I saved a Litehouse dill weed bottle and now I'm using it to store Q-tips!!!

[Mister Obvious]

https://imgur.com/a/cUvzYYc

Save ALL your herb bottles. Don't save the plastic spice containers, like garlic or onion powder and stuff like that, it's too fragrant and basically ruins the bottle.

They can be repurposed either for more spices/herbs and other mixtures or for things like cotton swabs!

[Guest]

This is my new wife from moldova and we are try to make baby this evening

https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/girl-lav...063521.jpg

[user328]

That's such a cute little bottle.

I just chucked a basil bottle in the drawer without even washing it. Nothing bad could ever come of basil fragrance.

[Mister Obvious]

This is my new wife from moldova and we are try to make baby this evening

https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/girl-lav...063521.jpg

*just smiles and nods*

[Mister Obvious]

That's such a cute little bottle.

I just chucked a basil bottle in the drawer without even washing it. Nothing bad could ever come of basil fragrance.

No reason to wash the herb bottles before storing them! My process is to store them unwashed, and then as needed, I get them out and wash them and allow a few days to dry thoroughly before I put them to whatever new use they're gonna serve!

[user328]

Let's talk about spice racks.

I got tired of searching pantry and cabinets every time I needed something, so I got me a big honkin' spice rack. This one is a four-tier affair with rather deep shelves. I can't find the exact one on Amazon at the moment. It's the same style as this one, except it has four shelves, and the shelves are larger.

https://www.amazon.com/SWOMMOLY-Mount-St...08F9PSJ82/

This unit attaches to the wall with two or four screws per shelf - I forget which - so it's very sturdy. I've mounted it with plenty of clearance between the top shelf and the bottom of the upper kitchen cabinet next to the stove, with the bottom of the spice rack resting on top of the back splash board. The sugar bowl and butter tray fit neatly on the countertop under the bottom shelf of the spice rack. I'll post a pic later if I remember to.

Upon this rack, I've arranged things thusly:

Top Shelf: Tall Containers

bread crumbs, standard round box
soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
olive oil
hot sauce
regular and butter flavored pan sprays
honey bear

Second Shelf:

salt
pepper
garlic and onion powder
other commonly used spices

Third Shelf:

less commonly used spices
vanilla extract
toothpicks in plastic dispenser
bouillon cubes in standard jar

Bottom Shelf: Larger Containers

baking powder and corn starch in standard round boxes
dehydrated onions
Old Bay
Tony Chachere's Cajun seasoning
garlic in small Mason jar

There are probably other things on there that I've forgotten, but the point is that I can now find anything I need at a glance. Everything is at an appropriate height to reach out and grab it.

I wish I had some of those cute little bottles like MO posted in the OP to store my garlic and ginger root in, as the Mason jar is a tight squeeze on the bottom shelf.

[Mister Obvious]

Have I ever discussed saving parmesan cheese containers??

The lids fit on Mason jars, so at the very least they are a wonderful save and usually very durable.

But I save the whole container, and for example, I am using one as a sugar shaker that I keep beside the coffee pot.

I love saving these items...

Typically I favor glass above any plastic containers, but with the parm cheese containers, they are so easy to clean out and there's no smell you have to soak out with vinegar or anything of the sort.

I also delight in keeping the containers that deli meats come in. I've probably covered that already... but it's a shame to throw any of those away.

I use them as plates for my nightly snack.

I never microwave those plastic containers, but you could... just don't reuse them and don't overcook whatever you're putting in them.

They don't last forever even when they are used properly.

Remember if you store anything like pasta sauce in them, that will shorten their lifespans.

[Mister Obvious]

I wish I had some of those cute little bottles like MO posted in the OP to store my garlic and ginger root in, as the Mason jar is a tight squeeze on the bottom shelf.

I've been loving utilizing them for my q-tips. They work like a dream, you can just carefully and with a dry hand shake three or four q-tips to the top and grab the one you want being careful not to touch the others too much. It's not perfectly sanitary, but it's better than having them in those big long boxes that take up so much room.

I have been using a glass spice bottle to store my toothbrushes in for about a year.

These glass bottles are absolute treasures... I love them so much.

[Mister Obvious]

I will say that cleaning them is tricky...

I have lot of miniature pure cotton cloths (handkerchiefs) that I use for this purpose.

I will shove one into the jar and then fill it with a bit of hot water and put the lid on, then shake it a lot. Up and down motions, and get it going in a circular motion too. It works well.

If it's a tougher job, I cut a square of scouring pad small enough to fit in the bottle, and then I use that in the same way as the rag. Shake it all about.

Then I let it sit in hot soapy water with the lid on, and I turn it upside down, then right side up a while later after changing the water with more hot.

Maybe it's a little obsessive, but saving these jars and keeping them clean are one of those foundational things in life that I feel we lost somewhere along the way with all the consumer culture of modern society.

[Mister Obvious]

It's also effective to take a butter knife (I actually use a metal chopstick but I'm weird) and push the scouring pad around if you need extra force to clean the inside.

I just love getting those little jars squeaky clean.

[Mister Obvious]

Sigh... I wish I had some laundry to do today, but there isn't any.

I wish I could do everybody's laundry here!!!

[Mister Obvious]

I would fold it so lovingly.

[user328]

Some of the store brand spices come in these lovely square glass jars with metal lids. I transferred my garlic cloves from the mason jar into one of them.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-O...z/50597546

[Mister Obvious]

Yeah those are my secret favorite...

Those metal lids...

Fuuuhuhuhuhrrrk...

[Mister Obvious]

Back in the day when I smoked the wacky tobaccy, I used one of those jars to put out my joints...

You just drop it in and screw on the lid, it goes out pretty much immediately.

Kentucky needs to get their shit together and legalize so I can have a date with Mary Jane!?