Don't Throw Out Those Yogurt Cups, Turn Them Into A Practical Garden Solution

While recycling can be a better way to deal with plastic than throwing it straight in the trash, it can still feel like you're letting perfectly good material go to waste. The next time you finish a breakfast haul and spot a handful of yogurt containers piling up in the bin, put them aside to use as seedling starter containers. Glass containers like Oui by Yoplait won't work as well for this hack, but any old plastic container like Chobani, Yoplait, Siggi's, or even Oikos will get the job done.

Begin by thoroughly washing out the yogurt cup, since we wouldn't want any leftover chocolate chips or residual sugar to affect the seedling's growth, even though our favorite high-protein yogurt is a sweet, sugar-free treat. Next, you'll want to grab a knife or a thumb tack and carefully poke holes in the bottom of the container, giving water a way to drain from the cup. From there, you can treat the yogurt container like any other small pot by filling it with the appropriate soil and sprinkling a few of your favorite seeds in the middle. You can paint the containers to look like faux terracotta pots, cover them in colorful Washi tape, or simply write the name of the seeds on the side so that you don't lose track — the choice is yours.

It's not uncommon to start plants from seeds in a smaller container and pot up once they get bigger, though here are the absolute best seeds to grow in your kitchen (and why). When you start seedlings in small spaces like a yogurt container, you have more control over how much water they're receiving, since it's easier to tell if the soil's dry or if it's perfectly moist. Plus, yogurt containers won't disintegrate or fall apart once wet. Small containers are also helpful in terms of light control, meaning if you're using a grow light, then you can fit more seedlings in one place. Or, if you're placing them in direct sunlight, then you can easily move the containers until you find the perfect windowsill.

Herbs tend to do well in small containers, but eventually they'll need to be repotted, as with any growing plant. Keeping seedlings in small spaces for too long can lead to root-binding, which can damage or even kill the plant in extreme cases. When it's time to pot up, you'll want to move the seedling into a container that's about two times the size of its current space by gently popping the plant out of its plastic cup and into a bigger container filled with soil. Technically, if you have a spare tub or quart-sized container of yogurt, this could work as a new home for your growing seedlings, among other everyday kitchen tools that double as garden gear.