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The Junk Parlor

Repurposing Old Jars and Bottles

You can find cool bottles and jars thrifting and at flea markets, but maybe you want them to be functional and not just for decor! Let me give you a few ideas for repurposing old jars and bottles.

I love the way the sun shines through old colored bottles and jars. Of course I am most attracted to greens and blues. Sometimes you want a way to actually use the old things you find instead of just having them out on display collecting dust. There are so many ways to repurpose bottles and jars to make them functional. I’m just going to share a few ways that I repurpose them!

Jar soap dispenser in front of a towel hanging out of an enamel pitcher

Old Jars as Soap Dispensers

The first way I ever repurposed jars was as soap dispensers. I was tired of throwing away little plastic pump soap dispensers. And when I wasn’t putting used plastic pumps in recycling, I was refilling them with a big bulk container of soap. An old mason quart jar holds a lot more soap then a little plastic dispenser, so we made the switch. The jars look nicer and I didn’t have to refill them as frequently!

View of one mason jar being repurposed into a soap dispenser and another with an old galvanized lid
View of one mason jar being repurposed into a soap dispenser and another with an old galvanized lid
Birds eye view of a new dispenser lid and an antique jar lid

I bought some new canning lids with built-in pumps. All that had to be done was to screw them on. I shared with my followers my purchase at the time. I can remember one follower commenting how hers got rusty and crusty. It took mine about 4 years of heavy use to start getting rusty.

This time when I picked jar lids with pumps I picked a style that is plastic but looks bronze/black. I did that so that I wouldn’t have to worry about rust. It was cheaper to buy the pumps in bulk, so that’s what I did.

After the extras sat around for awhile, I decided I should just steal the pump portion from the jar lid. I had also heard that you could salvage old pumps from your new bottles. This pump is from a conditioner bottle that I had. So, recycle the plastic bottle your lotion, and shampoos come in, but wash up and save the pumps.

Push dispenser from an old conditioner

This pump will not fit any of the bottles I currently have, but that doesn’t mean it won’t fit a future bottle!

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Adding a Pump to Your Old Bottles

I scored a ton of little green glass pop bottles on a pick. I have sold probably half of them, but again I wanted to find a use for them. I took the pumps I had and amazingly they fit! Now, they are not a perfect fit, but they will certainly work. If yours do not marry nicely with bottles that you have, then you have a couple options.

Rows of green bottles
A push dispenser laying beside a lid

First, you can add tape to the pump to make a tighter fit in the neck of the bottle. Depending on the gap, foil or saran wrap might work too! Another thing you can do under the rim of the pump is to add just a drop of hot glue to a couple sides. Hot glue really isn’t very long term and can’t handle a lot of pressure. So, when it is time to refill your bottle, you just pull and twist and the hot glue will break loose.

Picking the Right Fit

Green bottles, 2 have different styles of spouts on them
Colorful spout and a green bottle
3 bottles with three different spouts

All bottles will be different sizes and have different proportions. Keep your eyes out while thrifting and any time you are ready to recycle an old pump bottle. That way you will have a variety of spouts to pick from so you can pick the right size. I grabbed some colorful spouts, but the nice thing about THESE is that they go with anything.

Where to Put Your Repurposed Jars & Bottles

Jars with pumps can be used anywhere you need soap! This could be hand soap in the kitchen and bathroom. Or even your Dawn dish soap at the kitchen or laundry room. Lotion, hand sanitizer, shampoo and conditioner, all of those products can be put in a cute jar!

Repurposed wine bottle

Pour spouts and dispensers can be at your home bar with wine or liquor in them. Have them in the kitchen to pour your oils and vinegars. You can even use a spout like these for your Dawn dish soap! The idea is to make your every day items look pretty!

I’ve even used decanters for my liquid laundry soap!

More Repurposing

Like to repurpose too? Check out this project!

Watch Me Share On Hello Iowa

I spent the morning sharing these ideas on Hello Iowa with Megan Reuther! Watch it HERE.

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Hi, I’m Brooke. Welcome to The Junk Parlor.

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