What to do with extra glass jars
What to Do With Your Excess Jars
Do you have an excess of jars from your jams, sauces, salsas, and pickles? Well luckily they can be used for a wide variety of DIYs, recipes, home decor projects, gardening purposes, and much more. Surely, jars can be recycled, but before recycling we should always try reusing! Reusing is always a more sustainable option than recycling because it saves on energy that comes with remanufacturing products. Plus, it’ll get your creative and resourceful side out! In the spirit of living sustainably and creating as little waste as possible, rethink items and their purposes, on how you can give them a second life. The concept of sustainability is about creating a circular economy that keeps good materials in motion – in essence, removing the idea of trash and reusing items instead. So let’s get to crafting!
Recipes and Kitchen
Jars are non-porous (will not transfer food smells), are easy to clean, and upcycling can save you money, which makes them perfect to store food items.
Use your jars to store your own pickles, jams, salsas, peanut butters, salad dressings, and sauces. (But never use non-canning jars for canning purposes). To green up this process even further, head to the local Farmer’s Market in search of ingredients.
There are many jar recipes out there including salads, pies, cookie mixes, cocktails, and much more.
Use jars to store leftovers; this will make for a simple container to eat out of the next day.
Store bulk ingredients and spices in your jars in your pantry.
Use jars as chic zero-waste cups for your kitchen.
Upcycle jars to use as kitchen utensil storage.
Use jars to store homemade house cleaning products.
Use jars to store dog treats.
Upcycle small jars into salt and pepper shakers.
Home
Use jars as cute candy containers around your home.
Turn jars into soap dispensers.
Use jars as vases.
Create homemade candles in your jars.
Use them as storage for DIY body scrubs, soaps, shampoos, and other homemade hygiene products!
Create kleenex holders.
Turn your jar into a birdfeeder.
Gardening
Use your old jars to regrow food scraps.
Plant herbs in your jars.
Use your jars to germinate seeds.
Use jars as storage for extra garden seeds for the next growing season.
Plant small houseplants in your jars.
Use jars for propagation purposes.
Decor
You can upcycle jars to make a variety of decorations for halloween, christmas, and other holidays.
Create a snowglobe in a jar!
Create a wind chime from your jars.
Create a piggy bank or simply store loose change in your old jars.
Use jars for decorative purposes; you can fill them with seashells, rocks, sand, or other items.
Create a fake aquarium in a jar.
Upcycle jars into table lamps, outdoor lanterns, nightlights, chandeliers, and other types of lighting fixtures.
Make a jar advent calendar.
Organization
Upcycle them into containers for makeup brushes, pencils, beads, or any other items.
Use a jar as a first aid kit.
Use jars to house random items that seem to go missing easily like bobby pins, hair ties, buttons, nails, nuts, bolts, matches, and anything else.
Create a sewing kit jar.
Use jars to organize twine.
Use jars to store memories; you can write out your favorite memories on scrap paper and place them in the jar. This makes a great gift – give someone your favorite memories that you cherish with them!
When in doubt, resell or donate them!
Do not let this list limit you; there are plenty more DIYs and uses for your jars on the internet. There are so many different shapes, sizes, and colors of jars – so don’t be afraid to get creative! Together let’s tackle our waste problem!
