Buying stuff for the container

[CoffinDodger]

So have been getting into a bad habit of buying this Talenti Gelato from the local grocery here.  It's delicious enough but really the draw to it is it's container.  A hard clear plastic container with a hard screw on plastic lid.  I don't know how many one pints i have saved up now. Maybe five? built my first octopus circuit in one.  The 2 pint i have in the picture i'm going to built a tube amp in.  Honestly not really sure what the big draw is to tube amps.  Don't know if it's just audiophile nonsense or they really bring some to the table, but god damn it it think it'll at least look cool in this container.

Ever buy anything just to have the container to put a project in?

[rdl]

...
The 2 pint i have in the picture i'm going to built a tube amp in.  Honestly not really sure what the big draw is to tube amps.  Don't know if it's just audiophile nonsense or they really bring some to the table, but god damn it it think it'll at least look cool in this container.
...

If it doesn't melt.

[Brumby]

Ever buy anything just to have the container to put a project in?

Yes ... but does this count?:

[VK5RC]

Yup,  Altoids,  not a bad mint but a great tin!

[NiHaoMike]

I once bought a 2.5" USB HDD in order to use the HDD itself in a laptop. The case ended up being used for a homemade USB battery pack/LED flashlight/green laser pointer that I still use today.

I bought a $1 DSL modem at a garage sale many years ago. I haven't reused the case yet, but I have already reused some of the internal parts and the wall wart.

How about a cheap set of Harbor Freight automotive test lights in order to take out the bulbs and put in my own electronics? I modified one with a bicolor LED along with a constant current circuit that will work on 5-600V, making it useful for lots of things relating to power supplies from checking the polarity of a wall wart to discharging mains voltage capacitors.

[nanofrog]

Altoids tin!

Very handy IME.

I store my soldering iron tips in both their normal size and mini size tins (Weller NT & LT respectively). 

It's not exactly something used then repurposed, but I use nylon pencil pouches for 3 ring binders to store probes in (i.e. color code them, such as yellow for channel 1 on my oscilloscope  ).

[IanB]

So have been getting into a bad habit of buying this Talenti Gelato from the local grocery here.  It's delicious enough but really the draw to it is it's container.  A hard clear plastic container with a hard screw on plastic lid.

I like those containers too. I also wash them and save them.

[Back2Volts]

So have been getting into a bad habit of buying this Talenti Gelato from the local grocery here.  It's delicious enough but really the draw to it is it's container. 

I like that ice cream!   It is pretty good.   I do like the containers too but I just rinse them good and put them for recycling.

[magetoo]

Not for putting projects in, but the packaging used for store brand cotton buds is the right size for small objects like spare pencil leads, connectors or mini breadboards and other junk on the desk.

Recently I've been looking twice at everyday things and thinking whether you could fit a mini-ITX motherboard in there.  Looks like the new "home server" might get to live in a wine box until I get around to making a real case.

[nanofrog]

Looks like the new "home server" might get to live in a wine box until I get around to making a real case.

Actually, a wine box sounds really cool IMHO (could be made to look really nice, and it will fit home décor better to keep SWMBO happy). 

[sleemanj]

Not for putting projects in, but the packaging used for store brand cotton buds

I use them for measuring out and packaging components for resale, they sit nicely on top of small gram scales and are easy to squeeze the sides  into a spout to pour the contents into a ziplock bag. 

[calexanian]

OMG that Talenti Tahiti vanilla is the best, and yes the tub it comes in is just about the most reusable packaging I have ever found.