You can use the jars for dry goods storage such as dried beans, soup mixes etc. Food saver has an attachmentthat will vacuum seal all kinds of jars. There are vids on you tube.

JAB

check and see if your canning lids and rings fit on the jars..there are some that do. I store dried goods in mine also.

You can also use them for:
-craft supplies - buttons, threads, zippers
-spices
-rubber bands
-twist ties
-use them to make candles
-store fire starters (cotton balls)
-oil lights

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=E552XSAXEdk #

If you already have a food saver this is a great option. You put the glass jar and it's original lid inside a food saver container and vacuum seal it inside the container.

Good question!! I've been saving so many jars!!

Anita I watched the video on vaccuum sealing and have a couple of questions:

1 If the idea is to remove as much air as possible, why not start with a full jar, the demonstrations were with jars that had a lot of empty space at top.

2 I filled several 2 liter plastic pop bottles with white rice, is that alright or do I need to store the rice differently?

I would certainly fill the jar as full as possible. I'm not sure why the videos show it like that. All of mine are filled to capacity and there is no problem with vacuum sealing. Except for cinnamon - I've had some trouble because it gets sucked out of the jar - a coffee filter on the top of powdery foods helps with that.

All stored foods will benefit from an oxygen free or reduced atmosphere. The less oxygen the better. Re-using pop bottles is better than having no food storage but it is not optimal. Even if you could cram an O2 absorber into the bottle the lid will not hold the seal long term to the same extent as other methods.

I like the vacuum seal method shown in the videos above because you don't have to buy canning jars. I use plastic pails and mylar bags from my main long term bulk storage. The jars I cycle through more often but in theory if they are vacuum sealed and kept in a dark place they should last just as long as the mylar and the pails.

Personally I dislike plastic for several reasons so I use glass whenever possible. (We don't have many earthquakes where I live - I've never experienced one in my life so it's not an issue I worry about.) My fridge is filled with glass jars used like "tupperware". My cupboards are full of jars - I buy bulk and empty the contents into the jars. Jars jars everywhere 🙂 I love glass jars! 😆

I love glass jars, but am out of space. Also, unfortunately they let in the UV rays that contribute to food spoiling.

I don't buy much anymore that comes in jars, but for the few things I do, I keep about 50% of them, most of them tend to be used as give away jars of things, so that i don't lose my good jars, folks get a little something of what I am making new, with a note, keep in the fridge and use it up, I don't lose a good jar, and they are happy to get the gift of fresh food.

Thanks for all this; that video was awesome as I didn't even know what to call the process... going to amazon.com next.

with our first garden ahead of us, we'll need to learn more about canning.
thanks,

I'm like Anita: I use glass jars for leftovers in the fridge or bulk items.

Heck, sometimes I'm in the store and see a product on the shelf and think "that would be a good jar for....." I'll buy the high end tomato sauce for the jar.
Remember the old Kraft peanut butter jars that had graduated markings cast right into the glass? 2 or 3 cups total by 1/4 cup markings I think.

Heck, sometimes I'm in the store and see a product on the shelf and think "that would be a good jar for....." I'll buy the high end tomato sauce for the jar.
Remember the old Kraft peanut butter jars that had graduated markings cast right into the glass? 2 or 3 cups total by 1/4 cup markings I think.

do you remember the "shrimp" jars....have my grandmothers - she used them every Christmas eve to serve our tomato juice
my other grandmother had drinking glasses with the suits of playing cards on them - I don't know what those jars held but as kids we would fight over who got to use them

Heck, sometimes I'm in the store and see a product on the shelf and think "that would be a good jar for....." I'll buy the high end tomato sauce for the jar.
Remember the old Kraft peanut butter jars that had graduated markings cast right into the glass? 2 or 3 cups total by 1/4 cup markings I think.

I sign of a true hoard...I mean prepper 😆 When the tomato sauce is on sale I calculate the worth of the product based on the product plus the jar!

Just started to reread this section so my suggestion may be a little dated. When, canning spices with a vacuum sealer, use whole spices and not powdered. Such as Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Clove and Allspice, buy and can whole, and then grind them when needed, they will last longer this way also.