Glass jars are very common in kitchen pantries everywhere. Sauce bottles, jam jars, baby food containers, milk bottles, they’re all packaged in glass jars. If you have plenty of empty jars sitting in your kitchen cabinets, then it’s time to take them out and repurpose them.
Try out these 15 brilliant ideas to reuse your empty glass jars.
| Table of Contents |
| 1. How to Clean Empty Glass Jars |
| 2. What to Do With Empty Glass Jars |
How to Clean Empty Glass Jars
Before reusing any glass jar, it’s important to clean and prepare it first. You can soak the glass jars in hot water mixed with dishwashing soap for about an hour or two. Next, scrub the jars carefully to make sure there are no more grease or unpleasant odors left. Rinse the jars thoroughly and let them air-dry.
To remove pesky jar labels, mix two cups of vinegar in hot water and soap mixture. The acid in the vinegar will help dissolve the glue in the label. After soaking for an hour, you should be able to peel off the label easily.
What to Do With Empty Glass Jars
Here are some creative ideas for reusing your empty glass jars.
1. Cheesecake jars
Turn your baby food containers into cheesecake jars. Make a no-bake cheesecake that you can easily whip up under 30 minutes. Instead of using a large cake pan, create small-sized servings with empty baby food containers. Pop them in the fridge overnight and simply grab one jar for dessert.
2. Overnight Oats
Mason jars are the perfect containers for overnight oats, but any kind of jar with a wide lid will also do. Make this healthy breakfast food by combining rolled oats, chia seeds, almond milk, and chopped frozen fruits. Stir the mixture and refrigerate overnight.
3. Salad Jars
Save time from chopping and mixing salad ingredients every day by meal prepping in advance. Make a large batch by chopping all the vegetables and placing them in large glass jars. Store your salad jars in the fridge. When you’re ready to eat, simply grab a jar, pour your favorite dressing, and mix them all together.
4. Tea and Smoothie Glass
Use your empty jam bottles together with your metal straw for your teas and smoothies. You can even prepare the smoothie ingredients in advance by putting them in the jar and refrigerating them.
5. Herb Container
Container gardening is becoming popular nowadays, especially for those who have limited space. Grow your own herbs indoors by planting them in empty glass jars, then placing them on windowsills or in your balcony. When you need a herb for cooking, all you have to do is pick a few leaves and sprigs from your mini garden.
6. Homemade Candles
Whether you’re making scented or emergency candles, your empty glass jars will make great candle holders. To make candles, melt soy wax into a double boiler for 10-15 minutes. Add fragrance oils if you want it to be scented, then attach the wick. Let the wax cool for a few minutes, then pour into the empty glass jars.
7. Flower Vase
No need to buy expensive crystal vases, milk and wine bottles will look just as good when used to hold flowers. Plus, it gives your home an authentic, vintage feel. You can paint and decorate the bottles to make it look extra special.
8. Table Centerpiece
Empty glass jars and bottles make great DIY centerpieces. You can decorate them according to the season with flowers, candles, twine, paint, and glitter.
9. Office Supplies Holder
Organize your workspace by using jars and bottles as pencil holders. This will work well for people who have tons of pens, pencils, and markers. You can also use them to hold other office supplies like scissors, rulers, erasers, and paper clips.
10. Mini Terrarium
Take a small portion of nature and bring it indoors by creating a mini terrarium. All you need are empty jam or sauce jars, garden soil, pebbles, and some plant cuttings. First, place a layer of sand at the bottom of the jar, then add some garden or potting soil mix. Next, carefully place your plant cuttings. You can use Scotch moss and succulents. Add some pebbles and rocks for decoration.
11. Hanging Garden Lights
Make your garden more magical with hanging garden lights. Wrap some twine around the lid or handle of the jar, ensuring that it is tightly knotted so the jar won’t accidentally fall off. Fill the inside with sand, then insert a small candle. Create several more of these, then hang them up in your porch or on the tree branches.
12. Makeup Brush Holder
Keep your vanity area neat and tidy by using empty glass jars as a makeup brush holder. You can store other beauty items here, such as your tweezers, nail file, eyelash curler, nail cutter, and more. It will also work well as a container for nail polish bottles, lipgloss, and mascara.
13. Tea Bag Caddy
Stash your tea bags in a transparent glass jar so you can easily see if you’re running low on tea. It’s also less bulky compared to storing them in their original boxed packaging. Additionally, you can also put your used tea bags in glass jars and save them for later use. Used tea bags can be used to refresh puffy under-eyes, absorb odors, and polish surfaces.
14. Bathroom essentials
Take your cotton pads and buds out of their plastic packaging and put them in small glass jars. You can place these in your vanity or bathroom for easy access. Other bathroom essentials that you can store in here are bath salts, shampoo bars, toothbrushes, and toothpaste.
15. Gift Container
Ditch the wrapping paper and gift boxes this year—use glass jars as gift containers instead. Not only is it fun and unique, but it’s also more sustainable. Imagine how much paper, ribbons, tape, and cardboard boxes you’ll get to save with these! Just tie a ribbon around the lid, add a gift tag, and they’ll be ready to be given as gifts.
Conclusion
If you have empty glass jars and bottles sitting in your kitchen cabinet, you don’t have to throw them out just yet. There are plenty of ways that they can be used around your home. The best part of it is that you get to unleash your creativity, save money, and help the environment.
If you need glass containers for your product packaging, Roetell produces a wide variety of these, including ready-made and custom designs. Feel free to browse through our website and avail of our all-in-one service for glass containers and packaging.