Reusing Glass Jars

Using Jars to Organize and Decorate

Sep 25, 2009 Rhonda Rowley

Many products, especially food, come in glass jars. These jars can be reused in ways as varied as the shapes and sizes of the jars themselves.

Glass jars are one of the most environmentally friendly packaging materials. This is largely because glass is recycleable an infinite number of times. Some materials, like plastic, have fibers that break down and can only be recycled a limited number of times. Additionally, recycling glass takes significantly less energy than does making new glass.

However, it is important to remember that the 3 R's (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) are meant to be observed in order. First, reduce personal waste. Then, reuse whatever you can. Before recycling empty glass jars, try reusing them in one of these creative ways!

Baby Food and Other Small Glass Jars

• In a home office or on a desk, baby food jars make perfect holders for small items like paper clips, rubber bands, and thumb tacks. Line them up across the desk, or to save space on small desktops, store them in a wall-mounted spice rack.
• Baby food jars are ideal for organizing small hardware items in a workshop. Keep separate jars for nuts, washers, screws, and other little odds and ends.
• Make tea light holders out of any small glass jar. There are many different materials you can glue or decoupage to the outside of the jars, which give different effects when lit from within.

Medium and Large Glass Jars

• Wide-mouth jars of all sizes make nice candle holders. Insert an appropriately sized candle, and pour some glass fishbowl stones around the base of the candle for an instant candle holder that can be tweaked to match any decor.
• Use glass jars to hold paint left over form household projects. This will take up far less valuable storage space than mostly-empty paint cans. Plus, the color of the paint is clearly visible through the jar, making it easy to identify at a glance. Be sure to label all paint jars with the room or project they were originally used for to avoid using the wrong shade on future touch-ups.
• Jars make great piggy banks. Either remove the lid to insert coins, or carefully cut a slit in the lid of the jar to make a coin slot. File or sand down the edges of the cut to remove any sharp burrs. Leave the jar plain, or decorate it for a personal touch.
• Large jars can be used on the kitchen counter to hold cooking and baking essentials like flour and sugar. Use adhesive labels, glass paint, or stencils and etching paste to mark each jar with its intended contents.
• Large jars also work well as utensil holders. Fill a pickle or mayonnaise jar with wooden spoons and other large utensils. Embellish the jar with a wide ribbon tied around the jar in a large bow.

Glass jars have many other possibilities for reuse as well. Use empty jars to hold nearly anything. They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, making them ideal for an array of purposes!

The copyright of the article Reusing Glass Jars in Green/Simple Living is owned by Rhonda Rowley. Permission to republish Reusing Glass Jars in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Empty glass jars can be reused in many ways.

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