Green Ways to Reuse Glass Jars

As someone who tries to live green, I salvage almost every glass jar that finds its way into my house. Glass jars for pickles, pasta sauces, vegetables and olives always end up in my storage cabinet, reserved for use in storage, crafts, gifts and other projects. If you have glass jars stored in your kitchen, try any of these creative, earth-friendly uses for glass jars.

Leftovers

Who says that leftovers have to stay in Tupperware containers, plates, or bowls? I store most of my leftovers in large glass jars. Re-used glass jars are perfect for storing soups, sauces, stews, curries and pasta. You can even use a glass jar instead of a paper bag to bring your lunch to work or school!

Art Projects

Kids love making sand art using colored sand, beads and seashells. Salvaged glass jars are a perfect environment for making these fun projects. Also consider using them to make grown-up earth-friendly crafts, such as a beach scene, shadow-jar or decorative painting.

Batter Mix Gifts

This is an easy food-craft that makes an excellent gift for friends or family members. To do this, you can layer food ingredients such as sugar, chocolate chips and flour-- or drink mixes such as cocoa, sugar and marshmallows-- inside the re-used glass jar. You can also paint a holiday-themed decoration on the jar lid and print instructions for preparing the recipe.

Storage Container

Re-use your glass jars to store food ingredients, such as flour, corn meal or rice. Alternatively, decorate the jars and put them in your child's room to store beads, small toys, hair ties, baby socks or crayons. Finally, a place to put all of those extra Barbie shoes! Be sure to keep choking hazards out of reach of babies and toddlers.