There are so many uses for a Plastic Bucket. Five Gallon Buckets are the most common and maybe the most useful. I will be adding ideas here, most of which I have used over and over, very soon. I am sure many of you might have more ideas than I come up with. If you would like for your Bucket Use Ideas to be added here, please email me at marna@faroutliving.com Thanks....and don't throw those buckets away.

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The contents of this page for 101 Uses For Plastic Buckets is still under construction. Please check back later!

1. Of course a Bucket of any size can be used to carry food or water to your animals when feeding or watering them.

2. A Bucket of water to a new mama (animal that is), given to her away from the other animals, so that she can have a drink, all she wants to drink, will be very much appreciated.

3. For a smaller person, one that does not weigh too much, a small person with good balance that is, a turned over Five Gallon Bucket (a new and in good shape bucket that is still very sturdy) can be used to stand on and reach items on higher shelves.

4. A Five Gallon Bucket with a lid can be a very important and valuable item to own. In that clean bucket you can store food for animals and or people. Dried items, such as grain or beans, will last for many years in a well sealed bucket.

5. With a lid, you could store water in a bucket.

6. Oh my goodness, I could not begin to list all the things that can be stored and or carried in a bucket. From using them for fishing items to carry to the pound, to carrying your fish home in one. Tools, clothes, hunting gear, animal grooming or bathing supplies. If you need a good item to carry in, a sturdy bucket might just be what you are looking for.

7. I have a website called Barrel Racing Dogs [url]http://www.BarrelRacingDogs.com [/url] Using buckets for your dogs barrels might be just what a person is looking for. Of course you could use smaller buckets for smaller dogs. Just turn the buckets upside down, and there you go, you are ready to train your dogs to run barrels.

8. You can heat water and with a clean bucket in a pinch use the water in the bucket, take a bath and wash your hair. Yes. You can. I know. I have, many times. Still do. Deron and I live way out on the prairie without running water. I use a bucket to take a bath and wash my long hair. Would you believe I only use a TWO GALLON bucket of water?! It is true.

9. When Deron and I lived in N WI a Five Gallon Bucket with a toilet seat was what we used for our toilet business. Keep the bucket clean. Bury the continents. And don't stop to think about it.

10. One of these toilets I describe in number 9 can be used when you travel if you travel with a stock trailer. Why not? The animals go back there. If you gotta go, you gotta go.

11. I wonder how many people have used a Five Gallon Bucket for a stool to sit on. I prefer buckets with a lid for a stool. I make padded seats for them. I drill holes in the bucket lid and hand sew the pad (made of water proof fabric into a pillow with Styrofoam peanuts for stuffing) to the or through the holes to hold it on well. The Styrofoam lasts a very long time and not only makes a comfortable seat, it heats up in the winter to warm your back side.

12. Of course we use a very clean bucket to catch the milk when we milk our goats. A 2 gallon bucket is just the right size. For a cow, you might use a 5 gallon bucket.

13. I know people that fill a bucket about half way up with water and set it in their barns. This might/has caught mice and or rats. The vermin can not get back out of the bucket.

14. You could use an older bucket, even one that is cracked or has a hole in the bottom, to plant in. Veggies or Flowers, both will do fine in one.

15. And when gardening, you can carry your produce into your home from the garden in a bucket.

16. If you carry your produce in using a bucket, why not wash your items while still in the bucket and then carry that water back out to the garden to water your still growing plants.

17. And who with a boat does not take a bucket of some size with them to bail out water if the boat takes water in?

18. A bucket can also catch and hold minnows for fishing or a bucket can also catch your smelt.

19. You can set your bucket out in the rain, usually under a roof, to catch water to use for, well, anything you use water for.

20. A bucket with a lid might make a great place to hide items in a barn or garage.

21. Take an empty bucket camping with you, you may be quite surprised at all the things you might use it for.

22. If you have an older bucket you might mix concrete in it when you only need enough for a small job. Wash it well as soon as the concrete is out of the bucket to keep the bucket ready for the next job.

23. For heavy items to be carried in your bucket by the handle, add a foam piece about 6" long to the middle of the handle. This will make it far more easy on your hands to carry. Just be careful not to overload your bucket so that it might break under a heavy load.

24. If you are adding sand, compost or shavings to your garden, you might find a bucket at a time is how you need to mix it all into the existing dirt.

25. Many people have used the buckets, on their sides, for home/shelter for small animals. Rabbits and chickens are among the favorites that have used these buckets with hay for a bed, to hatch/give birth in.

26. You can also use a bucket to carry your eggs into your home from the shed in too.

27. If you have a litter of rabbits to move, bunnies that is, from one place to another, a bucket might work for you. You can also move chicks, ducklings, and goslings, as well as other small animals in a bucket.

28. If you need to put a small animal somewhere while you clean their cage, depending on the size and jump ability of the animals, you might use a 5 gallon bucket.

29. For a short temporary home for a small animal you could put wire mesh over the top of a bucket for them to stay in while you go and purchase or while you build them a home.

30. I have seen and chuckled at more than one home where the mailbox is put into a bucket filled with sand, dirt or rocks.

31. Fill a bucket with rocks and use it on either or one side of a gate that you do not want a child or animal to open without you around.

32. Fill with sand for a large ash tray at an outdoor event.

33. Fill with sand in your barn and watch your cats use if for a toilet.

34. One cold Spring or Fall nights you could cover a small plant overnight to keep the chill off of it.

35. We fossil hunt here. Many folks "Rock Hunt". A bucket is a good way to collect and carry these and more items like this home when it is half (depending on weight) to full.

36. If you are a "packer", that is camp with animals, taking a couple of 5 gallon bucket with you might just save your life. You will need a lid for one if you are going to put your food in it and hang it up in a tree away from bears and other wild life. Before you put those items up for the night you can sit on that same bucket for a stool around the campfire.

37. In a pinch, or on a camping trip, you can wash your clothing in a clean bucket.

38. You can also wash your dishes in a clean bucket and have another for rinsing.

39. Store your dogs toys and other items it needs in a 5 gallon bucket with a lid. This will keep items out of the way, and covered when company comes to visit. Teach your dog, yes really, to put it's toys away in the bucket.

40. Use a bucket for carrying a few of your children's toys with you to other places that might not have toys to keep the children busy. Having a lid will be a big plus. Teach your children to pick up their own toys as toddlers, yes, really.

41. A Bucket can BE a toy for a child. They can use it for a drum, keep items in it, collect items in it, carry items in it. And just play with the bucket.... ie. Stand in it, put it on their heads, and who knows what all a child will find to do with an empty clean bucket.

42. Of course, one of the true intents for a bucket is to feed livestock out of it. Being able to measure your food into it, carry it to them, and know they will eat all that it in it.

43. Lined or not, these buckets make great Trash Cans.

44. Use in your home for table scraps going out to feed animals or for composting.

45. If you need a large circle drawn, use the bucket as your pattern.

46. Take a bucket to your vehicle and fill the bucket with trash that has accumulated in the floors and seats and maybe the back of your pick up truck.

47. Use a bucket to gather and store kindling in for campfires.

48. If it should rain while you are on a camp out, having bucket with lids will save a lot of your stuff from getting wet.

49. You may use it for an umbrella at a campsite, at least for your head.

50. Bags that charcoal come in split, break, leak. If you have a bucket with a lid you might want to store your charcoal in it to keep it not only more dry than the bag it came in will allow, but also keep the mess up off your floor.

51. A 5 gallon Bucket with a lid would make a clean an tidy cat or dog food holder in your home right near where you feed your pet.

52. Do you own a small animal like a Guinea Pig or Rabbit? Storing your hay for that pet in a 5 gallon bucket with a lid will keep the hay clean and fresh and keep the mess at bay. It is also nicer to look at than an open bag of hay sitting around.

53. Are you taking a vacation with your pet? Put it's food and or food and all other supplies into that 5 gallon bucket with a lid for travel. Neat, tidy, won't spill, and when you get to your destination, all you have to do is grab the handle of the bucket and go.

52. Make sure you have at least one bucket with you with you travel with large dogs and or livestock. You will need to water them either along the way on a long trip, or while you are there for a day or longer trip. You will NEED those buckets.

53. Ever need to just wash or soak your feet? A bucket might be just the item you need for doing this in a small space not wasting water.

54. Of course I do not need to tell you that you could carry your water to your plants in a bucket...the size depending on how many plants you are watering how much water.

55. Hide Birthday and Christmas Gifts in a bucket with a lid. Set them in an area where no one would notice another bucket setting there.

56. Using a clean bucket, fill it with ice. Add bottles of water or other drinks. Close it with a lid and sit on it at sporting and other outdoor events. By sitting on it (grins and winks) no one will be able to get a drink out without your permission.

57. Use as Beer Cooler at a Bar-B-Que, with or without a lid.

58. Pour cold water over fighting dogs (or people) to break it up. Use your bucket to carry the water to the fight.

59. Baby ducklings or goslings could swim in a bucket filled about 5" deep with water. DO NOT LEAVE THEM ALONE OR LEAVE THEM TOO LONG IN THE WATER.

60. Cut an older 5 gallon bucket in half. Use the side with a bottom for a water bowl for a dog or goat. Use the other side for a trick prop for a small dog or small pet to jump through.

61. An bucket that is cut, with the bottom out, then covered with a tarp (as in use the bucket for the opening, use the tarp as a funnel, making the funnel larger away from the bucket opening, can be used for a small dog or rabbit or even a guinea pig in Agility as a Closed Tunnel. Yes, see our sister sites, Guinea Pigs, Rabbits and other small animals sure do enjoy Agility Courses.

62. Cut the end out of a large bucket and decorate it. Use this for an Open Tunnel for a small dog, rabbit or other small pet to use on an Agility Course.

63. A bucket full of warm water could become a bathtub and rinse water for a small dog or other small pet.

64. Put a picnic lunch in a bucket to carry to where ever the picnic will be. Sit on the bucket for your stool while you eat.

65. Ever need a place for food to ride on the way to a Pot Luck Dinner? Set a towel down (or not) in the bottom of a bucket. Set your food bowl down in the clean bucket. Set the bucket in the vehicle where it will not slide around. If your bowl would spill, it will spill into the bucket, not into your vehicle.

66. If you need a great big "bowl" for a food that is not hot, say a huge salad, use a clean bucket for mixing. You might even use the bucket to serve from.

67. Do you know someone going through a hard financial time? Make a gift for them with a new bucket with or without a lid. Fill it with items they might need, such as food, or personal items like tooth paste, soaps, cleaning supplies.

68. Do you know someone who just bought a new animal? Wanna take a gift when you go to see it? Take a new bucket with or without a lid. Place items such as treats, brushes, food, toys, ect. You might even put a bow on the bucket.

69. Do you have a friend at that might have lost their job, or had a huge bill come in? Maybe fill a clean or new bucket with the type of animal food you know they will need. Drop it by their home when they are not home. Leave it on their pouch with an anonymous encouragement note.

70. Do you know someone that just bought a farm or a large piece of land so that they can now raise animals of their own? Fill a new bucket with fun items for them as a Welcome Wagon Gift. Books on animal raising, keeping bees, gardening. Add a Brush and or halter for a horse they are looking forward to owning. Add a few nipples for bottles for any baby goats or sheep that they might need. Such like this.

71. Do you have friends that live out on a farm or ranch that have invited you for dinner or are having a celebration of their own (such as an anniversary)? Fill a new bucket with Ice and add a Bottle of Wine or more. Take this as a gift. Leave the bucket with them. You might want to tell them about this website with ideas of what they can use the bucket for.

72. Take a clean or even new bucket. Cut a slit in the top of the lid. Use this bucket for cash recites. Drop the recites down into the bucket until the end of the year. Here are your tax papers for the year. When you finish your taxes you can take them out and store them elsewhere or you could write the year of the recites on the side of the bucket in Permanent Marker, put a piece of Duct Tape over the slit, and keep the papers in the waterproof, mouse proof, all in one area for the remaining years you need to hold on to them.

73. Start a new bucket for the New Year with a slit in the lid and drop your tax papers into the bucket for that year too. (Or reuse the one from the year before).

74. Store items you may need to have with you if you had to evacuate your home or farm. Items like food, clean clothes, personal items, ect.

75. Store important papers in a bucket that you will want to take with you if you had to leave your home/evacuate in an emergency. Many items now come in square like buckets with flip top lids that papers will stack upright into.

76. Store magazines into a square type bucket with lid. Mark the name of the magazines and the years they are from on the side of the bucket with a Permanent Marker. These Square type buckets will hold quite a few magazines and or books and the buckets stack nicely beside one another and on top of one another.

77. Carry your ammo, and other shooting supplies, including your pistols, to the shooting range in a bucket. If you are shooting with friends, you will have a place to sit (on your bucket) also.

78. If you are at the barn and friends start to gather, use over turned feeding and watering buckets to sit and visit on.

79. Carry a halter out to a horse you need to catch on top of a bit of grain in a bucket your horse normally eats from. The horse will, or should, come right to you when it sees the bucket.

80. Do you teach Sunday School at your Church? Find a clean square bucket to carry all of your books and papers in, along with your Bible, and maybe even a purse, to Church in. The bucket will keep all your items together and you will not drop or loose a page as you walk in on a windy or rainy day.

81. Use a bucket with a lid, again a square one might be best, to keep your crafts in. Maybe a bucket per type of craft that you enjoy. This will keep your craft items together, out of the way, and again, the square buckets stack and store easily.

82. If you are not tooooo heavy, use an over turned bucket as a stool to get up on a horses back from.

83. Use two buckets, with the right rigging of course, as packs for packing on a horse, or goat, or llama. These will keep your items clean, dry, not broken items when the buckets bang the trees, and you will have two seats when you get to camp.

84. Keep shoes and boots in buckets with lids in camp. They will be right there where you left them, both of them, and dry and clean, well, as clean as you put them into the bucket that is.

85. Keep flashlights, animal records, pens and paper in a bucket with a lid, in your barn to keep the items dry and not so dusty. When you need them and pull them out of the clean bucket, you will be pleased.

86. Keep all of your Gun Cleaning Supplies in a bucket with a lid. Your items will be kept clean and dry and out of the way until you need them.

87. In a bucket with a lid, keep a flashlight, emergency blanket, small battery radio, a jacket, a hat, and gloves. Keep some sort of canned food, a can opener, and a couple of bottles of water in your vehicle AT ALL TIMES. You never know when you or someone else might need them. If you ever break down or get caught in the snow, those items will be worth more than gold to you at that moment.

88. Keep changes of clothing for each of your children in a bucket with a lid in the trunk of your vehicle. You never know when a child might need a change of clothes. You might want to put some clothes in it for yourself. People can get wet, and or cold in a hurry. Other accidents might happen that need a change too.

89. Leather clothing and or pouches and purses will stay nice and clean and dry stored in a clean bucket with a good tight lid.

90. A bucket, when cut and or decorated can become a costume for a party.

91. Store your new light bulbs in a bucket. Somehow, those dang things tend to get broken from time to time, storing them in a bucket will keep them safer and cleaner, since you do not need to change them very often.

92. Canning time is a time for many uses for a bucket. You could have extra buckets just for canning. Store your jars, as you empty and clean them, inside your canning buckets.

93. Do you live way out in a hard to find area? Ever give directions to friends or someone coming to buy something, but they drive right by your place? Put an upside down bucket on a fence post for them to be able to find the right drive way.

94. If you are popping a whole lot of popcorn (think Christmas for stringing) put the popped pop corn into a clean bucket.

95. Store Christmas items (think lights that are wrapped around something) into buckets with lids. Mark the side of the bucket with a Permanent Marker.

95. Decorate a Bucket and use it to hold your many Christmas Cards for the Holiday.

96. Cut a bucket into many rings and decorate each for Holiday Wreaths. These can be used as gifts.

97. Cut a bucket down to about 6" tall. Use this for a large dish to serve from when you have a lot of guests coming for a meal or even for chips on Football Days.

98. For a fun and educational craft with a young person cut the bottom off a bucket, sand. Buy Clock Works and teach the young person to make and decorate their own Wall Clock.

99. Use the bucket for a scooping tool for sand.

100. Clean out your child's Sand Box with a bucket with a screen over the lid area. This will filter the sand to put back into the box.

101. Use two to make Bicycle Panniers, see information and instructions here at this site on the Trail Spinning Blog page.

102. Put the bucket over your head. There you are hiding!