Trash to Treasure: I Turned a Shampoo Bottle Into a Smart Clock

What if an empty shampoo bottle could become something useful instead of ending up in the trash?

For this project, I transformed an empty shampoo bottle into a small, glowing smart clock. The goal was to reuse something that would normally be thrown away and give it a completely new purpose.

The clock uses an Arduino Nano as the main controller and a 0.96-inch display to show the time. I also added an LED strip inside the bottle to create a soft glow.

To make the project look more finished, I covered the outside with wood-textured adhesive tape. For the lighting effect, I placed a white diffusing material inside the bottle to hide the LED strip and create a softer glow.

1. 1 empty shampoo bottle
2. Arduino Nano
3. 0.96-inch display
4. LED strip
5. White translucent/diffusing material
6. Wood-textured adhesive tape
7. Wires
8. Push buttons
9. Battery/power source
10. Other basic electronic components

Tools

1. Soldering iron
2. Solder
3. Wire cutters
4. Wire strippers
5. Hot glue gun
6. Scissors
7. Craft knife

First, I cut and shaped the shampoo bottle to create the form I wanted for the clock. Once the bottle was ready, I assembled the electronic components and carefully placed the circuit inside.

The Arduino Nano, display, buttons, and lighting components were positioned so everything would fit inside the new enclosure while still being accessible from the outside.

Once everything was assembled inside the bottle, I wrapped the outside with wood-textured adhesive tape.

I also made openings in the tape where they were needed, including the area around the display so the screen could be seen and spaces for the buttons so they could still be used.

To make the controls easier to understand, I also 3D-printed small symbols for the buttons and added them to the outside of the clock.

This simple finishing step completely changed the appearance of the original shampoo bottle.

And that’s the transformation!

What started as an empty shampoo bottle became a functional clock with a small display and a glowing interior.

The combination of the reused bottle, wood texture, hidden electronics, and diffused lighting gives the project a completely different look from what it started with.