Many of us who share our homes with pet birds are pros at repurposing items. From using newspaper as cage liner, cardboard as chew toys, to wadded-up paper to hide foraging treats, we bird owners can be quite creative in our thriftiness.

Here are a few other items that can get a second life before going into the recycle bin.

Little Spoon/Big Help

Like to occasionally indulge in a Haagen-Dazs mini-cup ice cream treat or sample some of the 31 flavors at your local Baskin Robbins ice creamery? Don’t toss the cute little plastic “spoon stick,” as it can come in handy when you need to scrape bird poop off of the cage surface and off of your bird’s toys or to break up dried poop from non-carpeted floors.  The little spoon’s design is compact enough so as not to break when you press down hard on it — it’s strong enough to handle the pressure needed to scrape away at droppings — and the blunted, hard-plastic edge is less likely to leave a scratch.

A Perfect Place For A Placemat

Hold on to your old placemats if you buy new ones. A plastic or vinyl placemat can come in handy when placed under the spot your bird likes to perch while outside the cage. Many birds, for instance, enjoy perching on their opened cage door. Instead of a towel or rug to catch your bird’s droppings, try a plastic, laminated, or vinyl placemat, which can be cleaned using less water and in less time. Simply rinse it down with warm water; no washing machine needed. While a newspaper also offers ease of use in this capacity, a placemat is more likely to stay in place if your bird flaps his wings or a breeze blows in from an open window or door. And a placemat will blend in better with your décor than yesterday’s news.

“Egg-Cellent” Forage Fun 

Use a clean, empty cardboard egg carton to create a fun foraging playground for your bird. An added bonus … the carton’s cup shape is a perfect fit for holding Nutri-Berries!  If your bird is an expert forager, you can close the lid for him to chew through to reach the treat-filled cups inside; for rookie foragers, leave the lid open and cover the cups with shredded paper or tissue.