Ever wondered what to do with all of those mason jars?  Here are 20 ideas you can use to “upcycle” mason jars.  Of course, this isn’t an exhaustive list of ideas but a place to start.

1. Save all that change

Use mason jars as piggy banks to save all that loose change.  As much as times have changed and people aren’t really using cash as much we still do from time to time use cash and have extra change.  You might also want to save small coins from traveling or use mason jars to help small children learn the value of money.  Another money saving mason jar idea is to have family members throw change into the mason jar as a means to save for a special vacation. No matter what you are saving for using mason jars to store coins is a great upcycle idea that is much safer than using toxic plastic containers.

2. Make beautiful light fixtures

Farmhouse design is really huge right now and if you’ve spent any time browsing through home design blogs and websites you’ll know that the use of mason jar lighting is a big trend.  Many stores online now carry fully operational light kits with plug, cord and bulb already assembled.  All you would need to do is use a drill and drill holes into the lid of the mason jar and insert the lights.  It’s up to you how you design it but the ideas are limitless.

3. Dry Ingredient Storage

Mason jars make perfect storage for dry ingredients like flour, sugars, peppercorns, herbs and grains like quinoa, oats, millet and barley.  The best way to keep these dry goods organized is to also label your jars before putting the ingredients in.  Some ingredients resemble each other so it’s important to keep your jars labeled especially if they are food items for consumption.  Keep lids screwed on tightly to avoid moisture and bugs from entering.  If you are concerned about food products and aluminum lids you can always purchase stainless steel, Bamboo or  silicone lids online at an additional cost to keep food items from becoming contaminated by  metals like aluminum.

4. Make your own laundry soap

Use Mason jars to store homemade laundry soap.  They make great decorative items in beautifully designed laundry rooms and will keep your laundry soap free from contaminents.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup borax
• 1 bar castile soap – grate before using
• 2 cups washing soda
• 1 cup baking soda
• 15 drops lavender essential oil
• 15 drops tea tree essential oil

Directions:

1. In a large bucket or stainless/glass mixing bowl blend all ingredients and store in Mason Jars. 
2. Make sure the container keeps in the dark so as to not allow the essential oils to be exposed to light and lose their potency.
3.  1/4 – 1/2 cup per large load (for high-efficiency washers wait for water to run through soap dispenser).

 

5.  Create stunning cordless or wickless evening lights

 Whether it’s for a wedding, party or just a memorable evening you can purchase fairy lights and place them inside empty mason jars for a glamorous lighting effect.

6. Store dried fruit for snacking

Dried fruit can be a tasty all natural treat.  Avoid storing dried fruits in plastic containers or zipper plastic bags by storing them in air-tight mason jars.  You can put store-bought dried fruits in mason jars in pantries or on the counter but if you use a dehydrator to make them yourself you can keep them from going bad by placing the mason jars in the refrigerator.

7. Use Mason Jars for centerpiece lighting on tables

Keep beeswax tealights or votives stocked away for that special dinner or even a backyard BBQ at night by using mason jars as a main centerpiece on tables and food trays.

You can also use a power drill to drill 2 holes on each side and insert Stainless Steel Artistic wire so you can transform them into hanging lanterns.

8. Store Lemon & Turmeric water for daily drinking

Lemon/Turmeric water can be an extremely healthy daily practice for everyone.  Both lemon and turmeric are excellent liver tonics.  In a stainless steel saucepan mix filtered water and slices of one organic lemon and 1-2 teaspoons of Coconut Turmeric Milk Recipe.

9.Pre-made healthy cookie mixes

Ever get a craving for your favorite cookies but just feel too tired or pressed for time to get out all of the ingredients to make them?  Pre-make 12 or 24 Mason jars full of your favorite dry ingredients for cookie mixes.  All you’ll need to do whe you want to bake is add eggs and a healthy fat and your ready to bake.  Some great cookie mix ideas are “Chocolate Chip”, “Shortbread” or “Oatmeal Raisin”.

This idea is perfect for people with food allergies, special diets or those who are super health conscious and don’t want to buy store-bought cookies with all of the unhealthy ingredients and added preservatives.

 

 

10. Non-Toxic Meal Prep

One of the big diet trends lately is the “Meal Prep” process.  People are following their favorite diets and feeling healthier by pre-planning and making their food ahead of time for the week so they can stick to their goals.  Most of the meal prep tutorials mean well but they instruct people to put food into zipper plastic bags or plastic containers which is very hazardous to your hormonal health.  Plastics can disrupt the endocrine system and wreak havoc on your health for years.  Opt to use Mason Jars to refrigerate weekly meals and protect your endocrine system function.

11. Cork & Match book storage

Mason Jars make excellent storage jars to show off items that you collect.  Although there could be countless small items that one would collect, match books and wine cork toppers are popular items to display.  For an added decorative touch you can place them on decorative shelves in bars, kitchens or outdoor bar areas for a little touch of nostalgia and something to talk about at your next picnic or dinner party.

 

12. Water vase for fresh flowers

Did you ever receive fresh flowers unexpectadly and completely forgot where you put that flower vase?  Mason Jars are perfect substitutes for flower vases because when they are not taking up space as an empty flower vase would, they could be used for many other things.  Because Mason Jars come in so many different shapes and sizes you could even create a fresh flower design centerpiece with various size jars and different species of flowers.  Great ideas for the different sizes are:

• Use 16oz jars for bouquets and clusters of wide spreading flower varieties like carnations or peonies.
• Keep smaller 8oz jars around the house for small children who love to pick those special “Dandelion” expressions of love.
• Use larger 32oz jars for longer stems like that unexpected dozen of roses from that special someone

13.Grow some healthy sprouts

Growing sprouts are super healthy and nutritious. Sprouts are germinated beans, grains or vegetable seeds.  According to Mike Rabe’s book: “The FatLoss Guidebook: Proven Ways to Rebuild & Regenerate Your Body”  he believes that sprouts offer multitude health benefits including being protein rich.  These sprouted varieties offer sometimes up to 1000 times the nutritional benefits as their “grown up” selves.  Consuming sprouts everyday is like consuming over 100 of your most nutritious food items but in smaller concentrated formulas.  Naturopaths educate their patients that sprouts are medicine and can benefit their health drastically.  For ideas and instructions on how to sprout this awesome book by Ann Wigmore called: “The Sprouting Book: How to Grow and Use Sprouts to Maximize Your Health and Vitality”  When sprouting, ventilation is an important part of growing your sprouts.  One of the best ventilation gadgets we found were sprouting lids for mason jars.  They couldn’t be more genius.  You can find sprouting lids for mason jars HERE. 

14. Mason Jar Dispensers

With the popularity of “Farmhouse Design” many of these everyday household items, cooking products and decor are coming back in style.  One of the biggest trends right now are using Mason Jars as dispensors.  You can purchase a variety of differen styles of pump dispensors on the internet including plastic dispenser tops, stainless steel dispenser tops, black stainless steel and even rubbed bronze dispensor tops.  Some sellers on Amazon even include FREE water-proof labels with rust proof stainless steel dispensor tops which we think are super cute.  From a health standpoint it’s important to avoid using plastic “anything” so always seek out the stainless options.  These dispensor tops can transform any mason jar into a storage and dispensing device for soaps, lotions, face creams, body butters, body oils or shampoos and hair gels.  The ideas are limitless.

15. Mason Jar Cheesecake

Who doesn’t like a good cheesecake dessert?  Although limiting sugar should be on everyone’s mind when living an all natural lifestyle…using your Mason Jars as an alternative for baking a large cheesecake that you might regret eating all in one sitting, consider making smaller portions in various size mason jars.   By layering the ingredients and giving yourself an occasional treat every now and then you can make dessert more fun and enjoy it on your own terms.  Here is a simple mason jar cheesecake tutorial:

Simple Mason Jar Cheesecake recipe

Ingredients

• 1¼ cups Organic strawberries, hulled and diced
• 2 tablespoons plus 6 tablespoons raw unnfiltered honey, divided
• ½ cup of coconut milk
• 1¼ teaspoons unflavored grass-fed gelatin
• 2 teaspoons pure organic vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons melted Kerry Gold grass fed butter
• 1 (8 ounce) package reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt
• Gluten Free graham crackers (We buy our’s HERE)

Instructions

1. Stir strawberries and 2 tablespoons honey together in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring often. Cook until the berries broken down and smooth, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, pour half-and-half into a saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin over the half-and-half and let stand until the gelatin is softened, 5 minutes. Place the saucepan over low heat. Stir until the mixture is steaming hot and the gelatin melts into the cream. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla.
3. Mix graham cracker crumbs and butter in a small bowl with a fork until evenly moistened. Using a heaping tablespoonful per jar, divide the crumb mixture among ten 4-oz. mason jars, pressing into the bottoms with a spoon or fingertips.
4. Beat cream cheese and the remaining 6 tablespoons honey with an electric mixer in a large bowl. Add yogurt and beat to combine. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the gelatin mixture; beat until smooth. Using a silicone spatula, mix in ⅓ cup of the strawberry mixture. Spoon the cream cheese mixture into the jars, dividing evenly. Top each cheesecake with a heaping ¼ teaspoon of the remaining strawberry mixture.
5. Refrigerate the cheesecakes until set, at least 2 hours.

16. Dried Herbs & Spices Storage

Just like pantry staples you can also upcycle your mason jars by storing dried herbs and spices.  We’ve found some really unique lids for mason jars that actually convert the jars into spice dispenser.  You can purchase the spice mason jar lids HERE or even more unique are the shaker lids that convert your mason jars into shakers for salt, sugar and smaller ground herbs and spices that are not large. You can purchase those lids HERE.

 

17. Collect Historical Objects

Keeping memories can be an exciting thing.  Years later it can bring back happy thoughts of life experiences or can be something your family can cherish forever.  Whatever you find important and worthy of remembering you can use Mason Jars to capture that moment in time.  Place objects into the jar and glue them tightly using water-proof glues that will last a lifetime.  For an extra special added touch you can label a description of the moment in time, date or event that means so much to you.  Ideas for Memory jars are: sand and shells from a vacation trip, pictures of loved ones or special moments, flowers and leaves from special occasions or even items to memorialize “firsts” in your life.

18. Make “home-made beeswax non-toxic candles for your home

Beeswax candles in mason jars are great ideas for replacing the toxic versions of synthetically-laden candles that are sold in stores.  Replacing beeswax with other store bought varieties will actually benefit your home rather than create a hazardous enironment for you and your family.  Beeswax purifies the air by putting of negative ions after lit.  Negative ions are good for the environment of your home by reducing the negative effects of dust mite feces toxins and toxic mold byproducts called mycotoxins.   Here is a great starter recipe to create your beeswax candles:

Beeswax Candles

*Measurement information: 1lb of beeswax equals 20oz. if you have excess wax use more jars.

Ingredients

• Beeswax (You can buy it HERE)
• Natural Cotton Candle Wicks (You can buy them HERE)
• 4 oz mason jars (You can buy them HERE)
• Small stainless steel bucket ONLY to be used for candle making from here on out, for melting the wax.  Do not use aluminum, copper or tin these can make the candles toxic. (Tip: It will not clean out and can only be used for wax melting in the future) You can buy a stainless bucket HERE

Instructions

• Place the beeswax into the stainless steel bucket. Place the bucket inside a larger stock pot filled half-full with water. Simmer over medium-high heat, stirring continuously while it melts.
• In between stirring, prepare your jars and wicks.
• Your goal will be to get the wick to stay in the middle of the jar as the beeswax is being poured into the jar and cools as it sets. It will be up to you as to how to accomplish this as long as the wick stays in the center of the jar.  One way to do this is to place some glue on the bottom of the wick to secure it to the bottom of the jar then press the wick around a small stick and lay it across the top of the mason jar to keep it from tipping over.
• Pour the melted beeswax into the mason jars, leaving one inch of room at the top. Set the jars aside and allow them to cool and set completely.
• Trim the wick and light!

19. Convert mason jars to fun drinking jars for summer picnics or kids

Summertime brings refreshing drink ideas including fruit infused water and homemade juices.  You can easily convert any size mason jar with these colorful and whimsical lids/straws.  You can buy them HERE

20. Rustic Mason Jar Sconces

Trending right now are these DIY rustic mason jar sconces.  They are super easy to make if you have the right materials.  All you need is wood, a hook, flower arrangement, some rope, fairy lights and your mason jars.

 

For a great deal on bulk Mason Jars visit Amazon where you can get them in bulk and have them delivered to your via Amazon Prime with 2-day delivery.  We hope you enjoyed this article full of ideas to Upcycle your mason jars.  Comment below and share with us your ideas of what you’ve done to upcycle mason jars…we’d love to hear from you!!

 

Share with us in the comments below your ideas for additional Upcycled uses for mason jars.  We’d love to hear from you!!