Most households happen to have a stockpile of empty glass jars left after buying certain foods from the grocery store. Which is great, because glass jars are incredibly versatile when it comes to repurposing. Simply cleaning and reusing them not only helps buying less and saves money but also leads to a way more sustainable lifestyle.

Here is a little help of how to prepare empty glass jars for reusing:

Removing Labels

While some labels slip easily off the glass, many jars come with sticky labels, which are not so easy to remove. The most common way to clean a jar is by putting it in a bowl of boiling water for a few hours. Yet, this is also a great way of sterilizing empty glass jars. If there are still patches of glue left, an easy DIY mixture of bicarbonate of soda with oil spread over the sticky residue will do the magic.

Tackling Smells

Stinky contents leave the jars anything but fresh. Smelly trails can be removed by filling the jar with cold water and a dash of vinegar and leaving it overnight to soak. Shake, rinse and… voila! The glass jar is ready to be repurposed.

Once done preparing the empty glass jars for use, there are a lot of creative and useful ways to upcycle them in your everyday life:

1. Food Storage and Serving

This is probably the most obvious way of reusing empty glass jars because they are perfect for storing different kinds of food or cooking leftovers, preparing oatmeal breakfast for work, making salad dressings or meat marinade, etc. It is also an exciting and sustainable way of serving drinks and meals.

2. DIY Candles Making

What an aromatic way of repurposing empty glass jars! And it also makes a great gift for any occasion. Once the candle is finished, the jar can be cleaned and brought to life all over again.

3. Home/Office Organizers

Glass jars are also perfect for storing some small home or office items such as elastic bands, pencils, sewing accessories, etc. They can help in the kitchen organizing as cutlery and utensils holders or in the bathroom keeping toothbrushes and toothpaste, for example.

4. Flower Display Vases

Another way of using empty glass jars is turning them into flower display vases. They can be completely transformed by painting them in different colors or by adding some extra decorations such as colorful ribbons.