Using candy tube to store extra hairpins in car

[Alexandrina]

Hello, thought I would share a fun and cheap way I'm using to keep u-pins handy!

You can buy m&m tubes for $1.00 from a grocery store or gas station (I've taken a picture of what they look like for you) -

Then after you've eaten all the contents, peel off the wrapper and BAM, perfect size to chuck in hair pins to use while out and about.

No more digging and fumbling through the glovebox, hoping you'll find something to use in a hair emergency! :cool:

The pins I use are 3 inches long, the candy container is 4 inches... so I guess there's room to also throw in a hair tie or two.


Anyone else need to keep extras in their vehicle just in case? Or have alternate storage ideas?


https://i.imgur.com/0eQt0gW.jpg?1

[Sarahlabyrinth]

An excellent idea - thanks for sharing!

[MusicalSpoons]

Genius!

Here during various festive seasons we usually get tubes of sweets (Smarties, M&Ms etc) on sale for £1; I'm not sure exactly how long they are but I'd guess around 6-7" so they'd be good for hairstick storage. Or pencil cases - there are some nice box pencil cases around, good for different kinds of hairtoy on the move.

[lithostoic]

I use an Altoids mints tin c: It holds a mini pocket knife, a tube of lip balm, some band-aids, some small hair ties, and some bobby pins.

[Zesty]

I use an Altoids mints tin c: It holds a mini pocket knife, a tube of lip balm, some band-aids, some small hair ties, and some bobby pins.

Me too. (Well, they're actually tins from Penguin caffeinated mints, but they're functionally the same.)

This is a great idea too though! I never would have thought about it.

[lapushka]

Good idea, and welcome to the forum. :)

[sumidha]

Oh nice! I use an empty, unused chapstick tube for my shorter U pins but don't have a good solution for the 3" ones.

[Obsidian]

I use a tic tac container to store regular bobby pins in.

[Kat]

I actually have used the M&Ms containers for storing quarters in (ah, the joys of coin laundry... currently I use tubes from those glucose tablets diabetics use, because I inherited them from my mom. IMO, the M&Ms tubes are better; sturdier and the top is hinged, though they're not clear like the glucose containers so you can easily see how many quarters you have left). And I use the long version of the M&Ms tube (don't know if they still make them) for a storage case for one of my fountain pens.

[Ceib]

This is a much better idea than burying them in my purse! I should use this around the house as well I have pins everywhere.

[Reyesuela]

I thought that’s what the door flip storage compartment is for. Lol. Mine always has hair stuff in it.

[KameRose]

What a brilliant idea. This reminds me of threads and blogs I read in the past when I was geeking out about survival kits. They key with those was getting something water proof to protect firey starting stuff.

There a few I'd like to add in here:
toothbrush holder, I currently use some travel toothbrush holders I got at Walgreen's to carry my crystal nail file sets in. They come in a variety of colors, clear, green, pink, and blue, possibly more. I think it will be perfect to hold a few hairsticks in and it's 8 inches long, plenty long enough for any stick and could even put in some hair ties in the bottom to stop them from flopping around too much
prescription pill bottles, I know obvious. They are clear so you can see what's inside and the child proof lids are very secure so you won't have any mishaps with spontaneous spillage
now this is one I've never used but always thought it has to be useful for something, a dental floss container. Could definitely fit some regular sized bobby pins in there and some hair ties.
spice containers, they come in a variety of sizes and are usually clear. I am a big fan of clear. And there is usually a container or two in the cabinet that I should have gotten rid of like a year ago.
plastic straws, yes that's right I said plastic straws, the ones used for drinking. You cut a straw to a needed size and melt two ends of the plastic straw to seal something inside. I imagine this could be great to seal a few bobby pins for emergency or a bit of oil to go. Would keep the pins nice and protected from miscellaneous gunk and debris while taking up minimal space in ones purse or where ever and keep them together. There is a cut and fold technique too where you fold the top on the straw over and slide a small cut off part of the straw over the folded top to hold it in place. And straws come in a variety of sizes too. I imagine those thick bubble straws could be especially useful.


Sounds like I need to go make some hair-mergency kits!

[Ceib]

I also need something to hold my spin pins because I've lost them again. ��

[Reyesuela]

I also need something to hold my spin pins because I've lost them again. ��

And they’re crazy expensive too. :(

[GrowlingCupcake]

I use pill bottles since I end up with a lot of those. Some of my bigger ones hold small hair ties. I also have spin pins, and other hair pins in them.

[Ceib]

And they’re crazy expensive too. :(

Yes :( this particular pair I was needing to replace because the protective end coating was starting to wear off, but I'm still wondering what on earth happened to them.

[lapushka]

We don't get pill bottles in this country. Everything comes pre-packaged in boxes and blister strips. With an insert. It is fixed dosages and amounts. So you can't get it quite totally to order. But it's a lot more hygienic IMO. Comes from the factory that way.

But I get you on the re-purposing of boxes and bottles.

[GrowlingCupcake]

We don't get pill bottles in this country. Everything comes pre-packaged in boxes and blister strips. With an insert. It is fixed dosages and amounts. So you can't get it quite totally to order. But it's a lot more hygienic IMO. Comes from the factory that way.

But I get you on the re-purposing of boxes and bottles.

Over here, many over the counter medications come in blister packs. The ones that come in bottles are directly from the factory if OTC. Some prescription ones also come in blister packs; my steroid packs, and birth control pills were in blister packs. Patch-type medication, and things like insulin are also pretty much directly from the place of production.

Most others are sent to pharmacies in bulk, and counted out by the pharmacists, though. They only make pills for specific dosages. Like my lamotrigine pills come in 25 mg, 100 mg, 150 mg, and 200 mg. So when I was taking 50 mg, I had to either take two 25 mg or break a 100 mg in half. So not quite to order but still a lot of wiggle room. And of course the number of pills you get is however many you are prescribed.

Also, sorry for derailing xD

[MusicalSpoons]

I thought that’s what the door flip storage compartment is for. Lol. Mine always has hair stuff in it.

That's actually for gloves ;) :p I jest - of course it's a good place for hair stuff. Ours has all sorts of things such as antibacterial wipes, sunglasses, cutlery ... I'd think keeping small hair accessories together in a little container would be a good way of them not getting lost in the depths of the glove compartment though.


Most others are sent to pharmacies in bulk, and counted out by the pharmacists, though. They only make pills for specific dosages. Like my lamotrigine pills come in 25 mg, 100 mg, 150 mg, and 200 mg. So when I was taking 50 mg, I had to either take two 25 mg or break a 100 mg in half. So not quite to order but still a lot of wiggle room. And of course the number of pills you get is however many you are prescribed.

Also, sorry for derailing xD

Here we only have blister packs for tablets/capsules etc, and I've had to cut tablets in half or into quarters before too. I've also had specific numbers prescribed so ended up with some whole strips plus part of a strip squashed into a box (or a box with just part of a strip) to get the correct amount :)

[GrowlingCupcake]

Here we only have blister packs for tablets/capsules etc, and I've had to cut tablets in half or into quarters before too. I've also had specific numbers prescribed so ended up with some whole strips plus part of a strip squashed into a box (or a box with just part of a strip) to get the correct amount :)

I quite like the blister pack idea. While it has only happened once to me, I have had them give me the wrong number of pills before; it was 30 less so a full 10 days of a medication I had to take three times a day.

And maybe it would cut down on pharmacy/pharmacist error.