Friday 17 August 2012

DIY Week: Mason Jar Soap Dispenser



Are you sick of DIY Week yet?  There are only a couple more projects to go!  Today's DIY makes use of those awesome Mason jars again.  I like to make jam and pickles in the summer, and so sometimes I go hog wild buying jars.  Around this time of the year, they are pretty cheap so we buy a bunch in different sizes.  Whatever I don't use for canning I can use in the future, or for little projects like this one.

I make my own dish soap, hand soap and (hopefully soon) I will be learning to make my own lotions.  I don't mind storing these in a regular jar, but I also like to have the convenience of a pump container for these products.  So I figured out how to re-use an old pump dispenser from a plastic bottle with one of my mason jars.  The process is pretty simple and quick.  So if you have an old bottle that you want to up-cycle, this is something you can try.

The first thing you have to do it drill a hole into the lid of your jar.  I use my 3/8 bit and drilled a big hole as close to the center as I could.  Then I used some needle nose pliers to bend the sides of the hole inwards to make the hole big enough to accommodate the straw holder part of the pump.


I know that hole doesn't look pretty, but you don't see it, so don't worry about that.  After it is just big enough for the pump, stick the pump through.  I put a little hot glue around the top of the hole to seal it and protect it from rusting before I push the pump through.


The lid should be sitting on top of the lid, but the bottom part of the pump should be nice an snug in the hole.  You could use it like this if you'd like.  But I like my pump to be a little more secure, and a little more waterproof.  So, I used my handy hot glue gun to seal the underside of the pump.



The hot glue works really well sealing the holes around the pump.  And I use a brand of glue that is non-toxic.  I have thought about using other glues or caulking, but this one works great, so if it ain't broke...  Let the glue cool and harden, then put your jar together.  I like this because the jar is easy to refill; I get to reuse a part of waste that is not easily recycled, and I get so see the products inside the jar.  Sometimes when I make dish soap, I put a sprig of rosemary in for aroma and to make it look pretty for my kitchen.  I should go and make some dish soap now!


You could use this jar for other purposes too.  I use them to buy refills of products that come in bulk (like my current lotion) and then I switch in the pump top once I get the products home.  It is really handy to have some of these tops laying around, just in case you need a container.  So don't throw away those pumps!  Reuse them over and over again.  If it breaks, peel away the glue, replace and recycle the pump and start again! 

Only 1 more day of DIY Week left!
 Every day of this week I shared a new DIY project.  To review the tutorials, you can click on the tutorial tab at the top of the page, or the tag DIY Week under the posts.
  I hope you find them useful!



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