Don't Toss Empty Pringles Cans: Turn Them Into Simple Storage For This Pantry Staple

There are plenty of creative ways to reuse Pringles cans, such as turning them into bird feeders and straw holders, but perhaps their best use is in the kitchen to store rice, beans, and more importantly, pasta. Once you open a bag of long pasta like spaghetti, you can't reseal it or roll the open end and clip it like a potato chip bag. Sure, you could go out and purchase pasta canisters but that can get expensive, and Pringles cylinders are almost tailor-made for this use. Plus, it's always a good idea to repurpose something rather than toss it in the garbage.

Pringles tubes work so well with long pasta that you'll start to wonder why it's not already sold this way. The regular 5.2-ounce canister of Pringles is just tall enough to hold uncooked long pasta such as spaghetti or linguine, but in some cases you may have to trim the ends and that's not ideal. The larger, taller Pringles can offers more room and should fit any long pasta without trimming. Carefully slide in the pasta to prevent breakage, seal it with the Pringles lid, and safely store it away without worrying about light and humidity spoiling it, or critters getting inside the tube. If you have some regular cans, these can hold short pasta like penne or fusilli, but also trail mix or cashews for afternoon snacking, whereas the travel-size ones can hold leftover small pasta shapes.

Start by cleaning out the used Pringles can, but it's best not to wash it in the sink or dishwasher, as it is made from a mix of different materials, including cardboard which can wear off. Use a damp paper towel or soft cloth with a wooden cooking spoon to reach all the way to the bottom. After you wipe off all the excess crumbs and oils, use another towel with a little alcohol or a baking soda and vinegar solution to get any lingering flavors and odors out of the canister and leave it unsealed until it's completely dry. What flavor you had doesn't really matter (though you can see how the Pringles flavors rank before your next trip to the store), but you want to clean the tube well to make sure you don't smell sour cream and onion when you go to make a classic bucatini cacio e pepe.

Once the canister is clean, it's up to you how far you wish to take the project. If it's a quick solution, you can write "pasta" on a strip of masking tape and stick it on the side of the can. However, with just a few steps, you can beautify the cylinder so it doesn't look like a used Pringles tube at all. Start with peel-and-stick contact paper that matches the decor of your kitchen, or you can paint the canisters and apply decals that match the kitchen aesthetic. You might like your new pasta holders so much you'll move them from the pantry to the counter for easier access. And once they look like they belong in your kitchen, you can find additional storage uses like chopsticks, cookies, or even cinnamon sticks.