My Love Affair.

So it is fathers day and I just spent 3 hours with....... wait for it...... Canning Jars. What you might ask, did I read that correctly? Yes I said Canning jars. They are good for so many reasons.  The funny thing is I have never canned in the traditional sense. I have a long term goal of not using plastic for food (except the plastic lids) and reducing waste by not using baggies and Tupperware that don't last very long.
Now I am going to give you a canning jar tutorial.

1. Use them instead of Tupperware. They are cheaper, last longer, and are nicer to the earth. They won't leach plastic into your food and they can be put into the microwave or oven. I often freeze leftovers and when I am ready to use them I take them out in the morning and an hour or so before dinner I put the whole jar in the oven on warm and I have a hot meal.

Pint, Quart, 1/2 gallon.

2. They are great for storage. I store all my dry goods in them. They keep food fresh longer and there are sized for all of your needs.

3. They make great drinking glasses.

4. They are great for smoothies and large drinks. Drill a whole in a plastic lid and you have a great glass.
5. You can get plastic lids that are all once piece. These are nice for the things you use everyday. It is just easier to open instead of the ring and lid that are separate. They don't seal quite as well, so for long term storage I recommend the metal lids.  You can write in sharpie on any of the lids and then scrub it off later or print cute labels if they are out in the open.
6. There are 2 types of jars. Wide Mouth and Traditional. All jars come with the wide mouth version now. The 1/2 gallon jars only come wide mouth now. If you are starting from scratch I suggest only using wide mouth in all of your jars. They are easier to clean and you will only need to have one size lid for all of your jars.

Wide Mouth, Regular Mouth

7. I store my Homeade Deoderant, Toothpaste, and Lotion in them. 

8. They make great craft/toy organizers. Think Buttons/Legos

Get yourself a funnel. It fits into the mouth of any size canning jar and keeps things from spilling. This is one of the most used items in my home. I use it when pouring smoothies in the morning, when storing leftovers, when pouring dry goods that I buy in bulk. For the $2 that it costs it is very worth it. 

OK Now you are thinking they are glass and will break easily. Actually they are very sturdy. The are more likely to break when empty than when full. 

I have a dream of a Wine Rack type unit that will store all of my jars lids facing out. This will store a lot of jars in a small vertical space and make them even easier to use. I will of course have cute labels to put on the lids. 

If you want jars but don't have spare change, send out an email to your church, school, or any other organization you belong to. I did this and got 150 jar out of it in all sizes. 

If you are like my friend Katie and everything needs to be white go with the plastic lids. If you are like my friend Jeannie and don't want any design on your jars special order them online. If not and plain jars are right for you they sell them just about everywhere, you probably have just never noticed them before. Here in Goleta the best price and selection is at OSH.