Frugal Uses for Used Candle and Food Jars
Posted on | February 15, 2012 | 12 Comments
Our garage shelves have slowly been filling up with empty food jars from Paul’s pickle addiction, spaghetti sauces, and my own indulgence: roasted sweet peppers. Many of the jars are filled with random nuts, screws, and bolts but the others are just sitting there, full of potential. Adding to this empty jar collection are several jar candles hanging around the house with soot-coated rims and an annoyingly small amount of wax stuck to the bottoms. It seems like such a waste to just recycle them, but I haven’t given much thought to what else we could do until a bad cold over the last few days gave me the time to indulge my crafty side. In between lying on the couch, going to the Laundromat (you read that right—the control board on our new washing machine died) and washing dishes (did I mention that our dishwasher died as well?), I took the time to research lots of ideas for used jars and also to recreate a few in our home (photos below).
Note: Though some people seem to not make a distinction, I would recommend not using old candle jars for food-related repurposing.
- Make some trendy desserts-in-a-Jar including Salted Jar Mason Cheesecakes, Martha’s mini-cheesecake jars, tiramisu in a jar, and worms in dirt
- Create a Piggy Bank with a specific purpose, or to keep in the laundry room to collect loose change
- Use for a sand art project with kids
- Make a dish or hand soap holder
- Use to make glass jar pumpkin decorations and glass ghouls for Halloween
- Use to hold collected restaurant matchbooks
- Fill a mason jar with writer prompts and create a Writer’s Block Jar
- Q-tip/cotton ball holder for your bathroom
- Fill with homemade body scrub (for yourself, a guest bath, or as gifts!)
- Create money Jars for budgeting
- Use for making your own jar candles
- Fill with candy
- Fill with marbles or stones for decoration
- Make hanging jar candle holders for your backyard (this gives a second life to wire hangers as well!); here’s another way to make the hanging jar candle holders (by the way, the Pottery Barn is currently selling these for $7.50 each)
Have you found uses for your old food and candle jars? I’d love to hear more!
- Frugal Decorating Ideas for the Holiday and for Holiday Parties
- Homemade Holiday Gifts that Won’t Collect Dust Part II
- 5 Things You Can Do with Your Old DVDs
- Homemade Holiday Gifts that Won’t Collect Dust
- Last Minute Valentine’s Day Ideas to Keep You Out of the Store
Comments
12 Responses to “Frugal Uses for Used Candle and Food Jars”
Leave a Reply
Previous article: « Last Minute Valentine’s Day Ideas to Keep You Out of the Store
Next article: Frugal Confessions Friday – Frugal Living »
Subscription Options
Meet Amanda
Blog Sponsors
February 16th, 2012 @ 7:30 am
Thanks for the shout out! Great round up!
Amanda recently posted..Shimmering Valentine Gift Boxes
[Reply]
FruGal Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 8:41 am
Hi Amanda! You are welcome.
[Reply]
February 16th, 2012 @ 8:12 am
Been using an old candle jar for a change jar on my dresser for years now. The problem is, it’s clear and you can see all the quarters which tend to disappear. It’s filled mostly with penny’s nickle’s and dimes now.
Also, I can’t bring myself to ever throw away a coffee can. I still have tons of the old metal ones (that they don’t make anymore). Over the years I have found several uses for these. Currently, one of the new plastic Maxwell House canisters (with convenient handle) is used as a sidewalk salt spreader for our driveway and sidewalk.
Matt recently posted..Free Money is Just a Phone Call Away
[Reply]
FruGal Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 8:40 am
Coffee cans are another great resource people usually recycle (or toss all together). We use a plstic one with the handle for a kitchen compost holder (we don’t drink coffee at home, so I got it from work). The only problem is we tend to leave the scraps in there for a week…and then it gets moldy.
Oh well–still ends up in the bin!
[Reply]
February 16th, 2012 @ 1:28 pm
These are all great ideas!
Michelle recently posted..How I plan on upping our curb appeal
[Reply]
FruGal Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 8:39 am
Thank you Michelle! I was pretty excited working on this post:). And I LOVE our new dish soap dispenser in the kitchen. Almost makes me want to do dishes…
[Reply]
February 19th, 2012 @ 9:53 pm
I love the soap dispenser idea! A lot! I just pinned this thing about making olive oil candles…so maybe I’ll have to do that, too. I’ve been saving up tin cans to make a candle garland similar to the hanging jar candle holders, too.
femmefrugality recently posted..Free Thursdays at the Carnegie Musuems
[Reply]
Amanda L Grossman Reply:
February 21st, 2012 at 12:01 pm
Thank you! I have never heard of olive oil candles.
Amanda L Grossman recently posted..Best of Money Carnival #143
[Reply]
February 20th, 2012 @ 9:06 am
[...] Frugal Uses for Used Candle and Food Jars from Frugal Confessions [...]
February 22nd, 2012 @ 3:40 pm
I’m trying to eradicate plastic from my kitchen. I use jars to hold leftovers and for freezing liquids (chicken broth, tomato sauce, etc). Just be sure to leave a bit of room for expansion if freezing.
I also make and then store yogert in glass jars.
[Reply]
FruGal Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 9:04 pm
Nice! I have never made yogurt.
[Reply]
March 7th, 2012 @ 9:32 am
[...] you want, so long as you can grow them from seed. Use egg cartons, old plastic containers, cans, cleaned food jars, and really anything you can find for containers. I have had luck with using seeds from previous [...]