12 Ways to Reuse and Recycle Can Koozies

I never really thought much of that first promotional can koozie (can Koozies look like this for reference) my husband and I got from a street festival. I chucked it into the could be useful but I doubt it we’ll use it cabinet and forgot about it until years later when I pulled a wet soda can out of a cooler with melting ice and the hostess tossed me an insulated can holder to keep me from dropping the slippery can. (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links to the items I use for your convenience.)

It kept my drink cold longer in the searing heat that day too. What a concept!

After that I searched the cupboard for those two now deemed useful coolies and found that left unsupervised they multiplied like bunnies into a nice free promotional big beer cozie* family.

*Or coosie (cozy, cosie.) Or huggie. Or bottle hugger. Or beer sleeve. Or bottle jacket. Or the so awesome I can’t decide which name is my favorite: coldy holdy or the Australian stubby holder.

Whatever you call them, I have a bunch of ‘em.

And believe it or not can Koozies are extremely useful beyond their intended purpose of keeping drinks in cans, bottles, or mugs (with a little scissor surgery) hot or cold!!

Save these creative hacks to your Pinterest boards for later! Share them with your friends!

12 DIY Can Cooler Hacks That Save Money

Tips: You can wash can kosies in the washing machine if they are dirty. Just don’t put them in dryer or they may accidentally melt.

1.Use foam can coolers to protect and store DSLR camera lenses.

I think it’s best  if you use the harder foam guys but the folding neoprene can coolers works well too. You can also pop that guy into a drawstring pouch similar to this one for a much cheaper version of the DSLR lens protector pouches I bought here(kicks self repeatedly after learning this hack a little too late.)

2. Use bottle huggies to protect soft fruit like peaches, nectarines, plums, etc. from bruising in your lunch bag or picnic cooler. 

This works best for round fruit. Odd shaped fruit like bananas still bruise. Trust me. I tried it. It didn’t work. But my peaches survived in my canvas lunch bag all fine and dandy!

3. Use an insulated bottle hugger for a frying pan pot holder 

If you don’t have a hot metal pot or skillet handle cover  handy, you slip a beer sleeve over the handle and use that as a makeshift pot holder.     
 

4. Use a can cozy to protect breakable glass and china mugs and cups from breaking in a camper or RV.

Slip your breakable cups. mugs, and glasses inside a bottle Koosie (you may have to cut it to fit the handle of a mug,) to keep them from bouncing together and breaking when you are driving down the road to your campsite. I can’t be the only person who’s experienced a wrecked trailer cupboard after driving down bumpy roads under construction, can I?

This tip also works to protect glass condiment, etc. bottles in your rig’s refrigerator too.
 

5. Use an beer coolie to insulate an outdoor water faucet to  from freezing during the winter.

If you don’t have an insulated water faucet cover like this one (or in my case, lost it over the summer) insulate the outdoor water faucet by covering it with an insulated foam beer kosie in the Fall.

6. Use an insulated bottle holder to quickly ripen avocados.

If you don’t have an avocado ripening bag (it looks like this) which is one of the greatest inventions known to modern man and avocado lovers everywhere, you can quickly ripen a rock hard avocado by popping it into a can Koozie for a few days. It works like a charm!
 

7. Cut the design from a stack of can coosies to turn them into coasters.

This is a great hack if you end up with a ton of extra wedding can Koosies!

8. Keep your car console clean!

Car cup holder coasters (they look like this) make it easy to clean spills from the cup holders in my car console. Cut a circle from a neoprene bottle holder to size and pop into your cup holders. Easy!

9. Put a huggie over your car’s gear shift to keep it from getting hot in a parked car.

Especially if you have a car with a black interior *raises hand*

10. Protect wet bathroom surfaces from cans with a bottle hugger.

Put the metal can of shaving cream, etc inside a hugger too prevent rust rings from marring wet counter tops , shower tile, etc. My husband skips the shaving cream can altogether and uses zero waste shaving soap like this.

11. Use a can huggie to protect your floors!

Put table or chair legs legs inside a beer sleeve to keep them from scratching your floors. This is especially useful when towing a camper!

12. Use a beer snuggie to protect your toes!

Put each leg of your bed frame into a bottle kozy to keep you from stubbing your toes on them.

If you'd rather buy than DIY, check out the following options - and more! - below!

Did you like this post? Get more like it by subscribing to the Lazy Budget Chef RSS feed or by subscribing to Lazy Budget Chef by email.