How To Clean Glass Bottles For Reuse

There are times when I feel broke, y’all. Do you ever have those days?

Maybe it’s because a bunch of bills got paid all at once. Or, maybe it’s because shopping for new clothes isn’t an option at the moment. It could even be the social media blues. Have you had those?

Now, as organized and prepared as I try to be when it comes to keeping track of money, there are times when I feel like it’s running thin. And, it always seems like these are the times when I find myself needing things… like extra glass dropper bottles for my herbal preparations.

Now, if you’ve ever priced glass dropper bottles, especially when you purchase them in bulk, they’re not too expensive. But when you’re feeling broke, shopping for any extras that aren’t absolute necessities can feel a bit extravagant and wasteful.

A couple weeks ago, I was talking about the expense of natural living with my Letters To Natural Mamas friends, and I mentioned wanting to share some tips here on the blog to help you live naturally and save money at the same time.

That’s why I’m gonna show you one way I save money, specifically when it comes to needing new glass bottles. When I feel myself a little low on extra spending money, and I really need some glass bottles for my herbal, skin care, and cleaning needs, I purge my house and apothecary for glass bottles to reuse. Today, I’m going to show you how you can take old, used glass bottles and clean them so they’re as good as new. If you’ve been wondering how to clean glass bottles, this post is for you! And don’t worry, this is simple and easy, and it doesn’t take too much effort on your part.

If you’ve been wondering how to clean glass bottles, this post is for you! And don’t worry, this is simple and easy, and it doesn’t take too much effort on your part.

How To Clean Glass Bottles For Reuse

Step 1: Collect Used Glass Bottles

When it comes to reusing glass bottles, your first task will be to gather them up from various places.

One way to find used glass bottles is to ask friends and family to save them for you.

A couple years ago, many folks in my family started making the switch from using various types of sugar to more blood sugar-friendly versions like stevia. One of the stevia brands my family members buy is extracted in glycerine and comes in glass dropper bottles. Many members of my family also use herbal and homeopathic remedies that our nutrition response therapist suggests, and those remedies also come in glass dropper bottles. Lucky for me, I’m the recipient of all of those empty glass bottles!

Another way to gather used glass bottles is to go through your natural medicine cabinet or herbal first aid kits. Look for anything that’s out of date or about to expire. Simply dump the contents, but don’t dump the bottles! You can reuse them as long as they’re in good condition.

Lastly, you can always go to local thrift stores or antique stores to find glass bottles and jars for good prices.

Step 2: Remove Old Labels

The easiest way I’ve found to remove old labels is a two-part cleaning process.

First, you need to boil your bottles in hot water until the labels can be easily scrapped off. To do this, disassemble the bottles by taking the dropper lids off and carefully pulling the glass pipette out of the rubber cap. The glass bottles and glass pipettes can be boiled, but don’t boil the rubber caps. Let those soak in a bowl of hot, soapy water. To remove labels, I let my bottles boil at least 10 minutes. Getting labels off is easier for some bottles than it is for others as some just slide right off while others have to be scraped off.

Once all your labels are off, you’ll need to let the bottles cool before trying to remove the sticky adhesive that is often left on the bottles. You can do this by using lemon essential oil (Citrus x limon) and cotton balls. Don’t forget to wear a pair of cleaning gloves while you do this. Lemon essential oil is some strong stuff, and you don’t want that coming into direct contact with your skin.

To clean the adhesive off your bottles, simply apply a couple drops of lemon essential oil to your bottle and rub it vigorously with a cotton ball. You’ll most likely have to do this several times until all the adhesive is gone. Afterward, your bottle may feel a bit sticky. Just put a few drops of lemon essential oil on a clean paper towel and give it a good rub. That will take any leftover adhesive right off.

(I normally purchase my cleaning essential oils from Vitacost (Get $10 free when you shop up with my link!), but Plant Therapy is another excellent source for essential oils!)

Step 3: Clean Hard-To-Reach Places

The last step in you’ll need to take to clean glass bottles for reuse is to clean all those hard to reach places like the inside bottom of the bottle, the glass dropper, and the rubber caps.

The best thing I’ve found to clean these areas is some good hot soapy water and long cotton swabs. Cotton swabs are just the right size to get into those small, hard-to-reach areas and get any debris that’s left over after the bottles have been boiled.

Once you’ve completed these three steps, all you need to do is set your bottles out to dry. I like to spread a dish towel out to lay my bottles on for a few hours. Once they’re dry, you can assemble them and put them up for storage until you need them again.

Please note that when you clean glass bottles this way it does NOT disinfect them. If you want to disinfect your bottles, it’s recommended to boil them again after this process. You can also run the bottles through a hot dishwasher cycle.

So there you have it. When you’re feeling broke and you need some new glass bottles for your herbal or skin care DIYs, save some money by reusing what you already have. It’s super easy to clean glass bottles, and it will make you feel better about being more resourceful as well!

What other ways do you save money when it comes to natural living? Share your tips with me in the comments below!