I use an empty plastic Gallon of milk for the grease. Also, If the grease gets sticky and solid in the pot I usually turn on the stove and warm the pot and it is easier to clean with a paper towel and I'm able to remove as much of the grease before washing it to avoid any grease clogs in the sink!

By C on 3/9/2010 2:12:15 PM

I like to use the coffee containers for  leftovers and I also use them for nuts and bolts and misc.

By Joan on 3/2/2010 3:52:41 PM

I use the butter and cool whip tubs to give leftover from gettogethers because my tupperware would never come back home. The containers soup comes in from the chinese restuarants is perfect for freezing broths, soups, or homemade sauce in.

By Margaret on 2/24/2010 10:27:22 AM

I save my small butter bowls and cool whips bowls and use them to carry yogurt and salads to work each day. Then you can just throw them away each day or keep reusing.

By Karen on 2/24/2010 8:10:35 AM

We save ours in large coffee containers, when they become empty. We have several sites around town that we drop them off at when they become full to be recycled into fuel.

By Lawana on 2/22/2010 12:22:00 PM

I also do this but put mine in the freezer until I have a few saved up then take them off to the trash dump as we don't use a garbage collector.

By Gloria on 1/19/2010 9:39:08 PM

I save my old coffee cans i keep 1 under the sink to put grease and used coffee and tea bags in then when its full i throw in trash.my husband uses them in his shop for bolts and screws works great.

By Tina on 1/13/2010 12:23:13 PM

plastic cups and tubs are a good idea for grease but you can also use cans left over from tomato puree, canned veggies(if you use them) and whatever is strong enough to endure the heat of the grease.  I usually save the butter tubs, cake frosting containers and plastic tubs like that for my poor mans tupperware.  Thanks for your comments- you all teach me quite alot

By J on 12/30/2009 3:14:55 AM

I use my empty plastic peanut butter jars for leftover soups and liquids.  It keeps the soup from accidently being spilled in the fridge and travels well when going to work with my husband.  They can be put in the upper part of the dishwasher to be used again.  We don't reheat anything in them because they aren't manufactured to be used that way.

By Laura on 12/29/2009 4:24:39 PM

Great idea, I know that our city actually requests that we do this in place of simply dumping into the garbage...makes sense!

By Irene on 12/8/2009 10:13:03 PM

To aovid glass continers to break because of too hot, just palce a metal fork/spoon inside. The metal absorves heat faster than the glass and the glass will not break. It works also for porcelane coffe pots...

By Montse on 12/8/2009 9:47:39 AM

If I don't have an empty container laying around, I just line a bowl with foil and pour the grease in. Wait till it is cooled and then you can pick it up and throw it away.

By Teresa on 12/4/2009 2:12:54 PM

This really helps with clean up! I also use juice and coffee jugs.

By Drema on 12/2/2009 9:14:33 AM

cans actually work better because there's no chance of it melting through. then store it in the freezer until you fill it up and are ready to toss it

By Kara on 11/24/2009 6:29:08 PM

Just make sure not to add *hot* grease to the plastic containers. If so, then use an old Coke can or other type aluminum container, but then it will be a mess for the recycle center *if* you like to recycle like me. So I would opt to pour mine into a small metal dish, let it cool and then pour into the non-recyclable plastic container. 

By Carrie on 11/24/2009 6:12:18 PM

Very good advice! The majority of the brands that I use aren't recyclable anyways and this would be a perfect way to cut down on the mess in the trashcan!  : )

By Carrie on 11/24/2009 6:08:22 PM

Plastic 'anything' is very dangerous..Read up on it..  They should all be thrown away !! DO NOT ever use for hot or cold food.. The chemicals 'leak; thru and poison you !!          Keeping for liquid garbage is fine but not for things you will eat ..   or heat ( or hot ) OR freeze , we've been poisioning ourselves and our babies for ages !! ,,and our animals !!             

By Deb on 11/24/2009 5:50:47 PM

Please be careful!!  I had a plastic container melt on me once using it for used grease that I hadn't let cool all the way.  Some glass containers will also break if the grease is too hot.  My safest bets so far have been used coffee cans.  We do use the plastic containers for kid's toys, beads, small nails, etc though and they work great!!

By Dorothy on 11/22/2009 11:31:08 PM

What a fantistic idea!    Thanks!

By Tenaj on 11/22/2009 3:47:54 PM

Growing up in the midwest in the 70's we called butter/margarine/oleo pretty much the same except for when it came to baking cookies - always use Parkay - just like the old commercial "its butter" "No its Parkay" It's Par-kay as the lid would be shown. LOL. And the grease, well, mom always used a can. My Mother in Law always used a jar, Ragu or anything with a lid. I found her trick was more helpful - cans and the plastic "butter" bowls will melt and they get hot with the grease. The jar works well.  I keep it around and when I'm cleaning a chicken, the skin and other yukky parts go into the jar and when its full, out it goes into the trash.We also did lot of composting. Not much went into the trash that couldn't be reused - including plastic sandwich bags and the like. Mom would have my head if I threw them away. Throwing out money should would say. Tradition continues......

By Jan on 11/22/2009 12:22:13 PM

I use plastic Coffee containers with handle..so if it gets greasy it is easier to handle.

By MARIA on 11/21/2009 7:55:02 PM

Butter is butter, oleo is the fake stuff (vegetable spread or other). Real butter does not usually come in tubs, but oleo does.

By Rachel on 11/21/2009 7:20:02 PM

We use empty dog food cans and then when I have a ziplock bag that has been used, instead of throwing it out I save it for trash day and put the grease can in the ziplock before disposing it in the trash.

By Liz on 11/21/2009 1:38:48 PM

Instead of using a small container for the grease,or plastic,I use an empty coffee can.It holds a lot more and you don't have to wory about splattered grease!Why not try it next time.

By Christine on 11/20/2009 5:11:50 PM

We use the family size Folgers  can's for grease, and re-use butter bowls as "tupper-ware" for leftovers

By Sierra on 11/20/2009 11:03:29 AM

Here where I live they asked us several years ago not to put much of any thing in the garbage disposal.  So we have been using cantainers for grease for years and years.  Everything else we try and use for composting.

By Maggie on 11/19/2009 3:49:53 PM

I store the bowls in the freezer & when they get full, I just toss them in the trash.

By Margaretr on 11/18/2009 2:50:12 PM

I use them for everything, and then I don't have to get upset when the hubs or kids use/lose it, or it becomes a 'pet' home for the latest cricket or whatever they find in the yard. 

By Kim on 11/17/2009 9:25:57 PM

My grandmother always called butter oleo.

By Melanie on 11/17/2009 11:47:03 AM

I keep a coffee container, fill it with the left over grease from just about everything, keep it in the fridge.  The cold makes it hard and keeps the odor away.  When it is full, just put it in the trash for pickup.

By Andrea on 11/16/2009 10:30:31 PM

It is a good idea but I put grease in a coffee container in the fridge.  When it is full, it goes out in the trash for pickup.  The cold hardens the grease and there is no odor.

By Andrea on 11/16/2009 10:28:59 PM

when i pack a sandwich in a zipper lock bag i reuse the bag.  I return the bag to my lunch box and use it for used coffee filters filled with grounds, to throw in garbage.  Ever had the garbage overturned with the used filter.  Coffee grounds everywhere!  This works well for other messy items too.  And seems to help keep critters out of the garbage when the cans are curbside.

By Faye on 11/16/2009 10:18:36 AM

i agree, sounds like a super idea!

By Laura on 11/15/2009 10:47:15 PM

Those small bowls have multiple uses and we save all we get.

By Brenda on 11/15/2009 9:24:03 PM

I use any glass jar with a screw on lid and pour it in while it's still hot.  That way I don't delay clean up.  I keep the jar until it's full and then throw it away.  It doesn't smell in the interim either. 

By Fetima on 11/15/2009 7:57:40 PM

I use ragu jars for pouring used oil and grease into. The tight lids help holds the oil and  it doesn'tleak all over the garbage.

By Catherine on 11/15/2009 7:00:02 PM

Good idea.

By Corinne on 11/15/2009 6:51:34 PM

Use those empty coffee "cans" for old grease as well.  The lid goes on tight, so there is no chance of is spilling inside the trash bag.

By KRISTA on 11/15/2009 5:20:45 PM

Keep in mind that cooled grease will be a soft solid and not pourable.  I keep mine in a glass jar so I can pour it in easily while it's hot, without worrying about the container melting.

By Laura on 11/15/2009 4:07:38 PM

we use empty spaghetti sauce jars for grease.

By Joni on 11/15/2009 4:05:18 PM

I just put the grease into teacup and it goes directly into the refrigerator until the next trash day. It pops right out in one piece with a spoon and goes directly out to the trash bin, so there are on adverse odors to deal with in the house. The teacup then goes in the dishwasher. Easy cleanup.

By Lisa on 11/15/2009 4:03:07 PM

I use Cottage Cheese  container to use for grease, when full I place in a trash bag and tie it up then place in trash. 

By Loretta on 11/15/2009 2:03:00 PM

Oleo Is butter

By D on 11/15/2009 1:06:20 PM

To repeat Kristi's question...what exactly is Oleo? Is it a margerine or a shortening? I have a cook book from my great grandmother that lived in Buffalo, NY and it's always calling for Oleo. We don't have that where I live. I didn't think they made it any more.

By Debra on 11/15/2009 10:29:46 AM

Question from a newbie....what is an oleo???

By Kristie on 11/15/2009 9:47:51 AM

Ah...Teresa!  Ya beat me by a couple of minutes!  LOL!

By AnaMarie on 11/15/2009 12:23:43 AM

I use them for bacon grease as well!  Just pop it into the 'fridge when you're done and you can access the bacon grease for whatever sort of cooking you need to do!  I also use them for Play Dough, beads, paper clips and I used to use them for my hair rubber bands. BTW...I'm first to comment....nyah nyahh!  LOL!  Have a great weekend!

By AnaMarie on 11/15/2009 12:22:52 AM

Sounds like a great idea! I do that when I make spaghetti using a sauce...drain the grease from the hamburger into a cup & then into the jar with the lid tight & throw it in the trash!

By Teresa on 11/15/2009 12:22:30 AM