16 Creative Ways To Reuse Glass Jars — Sustainably Yours
Don’t throw out your glass jar! They are so many great uses for them.
Pasta sauce and salsa usually come in glass jars that you can reuse. As someone that likes to reduce my waste, I can confirm that I have a cabinet filled with glass jars just waiting to be used.
Reusing glass jars is a cost effective way to get closer to a zero waste kitchen. You don’t need to buy fancy matching containers for your home. You can use what you already paid for at the grocery store!
How to remove the sticker
I find that if I soak my glass jar in hot water, the sticker will come off easily. However, sometimes the glue doesn’t come off properly.
To get rid of the glue, rub a bit of olive oil on the jar then wait a minute. It should come off with ease. And there you have it. A perfectly clean glass jar to use around your home.
Ways to reuse glass jars
The beauty of glass jars is that they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Each jar is perfect for different types of uses. See all the amazing ways you can reuse glass jars below!
Make candles
Making candles is so easy and such a great way to get a non-toxic scent into your home. You can buy candle making kits which come with all the materials you need to make candles. Or you can buy the soy wax and essential oils separately to make at home.
DIY is a fun activity to do on a weekend and also a great way gift to give friends and family during the holidays.
Store jam
If you make homemade jam, store them in old glass jars!
Hold loose leaf tea
I shop at Bulk Barn to get my loose leaf tea. Usually I take a glass jar to fill up at the store. These days, because of the pandemic, I can’t bring a jar. If I do shop there, I buy the loose leaf tea in a bag then store it in the glass jar.
Use to serve drinks
Serving drinks in jars is a cute way to add some style to your event. Whether you’re having a barbeque or hosting dinner parties, glass jars perfect.
Happiness jar
I heard of the concept of a happiness jar almost 10 years ago. It is such a great concept and really made me grateful at the end of the year.
It’s so simple to do. At the start of the year, take a empty jar and throughout the year, fill it with things that made you happy that day.
For example, did you get a promotion? Write it down and put it in the jar. Did you hear some good news that made you happy? Put it in the jar. Hung out with a friend that you haven’t seen in over a year? Toss it in the jar.
At the end of the year, go through the jar and see all the great things that happened throughout the year. This is sure to help you feel grateful for your year. Plus, you’ll get to remember all the great things that happened that you may have forgotten about.
Salad jars
Have you heard of the concept of making salads in a jar? If you put the ingredients in the correct order, you can have a fresh salad each week that doesn’t go soggy.
Piggy bank
One great way to hit your savings goals is to have glass jars to store your cash in. Label jars based on what you are trying to save for. When you can see how much money you’ve put into it, it’ll motivate you to keep saving money.
Store jewelry
For small jars, use it to store jewelery like earrings.
Freeze broth
Broth doesn’t last more than 4 days in the fridge. I like to store extra broth in glass bottles in the freezer so that I can defrost it quickly when I need to.
Find my vegetable broth recipe here. It’ll help you save on your food waste!
Store salad dressings
If you like to make homemade salad dressings, you can store them in a glass jar. Instead of having to make a fresh dressing every day, you can make a large batch at the beginning of the week. Salad dressings usually last several days so you can save time by meal prepping it in a jar.
Bulk stores
If you have a bulk store near you that allows you to bring your own jars, glass jars are great to take. You don’t have to buy any fancy jars specifically for the store. I bring jars of all shapes and sizes with me to the bulk store so that I can get everything I want.
I use small jars for loose leaf tea and spices and larger jars for things like peanuts and almonds.
Give gifts in them
I love to make DIY body scrubs or give homemade snacks as gifts or stocking stuffers. They fit perfectly in jars.
Store homemade spices
If you like to make your own seasonings, glass jars are you best friend. Make a large batch of your favourite seasoning and store it in a jar with a label.
Plant flowers
If you love flowers, you can plant them in glass jars. Instead of having to buy a specific vase for it, reusing what you have at home works just as well.
Regrow vegetables
I used an old salsa jar to regrow green onions. All you have to do is put the green onion in water in an area where it can get sun. Change the water every day and watch the green onions grow and it was perfect.
Store herbs
My family loves cilantro but every time we get it, we end up throwing a good portion of it out because it goes bad so fast. One way that we keep our cilantro lasting longer is by placing it in a jar of water in the fridge. I’ve noticed that the cilantro lasted at least a week longer than when we kept them in a bag in the crisper drawer.
Try it with your herbs like parsley or cilantro and help the planet by no longer wasting food!
Store leftovers
Instead of buying new containers to hold your food, you can use glass jars to store some food.
Final Thought
I hope you found some creative ways that you can reuse glass jars around your home. Save money and help the environment with this easy eco-friendly hack!
Let me know in the comments below what your favourite use for glass jars is!
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Originally published at https://sustainably-yours.com on March 14, 2021.
