Glass jars come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Rather than tossing them in the recycle bin, give them new life by trying some of these upcycle ideas for your empty glass jars.
Since starting our No Waste journey, one of the goals has been to cut single-use plastic from our kitchen. Doing this has left us buying a lot of items in glass jars. Since glass is reusable, we try to get the most out of them before sending them to the recycle bin.
Glass jars are great to have around, but we have accumulated so many that we need to find new uses. I have a cabinet full of jars and a bin of the lids. It’s a little annoying to figure out which lid fits each jar when I need them, but I don’t like to store the jars with their lids in case they aren’t completely dry.
There are so many groceries that can be bought in a glass jar, so I have jars of all sizes. When we don’t make things homemade, we will buy pasta sauce, jelly, queso, salsa, yeast, cooking wine, etc. and they all come in glass.
With all these glass jars around, I’ve had to find a few creative ways to put them to good use throughout the house. Of course, they have great uses in the kitchen, but can be used for so much more, too!
Creative Ideas for Upcycled Jars
Before you fill your jars, there are some ways you can dress them up to make them look nicer in your home. Using a hot glue gun, you can adhere many different types of fabric and other textiles to your jars. You can also purchase pieces from the hardware store to add to the jars if you want a handle, an opening in the lid, or a way to attach them to your surfaces.
Best Types of Jars
Really, almost any jar will work for upcycling. Some of my favorites are large jars to hold big things such as dry goods in the pantry. But I also like small mason jars and jam jars to hold small items such as craft supplies or bathroom items.
- Pickle Jars (usually big so lots of space)
- Pasta Jars
- Peanut Butter Jars
- Baby Food Jars (great for small items)
- Spice Jars (great for mixing new spices or your own fresh herbs)
- Mason Jars
- Canning Jars
- Any glass containers that aren’t broken and can be resealed
Originally Published On: February 5, 2019
Last Updated On: July 23, 2023
Glass Jars in the Kitchen
Leftovers Storage
Rather than storing your food in plastic containers, use some of your jars for food storage. I know there are many things that wouldn’t fit in a jar, but if you have something like soup or chili you should be able to easily store it in jars or glass bottles.
Utensil Storage
There are those kitchen utensils that you are always reaching for when cooking. Rather than having them tucked away in a drawer, use a large jar to hold them on the counter.
Freezer containers
We use our glass jars in the freezer often. Just make sure you give enough “head room” at the top of the jar so it doesn’t break (I’ve had that happen a few times). I have a few jars of the last green onions from our garden chopped up and stored in a jar, as well as extra bell peppers from a meal a couple of months ago.
Herb Garden
Use some of your larger jars to start an indoor herb garden. Since herbs don’t typically get very big or have a large root system, the jars should work for a long time for your kitchen herbs. Put some rocks at the bottom for drainage purposes, fill 3/4 of the way with potting soil, then plant starter herbs or their seeds. You can then store your fresh herbs in small jars, too.
Gifts
If you search online, you can find dozens of recipes for gifts in a jar. From brownies to cookies to oatmeal, store the necessary dry ingredients in a glass jar. Add a label with the instructions and decorate the jar. These are great as gifts for friends, neighbors, and teachers.
Herbs & Spice Containers
Use small jars to store your herbs and spices. They are better than storing in plastic, and you can have a more uniform look if you have enough of the same jars. They’ll also usually stack nicer to take up less space.
Table Centerpiece
Fill a jar with decoration to match your kitchen/dining room and place it in the center of the table. Or, use the jar as a vase and bring in fresh flowers for the table.
Kitchen Decor
Similar to the table centerpiece, use the jars as decor in the kitchen. We have a few jars
Drinking Glasses
Having a party? Rather than buying disposable cups, bring out your glass jars. You could use a variety of sizes and shapes, as long as it can easily drink from. This stops the waste from disposable and would have a unique look on a table.
Bulk Shopping
If you are lucky enough to have a bulk grocery store around that lets you use your own containers, bring them! You could store all types of dry or wet ingredients in glass jars.
Glass Jars in the Bathroom
Storage
Use glass jars as storage for things such as cotton balls, q-tips, makeup remover pads, hair ties, etc. You can paint and decorate the jars to fit the theme of your bathroom, or leave them clear to easily see the contents.
Homemade Products
For those who make their own homemade beauty and self-care products, glass jars work well for storage. For example, I make my own deodorant and store the bulk of it in a large glass jar then use a small one to keep handy for day-to-day use. You can use them to hold homemade lotions, moisturizers, scrubs, etc.
Open storage
Open storage is a perfect option for those jars that you may not have a lid for. Use these jars to store taller items or those you may not want to always be sealed tight. It’s a great way to store toothbrushes, makeup brushes, and other similar items.
Tissue Holder
Find a jar with a very thin lid and cut a small hole in the top. Make sure it is smooth, and fill the jar with tissues. Poke the top one through the hole and you have a glass tissue holder!
Other Uses for Glass Jars
Pen/Pencil Holders
Similar to the open storage containers in the bathroom, a glass jar without a matching lid is perfect for holding office supplies such as pens, pencils, markers, rulers, etc.
Candle Holder/Luminaries
When you need a bit of extra light in an area, use a glass jar to hold a tea light candle. You know the glass won’t catch fire, and the heat from a small candle should not be enough to melt the glass.
Small Storage
There are so many little things that are often stored in the office area of the home. Having some small jars with lids can help organize everything from paperclips to rubber bands to push pins to extra staples.
DIY Candles
Instead of housing tea light candles, maybe you are someone who likes to make your own candles. Use old jars to make new candles.
Succulent Planters
It’s been proven that having some green life in an office makes for a better workspace. Use any small shallow jars as planters for a few succulents. They are perfect plants for an office, especially one not at the home since they don’t need to be watered every day.
Bug Jar
Growing up, my sister was always trying to catch bugs. She had a few critter cages, but they were always plastic and didn’t hold up well. Use a glass jar and poke a few small holes in the lid to make your own bug jar for the kids.
Vase
I mentioned this previously when talking about table centerpieces, but glass jars are good options for holding flowers. We have some knockout rose bushes outside and the boys will often bring a few in that we place in our glass jars around the house.
Change Jar
Instead of a plastic piggy bank, use a glass jar to hold your spare change. You would be amazed at how much you can accumulate in a jar when you put all of your change in there!
Craft Storage
If you, or your kids, like to do crafts, then glass jars are great for storage. Since they are usually clear, you can see exactly what you have inside. Think about extra jars for storage of beads, ribbons, buttons, etc.
Memory Jars
Ever go on vacation and have a few things that aren’t flat enough for the scrapbook, but you still want to hold onto it? Use a glass jar to make a vacation memory jar. Fill it with a few momentos from the trip and a photo and place it on a shelf.
Your Turn
- Do you save all of your jars after using them?
- What other uses have you found for glass jars?
- Have you tried any of these before with success?
- Which idea are you most looking forward to trying?
More No Waste Kitchen Ideas
- How to Naturally Dye Easter Eggs with Kitchen Scraps
- How to Grow Your own Food without Waste
- How to Start an Indoor Herb Garden
- Holiday Gift Guide for a No Waste Kitchen
- 7 Tips for No Waste Grocery Shopping at a Supermarket
- How to Throw a No Waste Birthday Party
- The Ultimate Goal: Remove the Trash Can
- 16 Ways to Reuse Twist-Ties
- Packing a No Waste Lunch (For School or Work)
- What is “Pantry Week” + How does it Prevent Waste?
- How to have an Organized Pantry Without Plastic
- 12 Best Apps for a No Waste Kitchen
- 11 Ways to Use Fresh Herbs
- Why an Online Grocery Order is Wasteful
- How to Recycle Responsibly
- 24 Ways to Reuse Glass Jars Throughout the House
- Travel Tips for a No Waste Kitchen
- How to Read a Simple Recycle Label
- Grocery Shopping Essentials for a No Waste Kitchen
- Food Waste: Top 8 Tips to Avoid Throwing Away Food
- Meal Plan Tips for a No Waste Kitchen
- No Waste Kitchen on a Budget
- How Does Recycling Work?
- The 5 Rs in No Waste
- Top 10 Swaps for a No Waste Kitchen
- What Does No Waste Kitchen Mean?
- How to do a Home Trash Audit
- 30 Day No Waste Challenge
- No Waste Kitchen: Getting Started in 3 Steps
such a good idea! very informative and educative. I usually use cans to save coin money or some snacks so they don’t become stale.
I love how tightly glass jars seal and keep snacks fresh!
I love all the different ways to be able to use glass jars, they’re so versatile. We have a few on our bar car to hold paper straws.
Awesome idea! They are great storage almost anywhere in the house.
Haha, I USED to save almost all of our glass jars, but my husband made me get rid of some (to recycling) because we just had too many! I admit, I still store many of the things you mentioned in plastic, but I do have large glass canisters for things I buy in bulk, and the plastic is often (e.g. our smaller bulk things) plastic containers that I’ve saved from things we’ve bought, since we can’t recycle them anymore here.
Ours are slowly taking over one of my cabinets. I need to work on a few gift ideas with them so I can give the jars away!
This past holiday, one of my friends had a party and we used glass jars to make centerpieces and they came up so beautiful. Now I am learning other ways to use glass jars. That is awesome.
What a fun idea! They can look so elegant or rustic or anything in between depending on how you decorate.
I too love glass jars! Detest plastic and we’re trying to eliminate it as much as possible -an easy way is using jars for leftovers. love these suggestions, -especially the tissue jar! Totally going to make one!
I hope your tissue jar works out well! You can decorate it to match the decor in any room so it blends in, too.
Great post. This is so me. My hubby thought I was crazy with the mason jars but now hes the one using them for everything lol.
We were similar at first! My husband wasn’t sure about saving all of the jars, but now he gets upset when we don’t have a good sized jar for something and have to resort to our old plastic leftover containers.
These are all so wonderful ideas! I have some empty jars, and I think I will try and make a holder for my make up brushes 🙂
I’ve seen quite a few ideas for makeup brushes and they are always so cute!
We love reusing glass jars! I use them to hold soups, granola and more!
You can seriously store almost anything in glass jars. They are perfect for this!
These are great suggestions for reusing glass jars… I like the idea of using them as planters, I’m definitely going to do that. We currently either reuse them for storing food or we recycle them.
All of my herbs are in old spaghetti jars and sitting in the window. I wrapped them with some burlap to match my living room.
This is really well ogrnazied and I like the idea of reusing because we dont have to buy over and over and waste money.
It definitely saves a lot of money in the end.
I love that you shared so many ways to reuse glass jars! I never thought about putting q-tips in jars, or as candle holders!
There are so many ways to use them. And I know there are more than I listed, but those were the best ones I could think of!
Wow so many super ideas here!! I love the one about using a jar to pop all your pencils in – great idea xx
I love jars for things like pencils that otherwise tend to roll around in a drawer.
A lovely eco-friendly share here, I really enjoy reading it & wish I can do the same too. Cheers!
Thank you! I hope you found a few ideas you can implement.
Such brilliant ideas! It really helps us and these would be perfect to share with others. I like this blog post ♥
Thank you! There are so many things to do with a glass jar and get a lot of use from them before sending to be recycled.
I Iove saving all my attractive glass jars as I love using them for stuff. I like your tips too!
Some of the jars are so pretty! Even the ones that we get jelly in have some designs to them. It’s amazing how many ways you can use something before considering it “trash.”
Utensil storage is how I would use them. And I would probably put flours and such in there too!
They are great for both! I like putting my baking ingredients in glass. It stays fresh longer and looks prettier 🙂
Dont ask me why, I love glass jars and keep on buy more lol…I mostly use them homemade pickles and such…
I have the same problem! Although, I haven’t purchased any in a while since I just keep reusing the ones I have now.
I use glass jars a lot for salads, overnight oats, and seasonal decor! I have also used them for flowers! They are such a great thing to have on hand!
There are so many great ways to use a glass jar! We have more than I would like to admit sitting in the kitchen cabinets right now 🙂
Great post! I love reusing jars and I love knowing more ways to spread them throughout the house
Thanks! We reuse them all the time, too. I have so many jars of all shapes and sizes.
Love the post and the new ideas to use glass jars! I’m sure my husband would appreciate my stash getting used. I also put my coffee beans/grounds in them! Painted the lid with chalk paint so I could label which was which (husband drinks decaf) and leave them on the counter by our coffee maker! Love the way it looks!
Hah, my stash is building up again, too. I like the idea of the chalk paint for the jars!
Well done, reusing them helps to preserve the environment and reduce the consumption of energy and materials