DIY: Containers

We've been trying to reuse things as much as possible. You know, reduce our footprint, keep things out of landfills, be responsible citizens of the world, all that. So we've been recycling aluminum and plastic. We re-purpose glass jars (seen here). And we've come up with a way to reuse the metal containers that some of our food comes in. We buy Pepperidge Farm Pirouettes. I like to eat them with my tea at night. And they come in these little metal canisters that seem too useful to just throw away or send off for recycling. So we decided to see if we could put them to use.

What we did was actually really simple -- sprayed it with a primer (so the paint would coat evenly without cracking), sprayed it with a few coats of paint, and taped off and painted the top with blackboard paint.

So now we've got this totally cool little canister taking up space on a shelf. Right now it's holding our tea bags but it won't be hard to change that up later on down the road. And we've got a few more waiting in the wings.

Not ground breaking or anything, we know. But any way to take something old and make it new again gets a thumbs up in our book.

Mason Jar DIY

Today I bring you a great way to reuse mason jars or any jars, really. Spaghetti sauce, jam, pickles, etc.
It's good for the environment and it helps keep you organized. We used ours to hold A's lunch utensils but you can use them for anything -- kitchen storage, craft storage, closet storage, garage storage, sewing storage (I use old spice bottles to hold buttons, needles, pins, etc).

What you'll need:

• glass jar with lid, cleaned and label removed
• sandpaper
• chalkboard spray paint
• newspaper
• chalk

This is really easy to do. Just sand the lid down so its a little rough (this will help prevent the paint from chipping) and wash and dry it. Then spread out the newspaper in an open area with plenty of air circulation (we like to do this part outside).

Lay the lid on the newspaper and spray on one to two light coats, overlapping slightly. You should wait a minute or two between each coat. After an hour or so it will be dry enough to handle but wait a full 24 hours before attempting any writing. Then just rub the whole surface with the side of a piece of chalk, erase, and you're ready to go.

I've been saving up some huge pickle jars to use this project on. I'm thinking they'll make great containers for pasta, flour, sugar, etc.