Use What You Have

I’m still in Lagos having an incredible week with these lovely and inspiring ladies. I’ll report back next week about the trip in its entirety. In the meantime, I’ll tell you about one of my attempts to loosen the grip of my ziplock bag addiction.

I love glassware, especially the super thin and fragile kind. In the past, my heart has broken every time a glass was dropped. I come from a family who still has wine glasses from over 30 years ago, so I recognize that I was taught to believe glasses lasted forever. My husband comes from the idea that glasses break, so there’s no attachment for him.

My mother-in-law Jocelynn and I have had a tradition of making strawberry jelly for years. Since Ross loves it on top of his ice cream, we ended up having a bunch of mason jars around the house. One day I decided, even though they don’t have the thin lip that I prefer, that these were going to be our new drinking glasses. These glasses have broken as well, but I don’t feel quite as sad when they do.

Several years ago, I came across these great BPA free lids which I love because they don’t rust out like the normal metal tops do. I love that I can write on the lids to store things as well. Now my glassware doubles as food storage. This doesn’t completely solve all of my ziplock needs, but it greatly reduces the amount that I would normally use.

Mason jars have had a renaissance for those who are looking to live without plastic for many years and now there are quite a few additions to the variety of lids and accessories available. There are lids with silicone straws for kids, lids to create soap dispensers, and silicone sleeves to protect your glass if you take your iced coffee to go.

Let me know in the comments below, is there anything in your home that you can create another use for?