Waste Not Want Not: reusing olive oil bottles

Emily and I are pretty big believers in the whole waste not want not thing.  I mean, recycling is great, but why would you take useful stuff to the recycling bin and let them haul it away?   You paid for it, you might as well get as much use out of it as possible.

Most of us know the beauty of reusing spaghetti sauce jars – they’re perfect for freezing, since they’re usually wide-mouthed.  But olive oil jars usually don’t seem as useful – often because of those little plastic spouts manufacturers put in that help you get only one tablespoon of olive oil out at a time (instead of accidentally dousing your vegetables in a whole jar-ful of the stuff).   That spout makes it nearly impossible to pour things into an old olive oil jar.   But did you know that with one strong pull, that little sucker will come out?   With a little scrubbing, the label will come off too, and you’ll be left with a great jar for storing liquids (like Emily’s delicious stock!).   Best of all, that little spout will go right back in the jar, so you can keep one handy in a drawer in case you ever do need a spout for your liquids.

P.S. Yes, I’ll admit I often buy cheap olive oil.  Whatever.  I’m a student.