Ice Cube Trays may be the most versatile kitchen thing ever. These days it seems like everyone has an ice maker, but don’t throw those trays out! Check out these new ways to use them!

Ice Cube Trays

I probably don’t have to tell you that landfills are overran with plastics, so many things we could have re-used or repurposed. If you don’t have any, check out your local Salvation Army or resale store before you buy them new. They’ll be cheaper and you’ll be helping our planet!

I find a way to use everything I can as much as possible. It literally hurts my feelings when I toss something I could have used. Even if I have no use for it, I’m bothered. So I come up with ways to reuse things.

If you love repurposing things, check out my uses for old medicine bottles!

New Uses You’ll Love

1. Freeze aloe vera for sunburns: The cooling of the frozen aloe vera feels amazing on hot torturous burns!
2. Extra Virgin Olive oil and herbs for stir fry: Freeze it with a combination of whatever herbs you prefer for your stir fry.
3. Cookies: ice cube trays are perfect for freezing proper portions of cookie dough to be made later!
4. Homemade soup starter: Freeze broth and your favorite herbs and seasonings so that you can just toss them in when you make your soups.
5. Tomato Paste: It never fails I need more or less than a whole can. I hate wasting things, so I freeze them in the trays and pull them out when I need them. For the regular squared trays, you get 2 tablespoons of paste, perfect for so many recipes! Be sure and measure it out so you know exactly how much is in each.
6. Cheese chicken bites… wth was I talkin about? Apparently I had some sort of idea when I made the list, unfortunately I didn’t type out the info on it (because my memory is so wonderful I knew I’d remember) but I put it in the list and it made me laugh, so it’s here for you to laugh too.
7. Garbage Disposal Cleaners: Freeze a wedge of lemon with white vinegar, run through the garbage disposal when you need it. This idea was borrowed from DIY’n Crafts, be sure to check out their 40 Clever Uses & Creative Ways to use them!
8. Homemade Dishwasher Tablets: This idea has me so excited! I can’t wait to try it! As a matter of fact, it’s on my to do list for today! Huge shout out and thank you to One Good Thing by Jillee for this recipe! I’m so excited to try it out!
9. Frozen Coffee: Freeze leftover coffee so that you can cool down your hot coffee, add it to recipes, or even put them in your plants for a boost!
10. Baby Food: Freeze unused baby food, or make your own and freeze it. Then you can thaw it in portions rather than wasting a whole jar! Foods that can be pureed and frozen without cooking: bananas, apples, blueberries and avocado. I’m sure there are more, but this is what I got from Help Me Grow. She’s got more resources for baby food on her site.
11. Chocolate Strawberry Cubes: Seriously easy way to make chocolate covered strawberries! No more messes! Melt 2 cups of chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. Place in trays with stem side up, freeze until chocolate is hardened and enjoy!
12. Peanut Clusters: Make them in ice cube trays to avoid using wax paper, plus you’ll have a fun little shape!
13. Freeze Caramelized Onions: It takes forever to caramelize onions but the flavor is out of this world! Make a huge batch of them then freeze, after they are frozen put them in a freezer bag and pull out as needed!
14. Seed starters: Ice cube trays are the perfect size for starting seeds! I suggest covering them with a clear lid (like from the deli) to make a greenhouse effect, sitting them in the window to get sun and letting them get themselves started! Gardening can be such a peaceful adventure, plus children really love watching the growth every day!
15. Sorting Games: Glue in a colored piece of paper or drop some pain in the bottom of the trays, then get colored craft pompoms so that your little one can sort the colors. It will not only help with learning colors, it also helps them with their dexterity and finger movements. Keeps them busy and quiet as well, so it’s a win for everyone!
16. Bath Time Fun! You’ll have to check out my postcheck out my post on how you can use the ice cube trays for this adventure, but if you’ve got a 2-6 year old, you don’t want to miss it!

How do you use your old Ice Cube Trays?

Let us know and we’ll add them to the list!