Stop Tossing Empty Plastic Fruit Containers When You Could Just Save Them For Your Next Road Trip

Grocery shopping can lead to a lot of waste. Even if you bring your own reusable tote bags and mesh produce bags to the store or buy from bulk bins using your own recycled containers, there are still some packaging items you can't escape, like milk cartons or plastic berry containers. While some things can be recycled, it's difficult to decipher how to recycle everything properly so sometimes it is worth it to give those items a second life in your home. Out of all of our best ways to reuse plastic fruit containers in the kitchen, filling them with snacks for a road trip might just be our favorite. 

Instead of using flimsy plastic bags that can get crushed in coolers or smashed at the bottom of a tote bag, consider washing, saving, and reusing the plastic fruit containers that you bring home from the grocery store. The thin plastic makes the containers almost weightless so they aren't contributing any additional weight to your belongings. Larger containers that hold strawberries and cherries are great for loading up with bigger items like sandwiches or wraps, which you can cut in half and nestle in the boxes so they stay upright and ingredients don't spill out. The larger containers also make great snack box options for children on road trips, where you can place a few different items in each box so every child can have their own individual box, eliminating the need for sharing or bickering.

Cleaning the containers is as easy as rinsing or scrubbing with a bit of soap if there is fruit residue on them. From there, just air dry the container and store it in a cabinet for later. When selecting which plastic fruit containers to use for your road trip, take notice of how small the holes are in each containers, as some might not be suitable for every type of snack. Blueberry or raspberry containers, with small slits, are perfect for smaller foods like nuts. If your snacks are particularly small or have lots of loose items, you can always line the inside of a container with a couple of layers of paper towels to ensure that everything stays inside the fruit container and doesn't spill out into your car.

Not just great for road trips, empty plastic fruit containers can also make a great option for bringing food to the airport with you. Instead of paying $25 for a sad, soggy, mediocre sandwich at the airport, make a delicious sandwich at home for a fraction of the price and store it in a fruit container lined with a few paper towels that can easily slip into your backpack or other carry-on bag. The fruit containers also make great storage for your own cheese and charcuterie snack boxes, which are perfect to bring on a flight and enjoy in the air.