Chef reveals brilliant hack using old milk cartons: 'Smart'

Unless you collect sugar packets and keep them on hand, you likely have to pull out an entire bag of sugar every time you need just a small amount.

However, one TikTok user discovered a clever hack to avoid doing this that recycles products you already have in your home.

The scoop

TikToker Hello Happy Days (@hellohappydaysco) posted a video sharing how they recycle and turn Mason jars into pourable storage containers.

@hellohappydaysco Save your milk or juice carton tops and recycle into storage containers! 👍🏼😊 Fo ll ow for more fun ideas #kitchenhacks #kitchentips ♬ THIS 10 OUT OF 1010 - GOAT THAM

"Save your milk or juice carton tops and recycle into storage containers!" they explained in the caption.

The video demonstrated the hack, with Hello Happy Days taking a jar lid from a Mason jar (with the flat part removed) and placing it around the part of the milk carton where the spout is located. They then cut out the part to fit the jar lid, placed the spout inside the lid, and placed the jar lid back on a Mason jar full of sugar. Finally, they demonstrated how well the newly upcycled jar poured sugar.

As long as you have a Mason jar and some kind of carton, this hack will take mere minutes and enable you to store pourable items easily. 

How it's helping

You could simply go out and purchase a dispenser of some kind for your sugar and similar items, but with this hack, you'll be saving not only the time you would've spent online or at a store searching for a dispenser but also the few dollars the dispenser would have cost you. In a time when every dollar counts, saving even a bit of money by recycling products already in your home is beneficial. 

Plus, with a readily available dispenser like this, you'll save time by not having to pull out an entire bag of sugar every time you need it. You'll also save counter or shelf space by moving your sugar from its original large bag and into a smaller item.

Additionally, with this hack, you're saving more waste from landing in already overcrowded landfills, where it will languish until it decomposes and releases more heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere. Recycling already used products also helps protect our oceans and marine life, as trash can often end up in our waterways. 

What everyone's saying

While not everyone got the hack, those who did were delighted by the original poster's ingenuity. 

Which of these factors would most effectively motivate you to recycle old clothes and electronics? Giving me money back 💰 Letting me trade for new stuff 👕 Making it as easy as possible ⚡ Keeping my stuff out of landfills 🗑️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"This [is] so cute. I have … these jars but could never figure out how to make [their] own lids. Thank you for your brilliant idea," one commenter wrote. 

Another user simply commented, "Smart."

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