Any ideas for pretty bottles to hold household supplies?

[jlutgendorf]

Our house is very tiny. So I like for everything in it to be beautiful AND functional.

Right now I'm looking for a container for baking powder (is that right, i get it and baking soda confused, whichever is used for cleaning). The box isn't pretty so I'd like to put it in something nicer.

I'd also like to get some nice looking spray bottles to use instead the brandified ones. Any ideas?

I'd also be interested in ideas for storing dry food goods like beans, peas, couscous, flour, etc. Something that's pretty and ant proof (cause we have a lot of ants!).

And ideas on what I should look for and where I can find such things?

Thanks!

~Julia

[Scribe]

I store beans and grains and the like in thrifted glass jars (you can kind of see them here). I like how it looks--it highlights the natural appeal of the foods. As for cleaning agents, I just use a plain plastic spray bottle from dollar store for each different one, and a sugar shaker type thing for baking powder.

[Om Girl]

I use canning jars to store dry goods. They're easy to find and relatively inexpensive. Plus they have a shabby chic appeal to them!

For dishwashing liquid use a pretty wine bottle (soak the label off)

[jlutgendorf]

Thanks for the photos and ideas!

Grace, do you find the sugar shaker has big enough holes? And do you mean like the older kind of sugar shakers, made from glass? I was looking at some neat ones on ebay but couldn't tell how big the holes were.

Thanks!

~Julia

[TeaghansMama]

i use the kind of jars with holes in the lid like from a pizza place for parm cheese for my cleaning supply baking soda.
i find them at thrift stores for about .49

i have a few of them, one upstairs, one downstairs, and then a few in the kitchen for cornmeal and powdered sugar

hth!

[texaspeach]

Originally Posted by TeaghansMama

i use the kind of jars with holes in the lid like from a pizza place for parm cheese for my cleaning supply baking soda.
i find them at thrift stores for about .49

i have a few of them, one upstairs, one downstairs, and then a few in the kitchen for cornmeal and powdered sugar

hth!

that's what I use too. you can find them new at restaurant supply stores inexpensively too.

as for spray bottles, bed bath and beyond has label-free plastic spray bottles. I have some that have graduated markings for things that need to be mixed in a ratio (ie 1:32 dilution or what have you), but they're pretty ugly.

[AngelBee]

:

[Mallori]

I use canning jars to store dry goods. They're easy to find and relatively inexpensive. Plus they have a shabby chic appeal to them!

Ditto.

[texmati]

[quote=Om Girl;11536096]I use canning jars to store dry goods. They're easy to find and relatively inexpensive. Plus they have a shabby chic appeal to them!
[quote]

Do ya'll find that teh canning jar's aren't large enough?

I would lovelovelove to get some new jars for our grains... but can't seem to find large enough ones that aren't 15 dollars apeice.

I'd need about 10, so 15 dollars is cost prohibative.

OP, I love your idea about having only good looking and functional stuff in the house!

[jlutgendorf]

[QUOTE=aquarian;11552888][quote=Om Girl;11536096]I use canning jars to store dry goods. They're easy to find and relatively inexpensive. Plus they have a shabby chic appeal to them!

Do ya'll find that teh canning jar's aren't large enough?

I would lovelovelove to get some new jars for our grains... but can't seem to find large enough ones that aren't 15 dollars apeice.

I'd need about 10, so 15 dollars is cost prohibative.

OP, I love your idea about having only good looking and functional stuff in the house!

Thanks! with 800 sq ft and only 3 tiny closets (about the size for one person to stand inside) and 1 (one!) kitchen drawer, I don't have room for pretty and useless. and functional but ugly seems sad as well

and yes, where does one find canning jars? Are these the kind with screw on lids or the kind with the rubber seal and the metal flippy part (that's a technical term there!).

I would also need around 10+.

Julia

[*stargazer*]

[QUOTE=aquarian;11552888]

Originally Posted by Om Girl

I would lovelovelove to get some new jars for our grains... but can't seem to find large enough ones that aren't 15 dollars apeice.

I'd need about 10, so 15 dollars is cost prohibative.

That was my challenge as well- I could never find big enough canisters! Even at thrift stores, the biggest I found was a half-gallon jar, and there was only one. I ended up ordering mine from http://www.azurestandard.com/product.php?id=NF018 and IIRC a 4-pack was around $12, lids were a few dollars more but it came to around $15 total.

I've found that the gallon jars each fit about 5lbs of dry goods- perfect for standard bags of flour and sugar. I use the smaller canning jars for storing 'smaller' ingredients (spices, baking soda, etc.) and use plastic screw-on caps for them- I was finding the metal ones would be hard to open if it had been a while... HTH!

[Scribe]

Another way to get those would be to ask a restaurant or deli. Pickles, mayo, and other bulk staples come in those types of jars, and you might be able to score some for free.

[Three~Little~Birds]

I like these:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50081452

They come in 3 sizes.

[Mallori]

Yep, I have gallon jars. I put popcorn in them, noodles, corn meal, etc. I have a food saver jar sealer as well, so I fill them up, seal them, and store them in the pantry. I will be putting up some open shelving in my kitchen this weekend when I get done cutting/sanding/finishing the boards. I love the look of food in canning jars. The colors and textures....if you're fancy you can tie ribbons around them. I also have about a half dozen blue gallon size jars, and they are pretty.

[jlutgendorf]

Thanks for the links! Those Ikea ones are pretty!

That's a good idea Grace, we're pretty friendly with a few local restaurants here.

I would love to find some things like this (if they were big enough):
http://www.antiquemystique.com/pages/6310_jpg.htm
http://www.cowtowncollectibles.com/images/MasonJars.jpg

~Julia

[Scribe]

I don't know if this is true or not, but I've been told you need to be careful w/ storing food in those old colored glass jars, as some of them contain lead.

[jlutgendorf]

Good to know! I'll look into that more.

~Julia

[Serendipity]

i just bought some plastic spray bottles from the beauty supply store for putting my baking soda/vinegar/dr. bronners cleaning concoctions in. they don't have any words on them and they come in different colors. i wouldn't say they are pretty, but better than the big ugly white ones.

i buy the big 12lb bag of baking soda from costco and dump it into a giant glass jar with a wooden lid i got from goodwill. i leave a 1/4 measuring scoop in it for doing laundry. i'd like to find a big glass pitcher with a lid on it for the big jug of vinegar i buy too but no luck yet.

i'm still trying to figure out the cannister thing for bulk food...i've found a few nice glass ones at goodwill and kind of dig the mis-matched look but most of them aren't big enough. i thought about buying bigger ones and decoupaging the outside with tissue paper or something.

[ParisApril]

My MIL just brought me some big pickle jars that look like this http://www.azurestandard.com/product.php?id=NF018 but say bicks on the lid. She got them from the retirement home she works at. The only challenge has been getting the pickle smell out I dislike pickles.

[beansricerevolt]

Originally Posted by mamatotwo

I like these:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50081452

They come in 3 sizes.

Those are nice!



I usually find jars at thrift stores too. Canning jars are not big enough for us either.

I also have aluminum spray bottles for our cleaning supplies. I found them at CVS but I know you can find big ones some where on the internet.