I have a box in the basement that's been gradually filling up with empty glass jars that I want to repurpose - if I could just get the danged labels/glue off of them! I've tried various schemes for getting them cleaned up over the years; some things worked well on a few jars but not on others (probably due to the different types of adhesives used). I think I've finally found the solution that will work on them all: rubbing alcohol. The key is to really saturate the labels with it, and then let them stand for a bit. This seems to work to dissolve the glue and with just a little bit of elbow grease (for particularly stubborn spots a sprinkle of baking soda seems to help) I can get the jars looking sparkly clean without a hint of their former sticky coating.
I was so happy to discover this that I got a few done at once:
Not shown in the photo (because I'd already repurposed it!) is the bottle from my Filsinger's Apple Cider Vinegar - can you guess what I used it for?
Although I'm sure you could repurpose it in a wide variety of ways, I knew exactly what I was going to do with mine: Make it into a hand soap dispenser. The screw top pump from my plastic hand soap container fit this bottle perfectly, so once the bottle was all cleaned up it took about two minutes to effect this little transformation.
The corner of my kitchen sink went from this:
To this:
Like I said, it *is* a small thing, yet also very satisfying. It makes the area by my sink feel just that little bit cleaner, brighter and more stylish. The glass bottle nicely complements the little glass dish holding a bar of my hard lotion. And it didn't cost me a cent! (For the curious, I think the little glass apple dish was meant to be a butter pat holder like these ones that were very popular in Victorian times. I bought two of them ages ago at some yard sale or other and I thought this was the perfect use for them!)
I have resolved to get much better at doing these little projects - after all, knocking off several of them not only leads to a sense of accomplishment, but the net effect contributes to a much more "pulled together" feeling home, without having to dedicate hours of time to any given project.
Have you done any "small yet satisfying" projects around your home lately?
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There's something here in the states called "Goo Gone", it works great in getting sticky label stuff off. Just saturate a bit of rag and rub. Our Dollar Tree carries it. Alcohol may be cheaper though. (I repurpose jars and bottles for gifts, so your suggestion is helpful.)
ReplyDeleteOlivia, we do have Goo Gone here. I just am one of those people who prefers to figure out solutions with what I already have on hand :) Plus I'm not really sure what is in that Goo Gone stuff!!
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