Chances are you don’t have your Dream Pantry set up yet, and neither do I. But, it’s absolutely the RIGHT time to start planning and collecting the types of containers to use. Then you can design your pantry around the functionality you want to have! There are two basic types of jars I have, upcycled and purchased. I will show you where I find the best of both worlds.
And, yeah, I have a jar for that.
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Most of the jars that I am using currently live on top of our sideboard. The big jars inside the sideboard (which will eventually become a baking station) will remain accessible for cooking when the sideboard becomes the base for the island/breakfast table nook. But, the rest of the jars will live in the pantry or in the glass and metal cabinets (that are not yet actually hung on the wall). By the way, I am loving the sideboard, and it is going to work fantastic for what I want.
As you can see, my kitchen renovation is started-ish, but I’m betting it will be years before we put in the time and effort to get it finished. In the meantime, we’re collecting pieces for the kitchen, and the metal cabinets I found are a house for my found and upcycled jars. Freebies are my favorite. So, where do I get all these free jars? They’re from things we bought and used, and now I can reuse them for all kinds of stuff.
Classico Pasta Sauce is our favorite, and it comes in an intentionally reusable mason jar. We use our sauce, soak jars overnight, pull the label off, and then run them through the dishwasher. We use them for all kinds of stuff, nuts, etc. And honestly, I find having them out and visible makes for healthier snack choices for kids AND adults.
The other jars are from salsas, mushrooms, olives etc, and I LOVE the assorted sizes.
If you’re impatient to start your jar collection, you can get reasonable Mason Jar Sets on Amazon but, I recommend waiting and getting the free ones as you use food jars!
But, what about those GIANT jars, you ask? They’re my FAVORITE, which is why I have so many. What you can’t see is that they have a rubber seal on the lid that keeps them air tight and perfect for all your dried items in the pantry (dried beans, assorted noodles, quinoa, flour, dog biscuits, etc).
These are Anchor Hocking jars: the smaller one is the 1.5 Gallon Anchor Hocking Montana Jar and the larger ones are 2.5 Gallon Anchor Hocking Montana Glass Jar. I love these, hence the collection. I found them quite a bit cheaper on Amazon than any other sites which is awesome because the jar websites usually charge for shipping (which I don’t like doing because I’m spoiled by my Amazon Prime).
And, guess what, I’ve gotten almost all of them FREE because I use my Amazon card points!
Do you have any favorite jars for upcycling?
Thanks for hanging out and check out other DIY and project ideas on our blog. Cheers!
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