, we can feel even better about ourselves!)
After folding it three times, I cut little slits with my scissors along one side of the fold, then wrapped the entire thing around my can to be secured with tape.
I'll be storing my paperclips with this since I always loose them, then have to buy more, then find the ones I lost, and it's just an endless cycle of consumerism (look fancy word). And thus I also get to relate this to the fact that we buy too many excessive stuff/stuff we already have and we have to be more mindful. I'll also be storing my erasers with the other storage can I made (again, see paperclip story), and if you're using this to store erasers, here's some unsolicited advice from a 16 year old: since sometimes erasers tend to stick to each other and mutate/melt/whatever it is that they do, take some more tissue paper and scrunch that into the can so they don't stick to each other. :)
A video tutorial of everything I make on this site would now be available on my Facebook page (@tangerinelights) so follow that for updates/if you're too lazy to read ^.<
If you have any questions/comments/ or if you made this and would like to show off its awesomeness, put it in the comments below!