8 Reusable Bathroom Items That Make Perfect, Affordable DIY Hummingbird Feeders

Did you know that most plastic we think we're recycling really ends up in landfills or incinerators? So many of our toiletries are packaged in plastic. If you haven't yet found a solid shampoo or plastic-free toothpaste tablet you like, make the most of the durable packaging from these bathroom products. Repurposing your shampoo bottles, body scrub tubs, lotion tubes, and more into hummingbird feeders is easy. There are scores of clever ways to reuse your plastic containers in your home and garden, including bird feeders. However, not a lot of them capitalize on most bathroom items' ability to hold liquid. Plus, you're not limited to just plastic reusables. Storage solutions, glass bottles, and jars also have their place in the world of upcycled hummingbird feeders.

A few of the ideas below require additional accessories to help the birds access the nectar. Some repurposed tubs for tabletop feeders may be deeper than what a hummer can reach through a hole once they've drunk part of the supply. You might need to add a glass pipette and faux flower, or raise the liquid level by setting a dense, non-toxic item in the tub. Marbles or glass decorative pieces, as long as they're sterilized, can displace the nectar enough to help birds reach it.

Finish off that last squeeze of toothpaste, scoop out the remainder of your body butter, and swish the dregs of shampoo onto your scalp — but don't toss the containers. With some creativity, all of those items and more can morph into hanging, hand-held, or tabletop hummingbird feeders your flying friends will love.

This trick works best for jars or tubs with mouths that match the size of a Mason jar ring — either wide-mouth or small-mouthed. You'll need a clean tub, a jar ring that fits, and an empty toothpaste tube, preferably one that's red. Cut a piece of plastic from the tube that fits over the mouth of the tub and can be held in place under the jar ring. Poke a series of holes in the plastic, fill the container with nectar, set your new feeder on a flat surface, and await the feast.

Eliminate extra work with a low-effort container with a red lid perforated for easy drinking. Eucerin cream tubs are thick-sided and perfect for reuse, and their lids are a clever way to add red to your garden to attract hummingbirds. But, any plastic tub with a brightly colored screw-on lid will work. Poke holes in the lid with a heated nail. For extra enticement, adorn each hole with a replacement flower for hummingbird feeders like these yellow ones from Amazon. Fill the container with nectar and place it on a flat surface outside.

Add a level of magic to hand-feeding hummingbirds by reusing lens cases as feeders. If you're stuck with classic white cases, a few coats of non-toxic red or bright pink nail polish on the lids can provide the birds some extra incentive; red is a color that helps attract hummingbirds. Use a heated nail to poke a single hole in each lens cap and glue on a yellow replacement flower for hummingbird feeders. Fill each lens dish with a bit of nectar, and close the lids. 

Perhaps the most capacious — and obvious — upcycle is converting an empty plastic bottle into a feeder. With a purchased feeder platform or tube, like this feeder tube from National Artcraft ($15) or this screw-on replacement base from HOLAHOMA ($12). Measure the mouth of your bottle before ordering to make sure the replacement base will fit. To hang the bottle, loop and tie together a sling made of twine, or superglue a hook to the top of the bottle.

Wire storage racks that fit over shower heads are meant to hold multiple bottles, and most have areas for hanging things like washcloths and loofahs. Their capacious design is perfect for housing several bottle-turned-feeders in the basket area. Invert the bottles so the feeding tubes fit through the wires on the bottom of the rack. Enable an even bigger feast by hanging a couple more bottle feeders from the hooks beneath the rack.

Like the contact lens case conversion, a pill organizer sits easily in the palm of your hand or just on a flat surface. The seven daily compartments enable several birds to eat at a time from their own individual feeders. Poke one even, round hole in the flip-up top of each day's compartment. Glue yellow replacement flowers over the holes in the caps with hot glue, and fill the compartments with nectar.

Lotions, hair products, and facial care or makeup often come in bottles with pump dispensers. These guys can do the trick as a minimal-effort recycling upgrade. Removing the tube from the pump, filling, and hanging the bottle pump-end-down, the pump's spout functions as a feeding port. Hang this gravity-fed feeder with a hook, twine, or through a wire shower caddy. Earn extra upcycling credit by enlisting a mesh produce bag and some twist ties to hang the container.

Prescription bottles can be hard to get rid of. Turn one into a mini feeder in a manageable size; a smaller container makes it easier to stay on top of keeping a feeder clean and stocked with fresh nectar. One of the most harmful hummingbird nectar mistakes everyone makes is to let it spoil. Make a hole in the cap that's large enough to fit a glass or plastic flower feeding tube replacement, like this one on Amazon. Send the glass tube end through the hole, fill it, and set it on a flat surface.