Okay so last weekend I was staring at my bag of empty capsules and all those supplement powders piled up. Buying one of those fancy filling tray things felt like wasting money. “How hard could it be?” I thought. Spoiler: It needs some thinking!
The Stupid First Try
Grabbed a bit of cardboard lying around. Got super excited. Just took a pen and tried punching holes in it like I saw online. Yeah, big mistake. The holes tore right through the edges when I pushed. Got powder everywhere and felt like an idiot. Cardboard = bad idea.
Plastic Bottle Drama
Next thought? Plastic bottles! Cut the bottom off a soda bottle. Melted some dots into the plastic bottom using a really hot screwdriver tip. Smell was nasty. Tried fitting capsules in… total disaster. Holes weren’t even, capsules tilted and spilled. The plastic felt sketchy touching powder anyway. Gave up on this fast.
What Actually Worked (Sort Of)
After wasting half a day feeling mad, I went simpler:
- Ice Cube Trays: Dusted an old plastic one I never use. Poured small piles of powder in each little compartment. Cap didn’t go flush though, so filling took forever and was messy. Worked better than my disasters though!
- Egg Cartons: Found a clean styrofoam one. Poked shallow dents where the eggs go. Weighed out little piles and dropped them onto half capsules. No holes meant no jamming at least! Slow but actually okay for like ten capsules.
- Big Tray & Funnel Trick: My best “invention.” Just used a totally flat plastic lid from a big tub. Spread a very thin layer of powder on it. Then took an empty capsule body by itself, pushed the open end flat into the powder like a little scoop. Shook off the extra. Popped the cap on. Surprisingly quick once I got the feel!
Listen, Be Careful Doing This
Gotta say this loud. Messing around like this feels super basic. But mistakes happen easy:
- Powder flies everywhere if you breathe wrong. Did mine outside.
- Clean stuff like crazy first! Used soap and water on the tray and funnel. No kitchen germs in my pills, thanks.
- Measure by weight always. Scooping is messy. Used my little $10 kitchen scale religiously.
- Skip metal bits unless you know it’s food-safe stuff. Not worth the risk.
Honestly? It’s not magic. Filling one by one was slow and got old fast. But hey, saved buying that tray. Maybe good for a short run if you’re broke like me last week. Might try finding a cheap ice tray that fits capsules better… but for tonight? Tired of powder! Hope this helps somebody avoid wasting cardboard.
