When I recycle empty glass jars....I do the following:
As I collect them, I sort them into boxes of 'labels on' and 'labels off'.....
When I have a good supply or need to clean them for a day of preserving......I do the following......
The jars with labels need to be soaked to remove the labels, some will slide off easily....and I use the back of a knife to scrape the glue residue away from the jars.....occasionally I will get a jar that will leave the glue sticky and I will need something petroleum based to remove the sticky glue...I get about 3 or 4 a year like this.
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| Soaking recycled jars to remove the labels. |
Once I have a supply of jars
they need to be cleaned, sanitised and stored until needed.
I clean and sanitise all my jars in the dishwasher.
I am able to do far more this way than on the stove.
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| Ready to go, in the dishwasher. All lids are stored separately. |
Once they are dry, I store them by size or type in cardboard boxes.
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| Large Fowlers Vacola Jars..this box is to be sealed on all sides and edges with tape. |
Then I seal all the sides of the box with wide tape due to cockroach problems.
This way I know that I can take a box of jars from the garage and they are ready to use immediately.
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| A lovely gentleman at the local club gathers glass coke bottles for me when I ask him to. I use these for my Plum, Tomato and BBQ sauces. |
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| Un-sterilised but sanitised. |
All I need to do then is place them in a hot oven for 10 minutes to sterilise them....
I sterilise them on the day that I need them.
When I have a supply that are mixed sizes...
I clean and sanitise them amongst normal cycles with the dishwasher.
It is very handy to have this shelving close to the kitchen....I use clean glass jars for all sorts of things including storing foods just opened. Some are ideal sizes for canisters. Some are used to store my own dehydrated spices. The list is endless........
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| Now that I have all the lids gathered in one place, I will boil them briefly, drain and dry them, then store in a sealed container. |
I love that I am recycling them. I also find that I am getting jars back that have my label on them too....so they get recycled and reused MORE than once....and that's way cool.
Doing this is far cheaper than buying jars for your preserves....You just need to inspect the lids, and if any are scratched, dented or damaged; discard them and replace with new ones from the internet.
Do you recycle glass jars,
or do you buy them new?
Maybe I have inspired you to
start saving your dollars
by saving your jars.
If I have inspired you to start,
let me know by leaving a comment
I love to hear from you.
