We asked earlier this week what disposable items you had found creative re-uses for, and the answers are in. Not surprisingly, some of you have some pretty crafty uses for household goods that usually end up at the curb. From CD-R spindles to corks, twist-ties to tissue boxes, lots of supposedly one-use items can save you money, free up space, and be seriously handy when the need arises. After the jump, a roundup of our readers' waste-reducing reuses. Yogurt photo by Dan4th, all others by How can I recycle this.

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Over at the TipNut blog, they've rounded up 20 supposedly disposable items and how to reuse them, in ways both common (newspapers for kitty litter liners) and unique (greasing pans with used butter wrappers). There's a handful of items that might make you think twice before trashing, but with so many products turning the way of use-and-toss these days, there's got to be far more creative reusable hacks out there. So I put it to you, dear readers: What items do you never toss before getting a little bit more out of them? How do you save money (and save landfill space) without spending a lot of time? What web sites do you turn to for reusable inspiration? Drop your tips, ideas, and links in the comments, and we'll consider them for a future post.

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In honour of Earth Day, Yahoo put together a "Free Is Good" web site promoting previously mentioned Freecycle, local mailing lists of folks who give away stuff they don't need. Pop your city and state into the search engine and get a map back of nearby groups. The Freecycle groups themselves are Yahoo Groups, so you have to join the group using your Yahoo ID to see messages (and often a moderator has to approve the membership request.) From there you can offer stuff you'd throw away anyway to give to your neighbours for free, and take them up on their offers, too.

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Sick of dealing with wallets that get a bit, well, funky when they're wet? Looking for something a bit sturdier but still stylish? Instructables has an easy-to-follow guide to turning a sturdy plastic shopping bag into a wallet, using only a few needles stitches and a piece of double-sided tape. For those who get nylon wallet envy but don't want to swing the cash for one, it's a pretty unique solution, and a guaranteed conversation-starter.

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The Gomestic blog has a nifty idea for households where bars of soap get used up until they're just little bits that stick around. Grab a busted pair of pantyhose, and then:

Cut the legs off and use (the remainder) to keep all those odd bits of soap that tend to get left in the bathroom. Tie the end and keep it beside the sink for hand washing.

So you're in effect making a DIY loofah for your hands. My house always seems to get hand-crafted soaps around the holiday season, and this is a great way to ensure they see actual use—and see what they all smell like together, also. For more MacGyver-type pantyhose uses, hit the link for 19 more ideas, or try buffing nicked candles and keeping onions fresh.

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Even the most organised laundry masters can fall victim to Sock Gremlins—the invisible forces that seem to whisk individual socks away, leaving an unbalanced pair. Environment-friendly blog Planet Green has a few suggestions before you think about tossing that orphaned sock, including:

• Protect fragile holiday ornaments when you put them away for the year
• Use as a whiteboard eraser
• Send to Operation Happy Sock, where it'll be stuffed with polyfill and catnip for cats at the local animal shelter
• Protect your MP3 player

Nifty ideas, and there are ten more at the link. Of course, you could also strive to avoid orphaned socks entirely with a no-sort system. Photo by kevin.

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Real Simple has a pretty extensive guide posted for doing a better job at storing your holiday decorations—be they big, fragile or just hard to stash away. Not only do they suggest using simple household materials, one tip in particular solves two problems at once, especially for home office workers:

Instead of throwing away used gift wrapping and tissue paper, run it through a paper shredder and use the fluffy strips as packing filler when you're putting away your decorations

Neat hack, and it saves you the cost of bubble wrap. How do you pack away your decorations once the gifts are all opened? Share your storage space secrets in the comments.

Childrens' goods sharing website Zwaggle isn't just an eBay clone with a focus on cribs, toys, and other kid-specific gear. No money trades hands between "buyers" and "sellers," but points are distributed for giving away unnecessary stuff (as well as signing up other members) that can be used later to get items that are needed, for only the cost of shipping. The site has a green-friendly focus, and it makes sense—new parents always tend to over-buy or get far more gifts than their child can possibly use. Zwaggle might be a money-saving way for parents to save a few items from hitting the landfill or, just as importantly, cluttering up storage space they'll definitely need later.

So you woke up this morning to a refrigerator seemingly invaded overnight by the forces of tinfoil, plastic wrap and Tupperware. Now is your chance to reduce waste and get creative with LeftOverChef.com, a recipe-generating website that can make short work of your post-holiday provisions. I entered a few ingredients my in-laws were sure to still have today—turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing and mashed potatoes—and got back ideas for turkey potato pancakes, turkey burgers with mushroom gravy and "Toasted Christmas Lunch Sandwiches" that sound great for Saturday. The recipes come from a variety of sources and incorporate typical non-holiday leftovers as well.