by Texas Homesteader ~
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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…
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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 scrub power is needed. It’s cheap, it’s effective and it’s non toxic. And now with this handy lid it’s also super easy to use.
Simple, Natural Cleaning
As a matter of fact, I use baking soda for all manner of cleaning. To be honest I’ve really never understood why the marketing gurus have convinced us that each individual surface needs a different cleaner.
I always prefer to use simple non-toxic cleaners in our home. And heck if you can EAT your cleaner (ie: baking soda) I figure that’s as non-toxic as it gets!
Plus, you know, baking soda is cheap, y’all.
So I have a jar of baking soda in my cleaning supplies too. The shaker top makes it easy to shake this extra scrubbing powder onto surfaces. And quicker & easier chores is my wheelhouse.
Toilets? Yea. bathtubs? You bet. Just about anywhere a little extra ooomph is needed I’m using this shaker jar of baking soda.
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 a batch of his favorite 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!
Homemade Laundry Detergent Jar
I’ve made my own homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent for over 10 years now. The beauty of it is that it only requires about 1-2 Tablespoons of detergent per load to clean our clothes.
I make up large batches at a time and then store the bulk of it in Repurposed Coffee Cans. But I keep a smaller jar within easy reach of my washing machine. I needed an easy way to be able to access and measure out 1-2 Tablespoons at a time though.
It’s these handy lids to the rescue! I grab an unused glass canning jar & screw one of these repurposed parmesan cheese lids on top and I have an easy flip-top access to my laundry detergent.
I simply slide my tablespoon into the powder and drag it along the inside of the lid to level it off and allow the excess detergent fall back into the jar. Then BOOM! I’m left with 1 level tablespoon measurement!
Check The Lid
Most of the parmesan cheese containers I’ve seen have this same sized lid. But not all do.
I asked my sister what brand she used and she said she buys her parmesan cheese at Aldi’s. The brand name she buys is Reggano.
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.
If not don’t worry, you can still buy those handy canning jar-sized *Shaker Lids On Amazon and I’ve also seen *Shaker Lids at WalMart online as well.
~TxH~
Other Kitchen Hacks
- Paper Napkins In A Paperless Kitchen
- 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
- Sneaking Healthy Vegetables Into Their Diet
- Don’t Waste Onion Trimmings
- What Do The Dates On Food Packages Actually Mean?
- Heat-Free Way to Peel Tomatoes
- Peel A Whole Head Of Garlic Cloves In Seconds
- Cleaner Vegetable Chopping
- Quick Baking Measurement Reminder System
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- 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
- Expand Your Muffin Tin Capacity With Canning-Jar Rings
- Use ALL Of Your Spray Cleaner
- Quick Coffee Stain Cleaning
- Repurposing Mesh Bags For Scrubbers
- Cute Windowsill Container For Herb Cuttings
- Less Mess When Measuring Honey
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- Easily Opening Those Stubborn Jars
- Instant Pot Boiled Eggs WITHOUT The Shells
- Saute & Freeze Onions For Kitchen Convenience
- Roasting Peppers Quickly On Gas Stove Top
- …and many MORE!
See All Homestead Hacks
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Reducing Household Waste
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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~
I just use the plastic, food safe, bottle. Great for homemade meat rub.
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
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!
Great minds think alike- I did the same thing too! Great for scrubbing, or deodorizing carpets (& catboxes)
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
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!