I’ve been on an organizing kick for several weeks (something about spring finally starting to appear…albeit slowly…makes me want to clean house and get rid of clutter). We’re also getting ready to start a small remodel project in our basement that includes a finished space for my craft supplies and projects. Thinking about how to make the space functional is getting me excited to get the project underway (updates to come!).

One of my organizing strategies includes the use of jars for storage. I have an abundance of jars and seeing them in use makes me happy, especially the older jars that I won’t necessarily use for canning.
In the blue jar pictured, I store my jute twine. I use twine often enough that it was becoming a pain to deal with it rolling off the table when tying a package or the cat trying to eat the roll of twine as it sat on my work table.

In the two other larger jars I have knitting yarn. Again, when knitting, balls of yarn often get in the way or roll off my lap while I’m working on a project. The jar keeps the yarn in check while allowing the ball to unravel freely.

The last jar holds matches that will become part of our barbecue set in the summer. It seems we always search for matches when we’re getting the grill ready. I added sandpaper to the top of the lid for easy striking.

To make jar holders, simply drill a hole in the top of a canning lid (a spent canning lid is perfect for this as they can't be reused) and file the edges of the hole so it doesn’t snag on the jute, yarn (this step is espectially important for the yarn jars), or your fingers. The hole in the lid of the match jar allows you to simply tap out one match at a time and strike it on the sandpaper covering the lid.

I’m sure I’ll find more uses for jars as I keep working on my craft space. How do you use jars in nontraditional ways?
 

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