6 Ways to Recycle Your Empty Candle Jars

After you've enjoyed your candle, the fun isn't over! Here are 6 of our favorite ways to recycle empty candle jars. 

1. Recycle the jar. This option is the most straight forward and hopefully what you're already doing. Just drop the clean jar straight into your glass specific recycling bin, and the lid in your metal recycling bin. Let your city's recycling center do the rest! 

2. Organize your shelves. Use clean jars to organize your personal odds and ends like push pins, paper clips, elastics, or bobby pins. In your kitchen, use the jars to store homemade spice mixes or our favorite homemade caramel coffee syrup (you can switch out the corn syrup for honey)!

3. Make a terrarium. Tiny terrariums make a great little gift and always brighten up a desk or work area. Use gravel, dirt, some moss, and miniature-sized succulents to create your own mini terrarium. See this how-to article for helpful tips. 

4. Pack your lunch. Our jars are the perfect size for a lunch box. Pack your salad dressing, a cup of soup, or a side dish in our tight sealing jars. The size is also perfect for a small crunchy snack like trail mix, mixed nuts, or granola. 

5. Drink up. Just like the popular mason jar trend, use your empty jars as drinking glasses. We think they make the perfect juice glass! The tight sealing lid also makes these great for a drink on the go.

6. Sprout herbs. Soft-stemmed and woody herbs like mint, basil, oregano, rosemary, sage, and thyme all sprout well in water! Fill an empty jar with 1 1/2 - 2" of fresh water. Take a fresh stem of herbs, remove any leaves from 2-3 inches of the stem so the water doesn't touch the stem, and place it in the jar. Change the water every day or so to prevent anything from growing on the water's surface. After a week or so, you should start to see little roots!

How do you use your empty jars? Tag is un a picture of your favorite reuse method on Facebook or Instagram at @oateshomeco.