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Raise your hand if your garage is a mess.
*Mama peeks out into internet land*
Yep, mine is too.
The shelves above the dryer are a “hot spot” for clutter, including extra paint. We bought our house in 1996, and have done lots of painting over the years. (The master bath was Pepto-Bismol pink when we moved in! Seriously!)
Of course, we keep the paint cans in case we need to do touch-ups–but there’s only a cup or two of paint in any of them. They’re taking up waaaay more space than they need to like this. There are 9 gallons of paint on the top shelf, and 3 pints on the lower shelf.
You might think, “Hey, I’ve got plenty of space! Why should I worry about storing my extra paint?” Well, paint isn’t cheap. And if your storage methods are anything like mine were, you’ll open a paint can to find this.
Not doing any touch-ups with that…sigh.
Because we save our spaghetti sauce jars for storing leftovers, I have lots of extra glass jars. These are perfect for storing paint! You can see exactly what color you have, and there’s a jar for just about every size you’d need. They seal easily and you don’t end up with dry, wasted paint.
Grab a couple of clean jars with lids and you’re ready to get started. Don’t use plastic! Pop open the paint can and give the paint a good stir. Then pour the paint into a jar (a spare canning funnel helps contain the mess). Wipe off the rim of the jar with a paper towel, put the lid on, and label the jar with the paint color details or the room it’s used in.
Not bad, huh? I never realized how monochrome our color scheme was until I saw these paints together. Might be time for a splash of color somewhere…
I use mason jars. They seal very tightly and they look nice too. Your paint will last for years.
Coffee Containers (nice and thick) with a handle and lid (screw on if possible). Don’t like coffee? Well use the grounds in your garden Plastic wrap over the top of the paint on the interior. Once done Place in a Two Gallon Zip Lock Bag. Push out air and store.
Nice idea, but you might want to store those on a lower shelf or the floor.
I really like this idea, I’ll have to keep it in mind when we have a house
I find that even glass jars don’t seal up tight enough; so what I do is slip a sandwich bag over top and then screw my lid on. Also, because I have nightmares of the jars crashing to the floor at the worst possible moment, I place each jar in a zip lock bag that can no longer be rinsed & reused. I may be neurotic but if it does fall at least the mess will be greatly reduced.
I love this idea, and love that it’s recycling glass jars. Thanks!
Nice idea, although I confess I’d worry about the jars breaking. Our paints are still in the can, but I put a layer of plastic wrap right over the paint surface to keep oxygen out so that the paint won’t oxidize as fast.
Plastic Mayo jars would be perfect.