Genius Ways To Use Old Jars To Make Your Home Smell Amazing

If you consider yourself an eco-conscious individual, then you're probably always looking for ways to reuse objects around the house to reduce the amount of waste you generate. One particular item that may be accumulating around your home is glass jars. Whether you can your own foods, frequently purchase pasta sauces from the grocery stores, or have an obsession with jar candles, you might have several empty jars just begging for a new purpose. And we have one for you — did you know that these old jars can help you deodorize your home?

Believe it or not, there are several hacks that can help you breathe new life into an old jar while simultaneously helping yourself and others breathe more easily in your home. From refreshing a stinky fridge to targeting musty or other unpleasant smells throughout the home, here are the many ways an empty glass jar can help make your space smell amazing.

Plain, uncooked rice acts as a natural deodorizer. The grains will absorb odors, removing them from the air and leaving you with a fresh and clean-smelling home. While there aren't studies supporting this hack, many individuals have shared anecdotal success with using it. For this hack, you can use plain rice, or if you'd prefer to remove odors while also infusing a favorite scent into the home, consider adding a few drops of a favorite essential oil into the jar.

Simply fill the empty jar with grains or rice (and essential oils, if desired), and place it in a room that you want to deodorize. Covering the jar with the original lid will prevent the rice from absorbing odors. However, if you're worried about the rice spilling, you can always rubber band a piece of mesh or another breathable fabric over the opening. Consider the color of the fabric and the rubber band (or twine) and how they will look in your space. Additionally, you could opt to use black, purple, or red rice to make it a more purposeful part of your decor scheme as well. One quick note: As the rice absorbs more and more odors, it will become less effective as a deodorizer. To maintain the effectiveness of this hack, be sure to periodically dump and replace the rice (and any added essential oils).

If you find yourself plugging your nose every time you open your fridge, it is probably time to do something about it. Cleaning the fridge is always a good start, but sometimes you may just have some pungent onions, garlic, or leftovers in there that aren't bad — they just have an unpleasant odor. Well, some studies suggest you can use coffee grounds to help your fridge smell better. You can use freshly ground coffee for this hack, or you can even save the used grounds from your morning cup of Joe to put them to good use. If you want to work with used grounds, dry them out by leaving them in the sun on a baking sheet for a few hours.

All you'll need to do is pour the coffee grounds into the jar and place them on a shelf in the refrigerator (or freezer). For best results, leave the door to the fridge closed as much as possible to allow the coffee grounds to really work and absorb all the pungent smells that are present.

No one wants their home smelling musty. It conjures up thoughts of something old and dirty, or, even worse, of lingering mold and mildew from water damage. Fortunately, a jar of baking soda can help get rid of odors all around the home, including unpleasant smells in the basement, musty odors on a bookshelf, or random odors in your cabinets. The reason baking soda is so effective is because it actually neutralizes these odors instead of masking them like air fresheners do. Baking soda is a mild alkaline (the opposite of an acid). Its pH can help neutralize the molecules produced by both strong acids and strong bases. Once neutralized, these odors effectively disappear, leaving your home smelling fresh and clean.

If you want to try baking soda as a deodorizer, just fill a glass jar with the white powder. Put the jar near the source of the odor and cover the top with a cheesecloth or some other breathable fabric if you're worried about it spilling. Make sure to check on it about once a week. If it's starting to look yellow, spill it out and add a fresh batch. 

Did you know that you can clean your microwave with a lemon? Well, when you put that lemon into a glass jar with a little bit of water, you most certainly can. Just slice up the lemon, squeeze it into the jar of water, and drop the rest of the lemon in too. Then, put it in the smelly microwave, and heat the whole thing up for about three minutes.

The microwave will bring the water to a boil, releasing hot lemon-infused steam. After the timer goes off, leave the door closed for 10 to 15 minutes to give the steam more time to release grime (and its associated odors) from the interior of the microwave. Lemon is acidic, which makes it an excellent cleaner and odor neutralizer. After 10 or 15 minutes have passed, carefully remove the jar of lemon water (it might still be hot), and wipe down the inside of the microwave using a sponge or microfiber cloth.

An empty glass jar can pull double duty as a decorative centerpiece and a deodorizer for your home. Dried flowers will add a pop of color and a dash of intrigue to your dining room table, coffee table, or end table. The petals can be placed in alternating layers with air freshener beads. Alternatively, you can use fake flowers and add air freshener beads to the bottom of the jar to hold the flowers in place.

If you've never seen air freshener beads, they resemble glass beads. They have a clear to blue color and will look like a purposeful addition to your centerpiece as they "sneakily" work to remove odors from the space and infuse the room with a refreshing scent. Confirm with the particular product you choose, but many air freshener beads continue working for more than two months, so you won't need to replace them too frequently. When they do need to be replaced, look at it as an opportunity to update the flowers in the arrangement to match the current season or upcoming holidays.

When you're looking for a quick and easy way to temporarily banish odors, open up your spice cabinet and pull out the vanilla extract. You're probably already familiar with the pleasant smell of this baking essential. Be honest — you always hold it up to your nose before measuring it out when you make cookies, don't you? Well, wouldn't it be wonderful to spread the alluring smell of vanilla throughout your entire home?

Individuals have shared anecdotal success with warming some vanilla extract along with water. As the extract heats, its scent wafts through the whole house — much like when you're baking cookies. Simply add about ½ cup of water and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract to an oven-safe glass jar. Put it in a warm, 300 degree Fahrenheit oven for an hour or two. If you're in a huge hurry, you could even try microwaving the mixture for 45 seconds to 1 minute.

Potpourri may be an old school way to deodorize your home. But just because an idea is old, doesn't mean it can't still be used today. If you've heard of potpourri before but don't really know what it is, it consists of dried herbs and flowers combined with various spices and essential oils. As you can imagine, such a mixture will have a very fragrant scent — which will vary based on the specific blend of flowers, herbs, oils, and spices that are used to make it.

For this hack to work, simply add some potpourri to a glass jar, and place it in the room you want to deodorize. You can make the jar more decorative with some colorful ribbon or twine to match your style. You can purchase potpourri online or in some stores, but it is also rather simple to make. You'll need to dry out flower petals and leaves from different herbs and plants, and combine them with a favorite essential oil or spices, such as clove or cinnamon sticks.

Why purchase an expensive jar candle from the store when you can save money while also reusing resources to make your own? A cinnamon stick candle is the perfect way to welcome fall (or really any season). Beyond the cinnamon having a pleasant smell, it can actually help remove unwanted odors from your home as well. Studies have shown that cinnamon removes VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, from the air. The odors from these compounds are absorbed as the glorious scent of cinnamon is released. What a win-win way to get your house odor-free.

Jar candles are easy to make on your own. Start by melting some wax and pouring just a little of it into the jar (with the wick already positioned). Then, add the cinnamon sticks to the jar over the thin layer of wax. After that wax hardens and holds them in place, you can pour more hot wax in to fill up the jar the rest of the way. Just remember, it is best to warm this candle on a warmer instead of lighting the wick since the cinnamon stick can potentially catch on fire. If you would rather have an open flame, consider adding cinnamon oil to the wax rather than full sticks. Soon, your home can be enveloped with the incredible scent of cinnamon.