What do you do with your glass jars whenever whatever was in them is gone? If you said “recycle,” good on ya – that is a great answer.
But, how about recycling in an even more direct form — reusing them around the house to store stuff?
Do I sound like your grandmother? If so, it’s because I learned this from my grandmother. Not directly, but by observing her Depression-era habits that lasted into her ‘90s. While we are fortunate to not really need to pinch pennies in the same sense that our elders who lived in that time did, we can still learn a thing or two from their cost-saving and environmentally-friendly habits. After all, reusing requires less energy than recycling, and even Martha Stewart would tell you that’s “a good thing.”
Our pantry is full of re-used jars to hold items that come in bags or bulk bins. They keep the contents airtight and easily accessible since you can see what’s inside with a quick glance.
I typically keep the jars that don’t have writing on the tops, purely from an aesthetic perspective. If you’re trying to be super frugal or super green, or both, every jar has a use, and no one will care if you store your coconut flakes in a jar that says “mild salsa” on the lid. I do, however, recommend if you re-use an orange juice bottle to store homemade broth, that you clearly label the bottle, or, someone in your family may have a rude surprise (just ask 2Chili about that one)!
Prepping a Jar to Reuse
Here’s how I prep a jar to reuse once its original contents have been consumed:
- Hand wash to remove whatever was in it (If it was nut butter, I fill it with water, put the lid on it, flip it upside down and soak for a few hours to loosen up the gunk)
- Soak in a tub of water overnight to help release the glue behind the sticker. Some stickers take longer than others to start to release
- Scrape the softened label off by hand with my fingernails, but if it is really stubborn, a plastic scraper comes in handy
- Wash in the dishwasher to sanitize
What do you do with your old jars?
View Comments (5)
I find my old Mindful Mayo jars are the best. They’re glass with nice plastic lids, not metal with BPA linings. and they don’t have any residue scent leftover.
I have a little cabinet with a bunch of old glass jars, but bummer, they still “smell” like the old contents, like jelly, red peppers, etc. Do you find that problem?
Anyway, another thing I do with the smelly icky ones is keep them on my counter, and when I have old grease from cooking, I dump that in the jars, seal them up, and put them in the trash. Not really recycling, but it helps me dispose of greasy liquids, that I don’t want to dump down the sink.
Hi Debbie,
I haven’t had the “smell” problem! But, I mostly just use nut butter and salsa jars, so maybe those don’t penetrate the glass as much. Perhaps white vinegar would cut the smell? I agree reusing jars with a bit of an odor does not sound ideal!
Since we don’t really eat much meat, I don’t have a lot of greasy liquids to dispose of, but I used to use paper juice boxes for that – that way they decompose later and the jars could just go in the recycle bin. Speaking of juice cartons, I miss Seattle for one thing, and that is curbside composting. I used to just put all my peels and random veggie trash in juice boxes and paper bags and it could go right in the yardwaste bin – not so in small town USA!
I figured you wouldn’t have much use for greasy liquids. LOL.
wow, I never heard of curbside composting. What a cool idea.
OMG, Angela, you won’t believe it. I just went over to my glass jar collection, and ha! The lingering odors are gone!! I can’t believe it. The lids were what seemed to be holding in the smells more, and guess what, I guess time helps! LOL
I am thrilled because I now have a bunch of great empty glass jars to store stuff in! Thanks! haha
That is awesome, Debbie! I didn’t even think about it, but I store them in a deep drawer with the lids off if they are empty. YAY for time healing all wounds. ?
Good for you!!!!! Your articles are always interesting.