Reusing Small Bottles &
Jars
By: Gloria Sutton
***NOTE***
The following
instructions and tips are ONLY FOR the
types of bottles I specify in this article.
These bottles
specified here
are the ones that have contained
medicines
or vitamins or minerals or flavorings/extracts
or baby food,
all of which were intended for human
consumption,
so these containers are not
contaminated with hazardous chemicals. ALL
bottles
must be thoroughly cleaned and
rinsed, sterilized and dried before reusing.
Following are some ideas on how to
recycle medicine
and vitamin/mineral bottles
of all sizes, as well as the
bottles that flavorings and extracts
come in, and
baby food jars. This includes the bottles
that have liquid
medicines (such as cough syrup, etc.)
as well as pill
and tablet bottles.
Before reusing them, make sure
you thoroughly wash
and dry them. Also scrap their labels
off, and clean the
glue residue from the bottles. This may
be a bit time
consuming, but it is not too hard
to do.
To clean bottles, use soapy
water.To clean bottles with
small necks, half-fill with
soapy water, add a few spoonfuls
of uncooked rice and shake
thoroughly to "scrub"
the inside of that bottle. To
make sure any traces of
soap are removed, use vinegar in
the final rinse water,
or add a few lemon skins to the hot
rinse water.To remove
odors from bottles, fill with hot
water and add a teaspoon
of bicarbonate of soda and leave
for 2 hours. Or fill with
warm water, a tablespoon of tea leaves
and a tablespoon
of vinegar, shake, stand 3
hours, then rinse.Sticky
marks from labels can be removed
by rubbing orange
oil or eucalyptus oil on, leaving
a little while, then peel
or rub off.
Remember, the
best jars for your oil blends (tip below)
are the dark
glass ones you buy medicine and vitamins
in, since they
generally have secure screw tops and
will protect
the oils from being destroyed by the light.
For a really
pretty effect,try using the little bottles you
buy flavoring extracts
or food coloring in. These can be
painted
with the clear window and glass paints you can
find in
craft stores to darken the glass somewhat against
the
light.
Once you have the labels off and
the bottles clean and
dry, you can make your own labels.
You and your children
or grandchildren can use self-adhesive
blank labels and
either make some by hand, or
you can get fancy and have
fun by using a label graphics
program on your computer
to make them. If you use the
computer, younger children
will need your help and older
children may also need your help, too.
To keep my labels clean, I take a wide roll of clear
packing tape and completely cover my labels on the bottles and jars, and have the tape overlap onto the container around
the labels. I do this to form a solid, airtight seal to keep moisture and dirt off of the label. I carefully
trim the excess tape with a pair of small scissors. This taping not only seals the labels onto the bottles, but it makes
them easy to wipe off. It also preserves your labels by sealing and protecting them from normal washing in a sink. Dirty
finger prints wipe right off with no damage to your label or container! Also, you can easily see your labels through the clear
packing tape.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MY TIPS
Fill them with seeds from your garden
that
you want to save and store for the next year.
Organize small craft, art or
sewing supplies: beads,
sequins, safety pins, needles, buttons, etc.
Use them for storing your own blends
of essential oils.
Use them for storing your own medicinal
and kitchen herbs after you have harvested and dried them.
Us the small medicine bottles to
put toothpicks in to carry in your purse or pocket.
For those of you who love
to make your own herbal and medicinal teas, you may use them for storing your own mixes that you make from your herb
garden.
Use one to store push pins in your desk
drawer,
and you won't poke yourself every time you reach for
something in the drawer.
Use one as a traveling
sewing kit: fill with safety pins, needles, thread (wrap some thread around a plastic bread tab), straight pins, and buttons.
Make a batch of colored sugars and divvy
them up
into a separate set of colors for each child in your
cookie assembly line when making cookies.
Keep coins handy for the city bus, the
laundry,
or the snack machine. Loosely folded or rolled bills
can be slipped inside as well.
You can make a great packed lunch using
various containers to keep everything separate, right down to using a little film canister to store salt/seasoning/dressing,
a dip container for salad, etc... pack it all into a lunchbox or rectangular ice-cream box.
Rolling coins? Put a mark on the
outside of the
container to help you count.
Baby food jars...fill with salt or cornmeal
or sand and use as paper weights. You can color filling by taking colored chalks and rubbing them around in
the salt. With the colored salt, you can make designs as you layer them in the jars, or you can use one just one color.
If you store small metal objects in the
container,
such as paper clips or safety pins, hot
glue a magnet inside the cap--one shake will "grab"
one or two of the items
to "dispense" them for you.
Store the little dabs of mixed play clay
so they
don't ruin the basic colors.
Use to store homemade bath and beauty
products for yourself.
You can safely use/recycle cleaned medicine
bottles to store or freeze things like pesto, leftover tomato sauce from a recipe.
You can use them to store loose
change for toll booths in your car in the glove box.
You can keep laundry money in them.
You can stash your "rainy day" or your
"mad" money in them.
Medicine bottles, and baby food
jars also do duty in the crafts area and wood shop. Nail the lid to the underside of a cabinet or hutch, and screw the jar
body onto it that way. Label as desired. You can use them to sort small items like beads, jewelry findings, screws, washers,
and so on. Just unscrew the one you need, take out whatever quantity you're using, and screw back onto the lid. Nailing them
up that way keeps them out of the way, and they won't tip over and spill as they're secured to the work-desk...This idea could
also work in the kitchen for spices in limited counter and cabinet space areas.
These are a great source the perfect
vases for the dandelions,
clover flowers, and wild violets your little ones
bring to you! Decorate with stickers or
a
scrap of gift wrap, then pop in a a faux flower or
some dried rose buds. There you also have a party favor,
a
bright note for a sick tray, or a little gift for a
nursing home resident.
Make stampers: Hot glue pom-poms,
sponge shapes,
or gum eraser cut-outs to the tops. The caps used by
some pharmacies are reversible (to be child-resistant
or
not), which makes it possible to turn the stamp
over and actually store it inside the container!
Fill about halfway with glue or paste
for a handy
little glue pot. Use a wooden craft stick to apply
the glue--it will keep fingers neat, spreads glue
evenly,
and is light enough to rest in the container
without tipping it over.
Surprise gifts! Tuck a new fashion doll
outfit inside before you
wrap it and the surprise won't be ruined! Other small
gifts can be disguised this way
as well.
Wedge a damp sponge inside for moistening
stamps
and envelope flaps.
Protect treasure-hunting clues (for scavenger
hunts and the like) from the undersides of damp rocks, wandering breezes, and
unexpected rain showers.
Send along sandwich condiments or salad
dressing
in a bag lunch. Or pack just a handful of nuts,
sunflower or pumpkin seeds, croutons, bacon crumbles,
or
the like.
Is there a chance your child could be
lost in a
crowd? Attach a cord and put some basic contact
information inside--such as your cell phone number--in
case
your child should need the assistance of a kind
stranger.
Make some mini-medical kits: Put
together some first aid
or mending supplies.
Portable pocket fishing kit! Drop in
a hook and a length of line--a handy
stick can be found at the fishing hole!
