If you’re an essential oil aficionado, the chances are you have a mounting stack of empty amber or cobalt essential oil bottles lying around the house. It’s a shame to waste these cute glass jars, but they’re so tiny that finding another use for them can be tricky!
Although they can’t compete with their distant cousin the Mason Jar in terms of usefulness, empty essential oil bottles can be re-purposed in a number of ways. Here are 13 of the best:
1. Store Personalized Blends
Whether you use single essential oils, or you try synergistic blends, from time to time it’s nice to experiment and create your own customized essential oil blend for what ails you.
Why not mix up the perfect blend to help you sleep, or to combat anxiety, and store them in these handy little jars to preserve their potency?
2. Gift Personalized Blends
Of course, for those who love aromatherapy, what better gift can one receive than a personalized essential oil blend? Collect your empty jars throughout the year and get creative at Christmas time!
Jazz up the bottles with paint, glitter, jewels or other embellishments for a truly customized feel.
3. Travel-Sized Personal Care Products
Airport travel can be a nightmare if you have a specific beauty product for each step in your skincare routine – particularly with the restrictions on liquid volume.
But old essential oil bottles – in both 5ml and 15ml sizes – can offer the perfect solution to this problem! Not only will you be helping the environment by upcycling, but you’ll save money and can avoid plastic containers that may leach toxic chemicals.
Fill the bottles with homemade moisturizer, facial wash, toner, eye cream, serums, body lotions, natural oils, bath salts, body scrubs and all manner of other beauty products so you can travel light next time!
4. Homemade Perfume
Keep your own all-natural and customized herbal perfume blend on hand at all times in an old essential oil bottle. Not only will the dark glass protect the aroma, but it’s small enough to fit into your purse, gym bag or even pocket!
While you can make your own from whatever fragrances you like, we particularly like this fantastic recipe by Wellness Mama which calls for a combination of vanilla, frankincense, rose, lavender and wild orange.
5. Spare Set of Oils
Never be caught without your favorite essential oils again! Pour a little bit from your new oil bottle into the old one and stash it away for when you need it most.
You could try leaving a bottle of calming lavender in your office desk for those stressful work projects, some peppermint oil in your car to perk you up on the commute home and a citrus oil in your gym bag to enhance your workouts.
6. Diffuser Blend
Get every drop of essential oil out of an old bottle by filling it halfway with distilled water. You can then use this water and oil blend in your essential oil diffuser for a subtle fragrance throughout the home. Don’t have a diffuser? Here are 10 reasons why you need one!
7. Air Freshener
Even when the bottle has been completely emptied, you’ll notice that it still holds a strong scent. Don’t waste this soothing and cleansing aroma – place these empty bottles (with the lids removed) around the home as ready-made air fresheners.
They’re great when stashed under the kitchen sink, by trash cans, in the wardrobe or linen closet, in the laundry hamper, the car or even in your shoes!
8. Fragranced Epsom Salts
Add a few empty bottles (caps removed) to large bag of Epsom salts and leave for a week or two. The salts will soak up the scents leaving you with beautiful therapeutic salts for a relaxing soak.
This is also a great way to remove the scent from bottles if you want to use them for something else.
9. Natural Portable Hand Sanitizer
Avoid picking up colds, flu and other viruses when you’re out and about with your own DIY hand sanitizer – packaged in a tiny and perfectly portable essential oil bottle. This recipe uses witch hazel and essential oils of your choice.
10. Blends for Your Pets
If you’re using therapeutic blends on pets like dogs or backyard chickens, then mix these in old essential oil bottles and store them in a dedicated pet drawer so you don’t risk contaminating your own oils – particularly if you are administering them in a chicken coop or barn!
Note: Not all essential oils are safe for pets. Ensure you conduct your own research before administering oils to your pets.
11. Bug and Pest Repellants
Leave an empty bottle or two around your potted plants and open windows to keep bugs and other pests at bay.
For example, an empty bottle of rosemary essential oil will help repel flies, fleas and mosquitoes while peppermint will deter aphids, squash bugs, ants, spiders and beetles. Thyme essential oil works against biting insects like chiggers, ticks and roaches; and clove helps deter all manner of flying insects.
12. String of Lights
Looking for something unusual to adorn your tree next Christmas, or to loop around your outdoor dining table on long summer evenings?
A string of lights made from old essential oil bottles may be just what you need. Watch this video to discover how to make your own set. Ingenious!
13. Recycle!
Producing new items leads to a lot of pollution and wastage which is why recycling is so important. So even if you don’t reuse your essential oil bottles, make sure to pop them in the recycling bank – one average sized recycled glass bottle saves enough energy to power a computer for 25 minutes!
How To Clean Old Essential Oil Bottles
Before you re-use your old essential oil bottles make sure to clean them thoroughly. The labels on the outside can be difficult to remove, while the oils themselves can leave a sticky film on the inside that can be next to impossible to clean with soap and water alone.
For best results, immerse the empty bottles overnight in a soap and water mixture. The next day, allow them to sit for a few hours in a bowl of one-part water to one-part alcohol. Pull off the labels and scrub away any residue. Rinse and allow to air dry before using as you wish!