Amass a Complete Bachelor's Dining Set from Takeout Meals

Sometimes, ordering takeout is truly stunning—you can end up with all kinds of crap you didn't order, your Kung Po chicken can be cold as ice, and you can find yourself buried under a heap of frivolous food containers.

Seriously

And then it occurred to me: I can use this stuff. The sheer quality of the takeout containers they'd sent my food in gave me a novel idea

Here's how you can amass an entire dining set from takeout containers

The Green Bachelor's Reusable Dining Set

Plastic Utensils/Wooden Chopsticks

Let's start with the easiest stuff first. Utensils. They come with just about every takeout or delivery meal that isn't pizza or a sandwich. Start saving all those plastic forks, spoons, and knives—hold onto chopsticks, too. You can wash those and reuse them, even if they're made of wood?they'll probably end up being the classiest utensil in your bachelor's dining set.

Bottled Drinks/Glasses

Steer away from ordering a drink if you know it's going to come in a Styrofoam cup—those won't last. But if you happen to get a drink in a plastic bottle (though I can't advocate ordering one) like OJ, this is completely reusable. Pull the paper label off, throw it in the recycling, and you've got yourself a glass—or even a water bottle.

Dishes/Eatin' Troughs

Okay, so relatively few takeout meals come with straight up plates. But plenty come in handy reusable containers—or as they'll soon become in your dining set, an eco-friendly eatin' trough. Many of these (like the ones from my friendly neighborhood Chinese food joint) have sealable lids and are great to hold microwavable meals or pasta and rice dishes. They make for perfectly serviceable plates—they just don't look too classy. And no, you don't have to call it an eatin' trough. But it's more fun. Trust me.

Bowls

If you've ever ordered soup for takeout, you know that the big ol' plastic container it often comes in is pretty damn durable. Keep it around the house for storing liquid leftovers and serving yourself soup or noodle dishes in.

Condiments

These aren't officially part of your dining set, but they will come in handy—many restaurants just throw in way too many condiments with their takeout meals. Waste not want not. Collect all those ketchup and mustard baggies and soy sauce containers. Believe it or not, you will use them.