For most of us, empty glass jars are just clutter or something to toss in the recycling bin and forget about. But one TikTok creator has turned them into a low-cost travel hack that also cuts down on waste.
Instead of spending money on miniature bottles or hauling bulky containers, she packs what she needs in jars that would otherwise sit in a cupboard.
The scoop
The idea comes from a video by Homesteading in the Bronx (@homesteadinginthebronx), who posted a video showing the many ways she reuses jars around the house and on the go. In the clip, she fills small jars with beauty products for travel and uses larger ones to portion out detergent for trips to the laundromat.
@homesteadinginthebronx What's your favorite way to reuse a glass jar? 🫙Bc Yall know I love a way to stay low waste!!! Here's a little list of other ways I reuse and repurpose the jars that come into my kitchen - ♻️ Drinking Cups ♻️ Reusing them as canning Jars (always with new lids!) ♻️ For only bringing the correct amount of detergent to the laundromat without hauling the whole jug ♻️ Pencil/Pen Holders on my desk ♻️ Containers for plant propagation ♻️ and of course for making my own DIY travel sizes for my beauty products!!! 🫙🫙🫙🫙🫙 #repurposingjars #reuserecycle #reuseglassjars #glassjarupcycle #lowwasteliving #lowwastekitchen #lowwastetips #usewhatyouhave #nobuy #nobuyorganizing ♬ Girls - The Dare
"Y'all know I love a way to stay low waste!!!" she wrote in the caption, before listing other ways jars have become part of her routine.
Small jars become perfect travel-size containers for shampoo or lotion. Others can double as drinking glasses, pencil cups, or even propagation vessels for plants. With new lids, they can even return to the pantry as canning jars.
How it's helping
The clearest upside for the consumer is financial. Travel-size toiletries and storage containers add up quickly, especially if you're buying them often.
Reusing jars keeps that money in your pocket and frees up space at home. It's about finding value in what you already own, whether that's trading in clothes for store credit or making use of old electronics instead of throwing them out.
On the environmental side, the payoff is just as clear. Reusing a container extends the life of that particular glass, which might otherwise end up in a landfill, and helps cut demand for new packaging.
With landfill space shrinking and ocean pollution worsening, small shifts like this add up. And if you're still figuring out what can be recycled and what can't, it's worth checking out what can and cannot be recycled.
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What everyone's saying
The response on TikTok was overwhelmingly positive.
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Which of these factors would most effectively motivate you to recycle old clothes and electronics?
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Giving me money back 💰 "I am so obsessed," one commenter wrote, while another noted that the video had landed exactly where it was supposed to, simply stating, "intended audience reached."
The takeaway is simple: You don't need to buy more to get organized. Sometimes, the best travel gear is already sitting in your kitchen cabinet.
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