There's One Part Of A Condiment Bottle You Should Never Throw Away (Even When You Toss The Bottle)

You'd be surprised how much utility you can squeeze out of ordinary waste. Take some of the best sauces and condiments for eggs, for example. When you've drained the last of the ketchup, mayo, or mustard, don't just throw out the bottle and walk away. Before you pitch that empty bottle into the recycling bin, there's one piece you should think twice about tossing, and that's the little flat plastic part that fits inside the opening of the bottle that allows you to squirt the contents out.

That small, seemingly insignificant topper has more usefulness than you know. It can be removed with relative ease and live on long after the bottle is gone. Just use a fork to pry it off — either on the sides or pop one of the tines into the pour mouth and pull it up. 

When you think about liquids from olive oil to vinegar to dish soap to barbecue sauce, you realize how much easier it would be if you didn't have to battle a bottle with a hole the size of the Grand Canyon, only to drown whatever you're pouring it on. Maybe you become so frustrated that you resort to using some old fast-food condiment packets that you'd been hoarding (no judge zone). Thankfully, a spout solves that problem instantly because you can snap it in and make those bottles easier to use. It's a tiny kitchen hack, but one that can save mess, waste, and frustration.

One thing we love is versatility. Once you've popped a pour-top insert out of an empty condiment bottle, don't limit yourself to just the kitchen because these bad boys can be really useful in other parts of the house as well. If you're into DIY cleaning solutions, for example, slipping one into a recycled bottle gives you a more controlled pour for laundry detergent, diluted vinegar cleaners, or fabric softener. It saves you from dumping too much at once, and it keeps the sides of bottles from turning into a sticky mess. Laundry detergent may seem like a strange suggestion because you typically pour it in by the cupful — until you have a busy toddler who gets stains on all their clothes, and you want to wash just that section and only need a small bit of detergent for the moment ... not washing machine quantities. Moms, dads, babysitters worldwide, unite!

Crafters have also found them handy for managing messy supplies like glue, paint, or even homemade dyes. Instead of pouring directly from a wide-mouth bottle and hoping for the best, a topper insert gives you precision and helps prevent waste. They're especially useful when kids are involved since smaller hands often struggle with squeezing or accurately tipping full containers.

Gardeners have also pressed them into service for things like liquid fertilizer or plant food, where careful measuring is the difference between helping your plants thrive and accidentally burning their roots. What seems like a throwaway piece of plastic is actually a reusable tool with dozens of applications; turns out, some of the most useful household items are the ones we overlook entirely.