Buckets, Buckets, Buckets 5 Gallon buckets

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Today, some suggested uses for buckets, both old and new

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For the knitter or crochet enthusiast:

     Fill a bucket with as many skeins of yarn as it will hold, upright with the pulling end pulled about ten inches.  With a razor knife, cut an X above each skein.  Cut out one of the flaps to make a triangular hole from which you can pull the yarn when using it and use the slit left to keep the yarn in place on the bucket lid till you need that color again.  The average three gallon bucket will hold six skeins.  A deeper five gallon bucket can hold two rows of skeins one on top of the other.  

You can wash, dye and store yarn all in the same bucket.

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Chickens:

     Besides storing feed and grain in buckets you can make a roost for them.  Lay buckets down on a scrap length of board.  With a screw with a washer attached, screw buckets side by side onto the board.   Then with a nut and bolt with two washers, bolt the sides of the nests to each other making the bottom row secure enough to build upon.  Use the nut and bolt method to secure the second row to the first row, placing the buckets in the space between the first two buckets.  No need to build a pyramid, but you could!

Leaf and lawn clippings:

     When you lose the bottom of a bucket you can use it as a pair of hands in the garden.  Cut out the entire bottom leaving the cylinder.  Put a leaf bag from bottom to top through the cylinder.  Fold some over top and place on its side near a pile of leaves. Straddle the bucket and start pushing leaves in.  Shake to settle leafs and drag along to the next pile.  When bag is full, tie off and repeat. 

Other uses for a bucket that won’t hold water:

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Potato planter, container gardening.  You can start an avocado in a bucket and keep it safe from cold and wind until it is strong enough to support itself.  It could remain in this bucket container for up to four years before needing to be transplanted. 

Store screws nuts and bolts in buckets in plastic zippered bags to keep them from moisture and rusting.  Sort them by size.

Baby in a bucket:  

     In a five gallon container pack the following: Baby wash, Baby lotion, Vaseline, Baby Oral gel, baby Tylenol, a thermometer, cloth diapers (12), diaper pins, Disposable diapers (a days’ supply in two sizes),  two sets of clothes in two sizes,  shoes (four pairs in four sizes), formula or dried milk for a week, food for baby for a week, A teething ring, then fill the bucket with as many additional receiving blankets or fleece as you can. This will support a baby for a week with some clothes to grow in or use for a second layer or two babies close in age for three and a half days.  If your child outgrows this first bucket of clothes and you can afford to replace everything in it, you can donate it to a charity and start over.  Most people will replace the food and clothes.  Write the date of the food or drugs expiration on the lid, whichever is first and donate it to charity within six months of expiration.

Pets in a bucket:  

     Of course you can fill a bucket with pet food but as with the baby bucket, leave room for pet needs, a chew toy, and any grooming tools needed like clippers and brushes, pet medications and breeding schedules.

Laundry:

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To turn a bucket into a washing machine you need a bucket and a plunger.  A typical plunger with the standard handle will do a decent job, but switching to a longer handle does a great job with less detergent and more agitation.  Cut a hole in the lid slightly larger than the handle of the plunger.  Put clothes in bucket, cover with water plus one or two inches.  Add a small amount of soap.  Put the plunger on top and then the lid. Lifting the plunger up and down makes for the agitation as it pushes water through and sucks it back up. Agitate clothes till bubbly.  Remove lid, wring out clothes in bucket and add more clothes and water repeating the process.  Dump gray water anywhere there is an insect infestation in the garden.  Starting with clean water, rinse the clothes through the same process.  Store soap, clothespins and bleach in this bucket.  Put plunger through the hole in the lid from outside to keep the washing all together until next time.

Make a pair of stilts:

Use an old pair of work shoes.  Screw one upright shoe (upside down bucket) into the bottom of a bucket with a piece of wood on the inside.  Be sure to remove handles for safety. 

Solar water heater:

Fill bucket with water, keep in sun all day to warm for sponge bathing in the evening, then use that water to wash clothes gathering fresh cold water for rinsing the clothes.