by Texas Homesteader ~
My baby sis knows that I reuse various containers. So she’s always checking with me before she sends something to the recycling bin.
The other day she held up an empty container of Reggano Parmesan cheese (like you sprinkle on pizza) that she’d bought from Aldi. She asked if I’d like to have the empty container.
RancherMan HATES that stuff so I’m never able to buy it. So I enthusiastically accepted her offer. She was a bit surprised at my excitement. But when I told her what I was gonna do with it…
Remember my battle cry: Use WhatCha Got!
You see, the Parmesan lid she had perfectly fits a standard canning jar opening, whether 1/2 pint, pint or even quart. Several brands of Parmesan cheese have the same sized lid but not all do. Be sure to check.
I’ve wanted to get my hands on one of those lids for awhile. But again, RancherMan hates dried Parmesan cheese so I’ve never bought any. Now that I’ve gotten this empty jar from my sis I’ll get started repurposing it.
First I filled a small 1/2-pint jelly jar with baking soda. Then I took that lid off the flimsy plastic container the Parmesan lid came on. Instead I screwed that super-functional lid onto my glass canning jar of baking soda.
But why? Well I’m so glad you asked…
Ease When Baking
This is perfect to use when I’m baking! The small jar takes up very little space in my spice cabinet. And one side of the lid opens wide, making for easy measurement when I’m cooking.
Plus the top of the lid levels off the contents in my tablespoon. The excess simply falls back into the jar. No mess!
Y’all know I’m a big fan of ‘No Mess’. LOL
Non-Toxic Dish Powder
The other side of the flip-top lid has sprinkle holes. I’ll use this side when I’m scrubbing my pots & pans.
I typically use baking soda for an environmentally-friendly option when a little extra cleaning uuuumph is needed. It’s cheap, it’s effective and it’s non toxic. And now with this handy lid it’s also super easy.
Nice, Heavy Sprinkling For BBQ Rub Seasoning
I’ve since been gifted 2 or 3 of these handy lids and use them around the house. For instance – RancherMan has a favored recipe for BBQ rub.
At first we mixed it up in a repurposed seasoning shaker. But those holes just weren’t large enough to sprinkle the seasoning as liberally as he liked.
But his face lit up when I suggested he mix it up in a small 1/2 pint canning jar because this Parmesan lid would fit it. And the size of the shaker holes is perfect for his seasoning mix! Oh how he loves this repurpose.
The holes are large enough for him to sprinkle his seasoning liberally on the meat being grilled. And if he wants to make the Beer Mop Sauce, the other side of the lid opens for measuring-spoon access. Yep, this is perfect alright.
And the cost was free, free, FREE!
So if you find yourself with an empty jar of Parmesan cheese, don’t toss that handy lid. It can simplify lots of things in your kitchen.
~TxH~
Other Kitchen Homestead Hacks
- Easy Reminder For Kitchen Stove
- Make Your Slow Cooker More Efficient
- No Cooking Fat Down The Drain
- Labeling A Glass Jar
- Cleaning A Narrow-Neck Jar
- Keep That Broccoli Fresh
- Don’t Waste Onion Trimmings
- Heat-Free Way to Peel Tomatoes
- Cleaner Vegetable Chopping
- Quick Baking Measurement Reminder System
- Easily Separating Cream From Milk
- Using Frozen Water Bottles In The Kitchen
- Don’t Waste It – Free Vegetable Broth
- Easier Deviled Eggs – No Mess!
- MYO Crispy Taco Shells CHEAP
- Tame Kitchen Appliance Cords
- Save Your Fingernails When Cleaning
- Paper Napkins In A Paperless Kitchen
- Use ALL Of Your Spray Cleaner
- Quick Coffee Stain Cleaning
- Repurposing Mesh Bags For Scrubbers
- Cute Windowsill Container For Herb Cuttings
- …and many MORE!
See All Homestead Hacks
Other Great Posts About Reducing Waste
- Reducing Plastic Is Easy
- I Love Mother Nature So I Recycle LESS!
- 7 Ways To Reduce Plastic In The Kitchen
- Ditch The Plastic! Using Glass In The Refrigerator
- Natural Air Freshener In Reusable Glass Jar
- Reducing Plastic In Personal Hygiene: Deodorant
- No More Plastic Razors – How To Use A Safety Razor
- Where Exactly Is ‘Away’?
- Replacing Plastic Wrap With Beeswax Wraps
- Eliminate Plastic Produce Bags
- Repurposing Empty Coffee Containers
- Denim Repurposed Into Fun Crafts
- 5 Zero-Waste Products We Love
- Easily Reduce Or Eliminate Junkmail
- Making Your Own Pourable Sugar Jar
- Paper Napkins In A Paperless Kitchen
- Repurposing A Parmesan Cheese Lid
- Zero-Waste Hygiene
- Natural Cleaning – Homemade Laundry Detergent
…and Many More Repurposing Posts
See All Eco-Friendly Posts
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These are also good to put Borax in for cleaning the bathtub or other items. I use borax a lot in cleaning.
I fill one up with ice melt and keep in my car so if it snows during the day a can spread it on the ground to my front door when I get home at night.
A clever repurpose Mary Beth. I love repurposing when it fills such a need – it’s a win/win. Good job! ~TxH~
I have to say that I feel like I’m in some kind of time warp. I’m just reading this in October of 2019 and all the comments are 2016. In any event, I have saved several of those sprinkle lids and use them but now I usually get a small brick of parm and grate it myself as needed. It still comes in dreaded plastic-y wrap which isn’t recyclable (sigh). I remember the little neighborhood store of my childhood with a glass fronted cooler case – in it were sandwich meats and cheeses, on top was a slicer. Bologna and cheese were all sliced to order and handed to Ma wrapped in paper.
LOL Candace. Yeah, this is one of my most popular post. I guess many people were the same as me & didn’t know about the Parmesan cheese lid fitting canning jars. I have my sis save all of them (since RancherMan hates Parmesan so I don’t buy it) and I have several in use in various parts of the house for different things. I love the neighborhood store you described. Although I still see glass-front cases and large slicers in various locations around us, those items are sliced up & handed to us in a plastic bag now. 🙁 I have one of those large slicers though, and I purchased a cheese press and am hoping to make my own cheese. ~TxH~
great idea
great idea for a small sized parm container. we buy the huge ones from sam’s club. i haven’t repurposed any yet, but was thinking they might be great for holding spaghetti or angel hair. hummmm. thanks for getting me thinking!
Great post! Thank you for sharing it on our Simple Homestead Blog Hop, as one of the co-hosts I will be featuring your post this week! Look forward to seeing what you’ll be sharing this week!
– Nancy ( Nancy On The Home Front )
Thanks for the inspiration. I made my own baking soda container and shared it on my blog this week. I get so many good ideas from your blog. – Margy
I keep all sorts of empty containers and I may just have one of those. I hadn’t thought to use it that way, but it makes perfect sense! I keep empty herb containers to put my own in, too.
I keep those little spice bottles, but most of mine are plastic. I’m working on saving small glass bottles for my herbs. ~TxH~
Great re-purposing idea!
I use mine for homemade bathroom cleaner. 🙂 Stopping by from This is How We Roll Thursday hop.
Lids are great to put on glass jars that is filled with them candy sprinkles to sprinkle on ice cream, cupcakes, etc. One of my favorite uses :}
Use as Powdered Sugar mason jar dispenser as well as a cornstarch dispenser.
Keeping containers full of baking soda (I buy large bag of baking soda @ Sam’s Club) for at my kitchen sink and one in each of our bathrooms as well as my laundry room. It does an excellent job of cleaning, deodorizing and polishing my stainless steel sink and it’s cheap and non-toxic.
The containers are also great for storing craft supplies in, buttons, small beads, glitter, paper clips, etc.
Thing to do is repurpose and reuse as the Famous Tammy Quote: “Use WhatCha Got! “
Simple but very effective way to re-purpose this container. I like it and your sister …well I too think see might not you the next one.
Pinned it to my .. Discover Repurposing Board on Pinterest… @
https://www.pinterest.com/my4re1/discover-repurposing/
Greg
Awesome Greg, thanks for the pin! ~TMH~
I have been using those lids and jars for some time now. They work great with cinnamon and sugar to do toast and your cinnamon apple slices also an extra lid for leftovers on jars.
I buy sodioum bicarbonate by the 50 pound bag at the feed store to use in laundry and my household mixes , it keeps in a bucket just fine. Love your website. Happy Holidays!
Humm…. Never thought about the feed store for such bulk. I’ll be sure to check it out – thanks for the tip, Teresa! ~TMH~
Great minds think alike- I did the same thing too! Great for scrubbing, or deodorizing carpets (& catboxes)
🙂 Indeed, Laurinda! ~TMH~
I just saved two after reading a post on another blog. I love to repurpose items now that I’m living away from town. Everything I take to our cabin home either has to get repurposed or hauled back to town for recycling or disposal. It’s a lot easier and more fun to find other uses. – Margy
Isn’t it funny how your mindset changes when you move away from town, Margy? It sure had an effect on us! ~TMH~
I did the same thing! I buy a big bag of baking soda from Costco and then fill my jar as I need to. Had to get used to screwing on the lid backwards though. I don’t know if thats true with all these lids or just the one I used. It’s very handy though!
Interesting, Pam. I don’t think mine screwed on differently. Wonder what the difference is? ~TxH~