Many of us understand the importance of recycling, re-purposing and re-using.  In fact, for some of us, it’s a lifestyle!

When I was growing up, we did a lot of re-purposing and re-using, mostly out of necessity.  Out on the homestead, we didn’t have any garbage collection, so we composted food scraps, re-used as much glass as we could and burned paper products in the “burning barrel”.  I remember being pretty excited when I was old enough to be trusted with that chore! 🙂

Now, of course, I do the Three-Rs out of concern for mother nature and to save money.  Plus, it’s a fun adventure to balance the practical side of re-using without crossing the line into being a hoarder. LOL

There used to be a time when food would come in decorative glass jars.  Of course, the intent was for the consumer to re-use the jar and have something of value besides the original contents.   Although most jars aren’t decorative any more, there is no reason not to re-use them and make the most of what you have.

Some fun finds from thrift stores!  LOVE those old jars!

For food items, I like to keep a good supply of glass jars on hand.  I save jars that tea or other drinks come in and any jars that have interesting shapes or are just a “good size” for storing food in the fridge.  For instance, I brew Kombucha, so drink jars come in handy for that.  When I open a can of olives, I prefer to store the remainder in the fridge, in a glass container, etc.  If I can’t find a use for a jar, I recycle it.

Another thrift store find.  An old glass sugar canister without the lid.  Works well for brewing Kombucha.

I do not re-use glass jars as canning jars.  I prefer to err on the side of caution and only use canning jars for canning.  I do, however, use canning jars for all sorts of things.  Can’t find the right jar?  Grab a canning jar!  I store dried herbs, buttons, dog treats, screws, nails, food, seeds, and you name it, in canning jars.   FYI…the uses for canning jars are infinite, therefore, the quantity of jars one should have, is also immeasurable.  Don’t let anyone tell you differently 😉

Plastic containers have a plethora of uses as well, and this is where the money savings comes into play.

My favorite plastics that I save are large coffee and yogurt containers.   I do a lot of gardening, so these containers are like gold to me!  I can start seeds, propagate plants or sell plants using these containers.  I re-use them year after year by washing them out well after each plant.    Best part is, when they’ve out-lived their usefulness, I recycle them!  I used to recycle the lids too, until it dawned on me that the lids work great as planter saucers.

According to your needs and hobbies, you can save a lot of money by re-using glass and plastic.

BENEFITS:

• Keeping items out of the landfill
• Using items until they need to be replaced
• Saving money
• Re-using what you already have

Here is a quick tally of my savings:

Plastic pots the size of yogurt containers are about $1.50 each.  I get a large container of yogurt every week, so,  52 weeks x $1.50 = $78.00.  Pots the size of coffee containers are $2.10 each x 12 = $25.20.

MONEY SAVED: $103.20!!

🙂