Saturday, December 02, 2006

Getting Organized - Who KNEW That Glass Jars Could Make Us So Happy??

Today at work, a lady came in with a fantastic idea that she told us she'd heard about on Martha Stewart - to use an oversized glass jar to store powdered laundry detergent in her laundry room. She also got this fantastic metal scoop to store inside, making it easy to get detergent out AND making her newly organized laundry room look fantastic at the same time.

Lately I've been using more and more Mason jars to store kitchen essentials such as sugar, flour, oats, flax seed, etc. I love using jars like this, because everything is so easily organized - it looks great, tidy, and you know at a glance what it is in the jar. (For items that look similar - like salt and sugar - make sure to label! Or else that'll be one awfully SALTY cake...)

But, these types of oversized jars can be used in all sorts of places. Besides just the laundry room, try using one with the same scoop for storing large bags of cat or dog food. They'd also be an easy way to store your kids' blocks, or small toys. And in the bathroom one of these oversized glass jars would look fantastic filled with plain white bars of soap, or rolled up face cloths.

I'm a huge advocate of using glass jars to store things - they make everything look so neat and tidy, and unlike other types of storage units, you'll always know just what it is that you stored inside them.

The cheapo in me says...if you know anyone who works in a restaurant, ask what they do with oversized glass jars when they've finished with them. They might even want to just give them away, or ask a very small amount for a bunch of them!

Otherwise...get yourself some amazing jars, by looking through my list:
___ My Favorite Jars ___
Here's the best of the best - the jars that will REALLY get you organized around the house...nice jars like this will also inspire you to keep working on getting more organized. I swear, even we Happy Slobs can DO this!
  1. The Biggie - 2 Gallon Jar with Tight-Sealing Lid -- This is exactly the jar the lady today at work purchased! She seemed thrilled...it would be ideal for her laundry storage idea OR to use for storing flour on the kitchen counter. 2 Gallon Jar with Cover

  2. 1/2 Gallon Old-fashioned Candy Jar - LOVE this idea. A few of these lined up on the kitchen counter would look so cute. It absolutely looks like old-fashioned candy jars from the candy store. Great for baking essentials - or hey - even office supplies in a home office! 1/2 Gallon Penny or Candy Jar with Cover
  3. Large Rosendahl Glass Kitchen Storage Jars - This is just stunning. Who knew a jar could look so creative?? For you Happy Slobs with astonishing senses of style...Rosendahl Glass Kitchen Storage Jar - Large




Do you have a great organizing tip to share? Please send it in to me & I'll post it here on the site at http://www.happyslob.com. I love hearing your ideas! Yes, even we slobbos CAN learn to love cleaning and organizing...well, at least we'll love the results!


2 comments:

MEME16 said...

great ideas for the jars- one thing to note is that for long storage of some foods is not the best idea- foods do go stale faster and especially if in the light- I now use mine for quick turnovers- I have had good luck with floor and sugar but not macaroni or rice- I was not using them fast enough- summer makes a difference too unless you are blessed with a cool pantry--huggles me,

giftsbydiana said...

I love using glass jars too.
I just adore the look of them and as an added bonus - mice and other critters can't chew through them ;)
Another + is that they are an environmentally sound alternative to plastic...
Diana