A while back I received a request to come up with a list of ways to use Mason jars. I’m sure there are hundreds of this kind of post already floating around out there, but we’ll go ahead and make it hundreds-and-one.
I (and apparently, a lot of you too) collect anything glass. Between us keeping the jars from anything we buy and hunting for Craigslist scores (200+ for $20!), we have a lot of glass in the basement. So what do we do with it? Here are several of my ways to use Mason jars, plus some that I haven’t tried yet.
1. Canning your produce. Duh.
2. Store grains, beans, or other dry goods.
3. Make homemade yogurt!
4. Sprout seeds.
5. Soap dispenser.
6. Container for homemade toothpaste, deodorant, or body butter.
7. Cookie or biscuit cutter.
8. Make sauerkraut (or other lacto-fermented foods).
9. Make a sourdough starter.
10. Make homemade stock or broth.
11. Fruit scrap vinegar.
12. Use as a vase for your flowers.
13. Make a salad in a jar.
14. Drink from them!
15. Grow some windowsill herbs.
16. Store spices.
17. Pencil, pen, or other office supplies holder.
18. Utensil holder for parties.
19. Make kefir.
20. Catch lightning bugs (don’t screw the lid on all the way!).
21. Do something crafty (seriously, look at Pinterest for thousands of ideas).
22. Light fixtures.
23. Use them as stand-alone decoration (find some of the older ones that are different colors or have unique designs).
24. Give a “baking mix in a jar” gift.
25. Make candles (or put tea lights in them).
26. Pack your lunch in one.
27. Candy jar.
28. Make an oil lamp.
29. Twine dispenser (poke a hole in a lid and pull the twine through).
30. Cocktail shaker.
You can store just about anything in a jar, so don’t limit yourself. They’re really handy to have around, and if you’re into it, add the rustic-chic kinda look to things. Much to my wife’s dismay, I can never have too many!
Do you have any novel ideas that I didn’t mention? Leave it in the comments and maybe I’ll add it to the post!
I use them as smoothy jars. The blade from my blender fits perfectly onto a regular size mason jar. Just add your ingredients, whiz away, seal and take to work 🙂
Awesome – I’ve seen that, but never tried it!
I use mine as my travel mug. I’m not a fan of the icky stuff in many plastic bottles, yet really don’t like taste of drinking out of a metal one. So, I carry my tea with me in a quart jar. 🙂
I use a designated set of 8 jars to dye wool fabric for rug hooking. It’s very controlled dyeing so I get a graduated swatch of colors and values. Been doing this for almost 30 years.
Recently, I told my husband if he wanted to ever surprise me with something that would make me swoon, that mason jars were the way to go!! Forget flowers or candy!! Give me more mason jars!!!