How to Reuse Household Items in Your Arizona Cannabis Grow Room
Growing weed at home in Arizona doesn’t have to drain your wallet. In fact, if you're the kind of person who holds onto random jars, bins, or leftover scraps from home projects, you're already halfway to creating a resourceful grow setup. Whether you're battling the heat of Phoenix or keeping things cool in Flagstaff, reusing household items not only saves money but also helps reduce waste—making your grow greener in more ways than one.
Here’s how to put your household junk to good use in your desert grow room.
Plastic Storage Bins Make Great Grow Pots and Reservoirs
Got old plastic totes or storage bins in the garage? These make excellent oversized grow pots or DWC (deep water culture) reservoirs for hydroponic setups. Drill a few drainage holes if you're going the soil route, or fit them with net cups and an air stone if you're growing hydroponically. The heavier-duty ones even help with insulation—ideal for keeping roots cool in a hot Arizona climate.
Bonus Tip: Use black or dark-colored bins to block light from reaching roots and preventing algae growth.
Old Window Shades or Emergency Blankets as Reflective Surfaces
Those cheap foil emergency blankets tucked in your camping gear? They work just like Mylar when tacked up on walls to reflect light. You can also repurpose white-backed window shades or closet doors with a white laminate surface. Reflective surfaces help maximize every lumen from your grow light and reduce energy costs.
Just don’t use mirrors—they reflect more heat than light and can create hot spots.
Cardboard Boxes for Seedling Isolation Chambers
Before you throw out that Amazon box, consider turning it into a propagation chamber. Line it with foil or white paper, cut ventilation holes, and place a small LED or CFL light above it. This makes a great budget-friendly seedling or clone dome—and you can toss it in the recycling bin guilt-free once you outgrow it.
Keep an eye on heat, though—cardboard can trap warmth quickly in an Arizona room with poor ventilation.
Shower Caddies and Wire Racks for Hanging Equipment
Instead of investing in pricey grow shelves or accessory racks, raid your bathroom or garage. Shower caddies, spice racks, and old wire shelving can hold small fans, clip-on lights, meters, or nutrient bottles. Use zip ties or hooks to hang them from grow tent poles or ceiling joists.
Pro Tip: Metal racks also make great drying racks during harvest—just line them with mesh or hang buds with paperclips and string.
Yogurt Containers and Coffee Cans as Starter Pots
Start your seedlings in reused containers like yogurt cups, solo cups, or metal coffee cans. Just punch a few holes in the bottom for drainage. They’re the perfect size for early growth stages and can be reused multiple times before breaking down.
Label each one clearly—it’s easy to forget which is which when you’re experimenting with strains.
Old Towels and T-Shirts for Humidity Control
Arizona’s dry climate makes maintaining RH (relative humidity) in the grow space a challenge, especially in seedling and veg phases. Place wet towels or old cotton T-shirts in trays to slowly release moisture. You can hang damp cloth near intake fans or across clotheslines to boost humidity without buying a humidifier.
Important: Monitor humidity closely—overdoing it can spike mold risk.
Gallon Jugs and Milk Containers as Watering Tools
Empty milk jugs or juice containers make excellent DIY watering cans. Just poke a few holes in the cap or cut a small notch for controlled pouring. For drip watering, leave the cap mostly sealed and poke a small hole in the bottom to create a slow-release system.
Pro Tip: Label jugs with nutrient mixes and dates to stay organized.
Fans from the Garage for Airflow
A forgotten box fan or desk fan in the garage is gold for your grow room. Air circulation is essential to prevent mold and strengthen stems. Even old PC case fans can be wired to run on small power supplies or USB adapters for micro grow spaces.
Mount fans securely and position them for indirect airflow to avoid windburn on delicate leaves.
Zip Ties, Paper Clips, and Binder Clips for Plant Training
Low Stress Training (LST) doesn’t require fancy plant benders. Use zip ties, twist ties, paper clips, or even yarn to gently bend and secure branches for maximum light exposure. Binder clips attached to the sides of fabric pots give you extra tie-down points.
Bonus Use: Paper clips also work as mini hooks to hang small buds during drying.
So before you shop for new gear, walk around your house. That bin, that towel, that forgotten rack? It might be your next grow room upgrade.
We’re here to share creative, budget-friendly tips for growing cannabis in the desert, using whatever you've got lying around the house. If it saves money, works well, and keeps your plants happy, we’re all about it. Grow smart, grow local, and keep it homegrown. Check out our website for more Arizona specific tips.
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