13 Unexpected Ways To Repurpose Olive Oil Bottles In Your Home And Garden

Olive oil is a classic home essential you can find in almost any kitchen. While it's possible for some olive oils to come in plastic containers, many come in beautiful, versatile glass bottles with a rectangular shape. Next time your olive oil bottle runs dry, rather than tossing it in the trash or recycling, you should consider repurposing it into something useful and unique you can use around the home or garden. For example, the pour spout that comes on some bottles will allow you to repurpose your olive oil bottle into a perfect little "watering can" for your tiny succulents and herb garden that you don't want to overwater. You can also let your creative side take over and transform your old olive oil bottles into gorgeous lanterns to illuminate your garden and outdoor space, or into a cute little candy jar. 

The majority of these olive oil bottle upcycles are fairly simple, but some might require a few more crafting skills and tools than others. For example, some of these olive oil upcycles may require a glass cutter or similar tools used for cutting bottles. If you don't have a glass cutter, don't fret! They're very affordable on Amazon, and you can even buy a whole glass cutting kit made specifically for cutting glass bottles, such as the Camidos Glass Bottle Cutter.

If you want your house to smell amazing and reuse your old olive oil bottle at the same time, you're in luck! You can easily transform your old olive oil bottle into a reed diffuser. To do so, all you need is rubbing alcohol, your favorite smelling essential oils, and reed diffuser sticks. Simply pour the essential oils and alcohol mix into the bottle, pop the reeds in, and you're all set! Since olive oil bottles are already aesthetically pleasing, there is no need to decorate the exterior, although you absolutely can if you'd like to.

The last thing you want in an olive oil container is for it all to come rushing out at once when you only want a little dollop. For this reason, many high quality olive oil bottles have a spout that keeps the liquid from pouring out too quickly. When your olive oil bottle is empty, you can reuse it as a little precision watering can for your herbs and smaller houseplants. This is especially useful for more delicate plants in your garden that you want to avoid overwatering.

An absolutely adorable way to reuse an olive oil bottle in your garden is to transform it into a DIY bird feeder on a budget. For this DIY, you'll need birdseed, something to attach the bottle to, and a platform for the birds to land on. Fill the bottle with bird seed and flip it upside down. Leave a limited amount of space underneath the bottle to keep all the birdseed from flowing out at once. Once assembled, gravity will give your feeder a helping hand and as the birds eat the exposed seeds, more will fall from the feeder.

An elegant yet incredibly simple way to reuse an old olive oil bottle is to transform it into a flower vase. Just slide some flowers into the bottle — either real or fake will do. If you're going for a more rustic look, simply leave the flowers in the olive oil bottle as-is. You can also slap a coat of paint onto the bottle to jazz it up, or even anchor it onto the wall with a plank of wood and some silver hardware for a more industrial piece of house decor.

Plastic soap bottles are not only wasteful, but they also don't provide the most elegant appearance in your kitchen. Instead, you can transform your empty olive oil bottle into a dish soap dispenser. Similar to olive oil, you don't want your dish soap to come out of the bottle too quickly, as this is a waste of product and your money. If you use an old olive oil bottle with a pour spout instead, you'll not only be able to control how much soap comes out but also up your kitchen style game.

Looking for a stylish way to display your candles that don't have their own candle holders? Try using an old olive oil bottle. Keep in mind, though, that this only works with tapered candles that are narrow enough to fit into the bottle. All you need to do is stuff the bottom of the candle into the bottle securely and you'll have a new unique candle holder. To avoid fire hazards, be sure that the bottle is sturdy enough that it won't tip over while the candle is lit.

In addition to working well as candle holders, old olive oil bottles can also be turned into beautiful lanterns. For this upcycle, insert some string lights into the bottle. This is a really great upcycle project if you have several olive oil bottles hanging around, because you can place a collection of lovely lanterns on a surface to brighten the space. If it's easier for you, you can also wrap the string lights around the exterior of the bottle rather than inserting them inside.

If you're talented with a paintbrush (or even if you're not but love to try, we're not judging), you can paint your old olive oil bottles to turn them into unique house decor. Go for a simplistic look and paint little flowers and vines on the bottle, or paint your rendition of your favorite piece from Van Gogh. If you have several bottles lying around, you can even paint the whole collection and set them in a windowsill to refract the light coming in.

One sweet way to reuse your old olive oil bottle is to turn it into a candy jar. All you need to do is fill the bottle up with your favorite candy, throw a cute label on it, and call it a day. It doesn't necessarily matter what type of candy you use as long as the pieces are small enough to fit into the bottle. Then, set your candy jar in the kitchen to snack on during chores or by the front door so you can grab a sweet treat on your way out of the house.

There are a lot of beautiful and unique ways to DIY stunning succulent planters, including by using an old olive oil bottle. For this DIY, you'll need to break out your trusty glass slicer to slice the bottle vertically, as you'll be using only the bottom half of the bottle. If you prefer to minimize waste, you can cut the bottle open longways and have two individual succulent planters. Then, just sand down the sharp edges, fill the containers up with succulent potting mix, add your favorite plants, and watch them thrive.

Another opportunity to get creative is by repurposing your old olive oil bottles into Christmas decor. One fun idea is to opt for the classic yet timeless "Noel" decoration and paint four bottles with one letter each. You can also wrap the bottle in festive ribbons or tinsel, or paint a darling little wintery scene on the exterior of the bottle. Or, completely transform the bottles into adorable snowmen as featured in the photo. If you're short on time, just throw a doll Santa hat on the top of the bottle to keep it simple.

For a slightly more complicated way to reuse olive oil bottles, you can turn them into wind chimes. You'll definitely need your glass cutter for this one, as you'll have to slice the bottles in half and string the chimes through the top. If you have several bottles, it's possible to create multiple wind chimes and hang them close together, or use just use one bottle and hang multiple tiny chimes through it. Feel free to paint the bottles to match the look of your yard or leave them as-is.

This final olive oil bottle upcycle is super simple, but it will require a lot of olive oil bottles, as you'll be making a bottle tree. The easiest way to make a bottle tree is to buy a stand such as the Evergreen Classic Glass Bottle Tree and slide the bottles on. Then, you can paint each one a different color to give the tree a fun, whimsical look. You can also build your own tree stand using wood for a more classic look, but ensure the wood is extra sturdy so you don't end up with broken glass all over your yard.