Take simple recycled plastic and glass jars and give them a new purpose!
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I know a lot of people right now are looking for ways to save and upcycle materials we usually recycle. Plastic and glass jars are just one way to help be green and save a little in your wallet. Today I’ll be sharing how to clean these jars and upcycle them for a new purpose!
I actually have a little area in my pantry that has ready to reuse plastic jars. I haven’t always done this but in the past few months, I have decided I should save on to some if not all of them and upcycle them. Unfortunately, most of the items I buy are in plastic not in glass but glass jars are definitely a better option for upcycling and can last so much longer than plastic!
Upcycle plastic jars VS Glass Jars
For food, you want to use plastic a little less as over time the plastic will break down. If you plan to upcycle plastic jars for food, only reuse them once. Always make sure you wash them out really good, inside and out. After you have used the plastic jars for food there are so many other uses which I will touch on below.
Glass jars are way better for food as the glass can be used over and over since glass won’t breakdown as easily as plastic. You can use them for hot or cold food items as well as hot glue gun crafts.
How do I clean the product information off plastic and glass jars?
I always take the jars and wash them out to get most of the food out first but I wind up washing them again before I am ready to use them. After I have done a quick clean on the inside I peal the packaging information off as best as I can. Next, I grab some goo gone and clean off any excess sticky residue that is left over. Sometimes I need to rewash before using more goo gone to clean them off really good. I find the easiest method to get the sticky residue off is to spray directly onto a paper towel and wrap the jar in the goo gone coated paper towel then I scrub the jar with a paper towel until clean. If it’s really sticky I will spray directly on the jar in the tougher spots. Finally, once it feels and looks like there is no more sticky residue I thoroughly clean the inside and the outside of the jar again, this time making sure no scent of goo gone or food particles are left behind.
How can I reuse the jars?
There are so many amazing ways to upcycle these plastic or glass jars. I personally like to reuse for small treats that I can give away and gift. If you saw my post for White Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles I added a little lace to a jar and gave the teat filled jar away. Another way I love to upcycle these jars is by making my own nut butters like my Fall-Inspired Tripple Nut Butter and store the butter in the jars. If you have a specialty hot cocoa mix you want to gift, upcycling these jars can surely help with that! You can portion a salad and separate it within the jars. Overnight oats are a great healthy way to get more fiber and you can store them in these jars! You can portion snacks like dry cereal or cut up fruit. If you love smoothies and have one daily you can add your ingredients and when you are ready dump the contents into your blender! Do you make your own condiments? Store them in an upcycled jar! Honestly, there are so many food storage ideas!
If you don’t do much in the kitchen or have plenty of already food used jars there are still so many uses! I have seen people use plastic jars for a craft-making succulent from Lovely Indeed. There so many different DIY crafts for them you can find on Pinterest. If you have kids you can put their crayons inside, or if there are a lot of tiny toy pieces these jars are great for that storage use. You can have a craft day with the kids decorate the jars how you like with paint or washi tape and put your makeup or paintbrushes inside for a pretty storage container. I use them for those random extra bobby pins or hair ties, and clips! So many uses!
I hope you found this post helpful! Comment below, do you upcycle?
Hey there! I’m the owner & author of Life Is Homemade (the blog), as well as Mad About Madeleines. I hope you enjoyed some of the delicious recipes, how-to’s, DIYs, & product reviews I blogged about. Thank you for your previous support I hope you stick around on my new journey with Mad About Madeleines.