Calling all crafters and recycling enthusiasts, find an easy method and label removing hack for jars and bottles, no scrubbing or harsh chemicals required.
Happy Wednesday!
We interrupt Pumpkin Spice Season . . .
and the countdown to Halloween . . .
for a public service announcement and to share an easy hack . . .
the BEST way to remove a label from a jar or bottle, without smelly chemicals
or tedious scrubbing that wrecks your nails in the process!
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In my search for “easy label removal” I found all kinds of methods
claiming to be “the best” or “easiest”. . .
using a hairdryer, vinegar, rubbing alcohol, razor blades, WD-40,
Goo Gone, baking soda paste (mixed with or without Dawn dish detergent) etc.
All you need is some OxiClean, hot water and a basin / sink to soak. . .
much less labor-intensive and messy than the above methods,
and if you use your sink, it will be clean when you’re finished. ;)
I had an empty bottle of Lorina Sparkling Lemonade from my Bee’s Knees Lavender Lemonade.
I loved the embossing on the side of the bottle as well as the swing top cap. . . ideal for DIY flavored oils and vinegars, infused syrups, vinaigrettes or homemade vanilla extract.
I used an empty plastic bin so my kitchen sink wasn’t out of commission while soaking my bottle.
For easy label removal, add a generous scoop of OxiClean to hot water, stirring to help it dissolve.
Add enough water to cover the bottle or jars, making sure your labels are completely submerged.
Walk away and check back in about an hour or so.
I came back to find the labels from my bottle floating in the water . . .
best of all, no adhesive to scrub away on the bottle!
I experimented soaking two other bottles and an empty jam jar . . .
you can see my attempt to peel the label off the jar.
I checked back in a few hours and ended up letting them soak overnight . . .
One of the labels required a little prying, but then peeled right off.
I was able to roll the remaining adhesive off the bottle with my thumb while rinsing, no scrubbing needed.
A painless and easy method to remove labels from those cute Bonne Maman Jam or Oui Yogurt jars,
or any jar or bottle you want to repurpose for crafting or storage!
I could have saved myself 30 manicure-wrecking minutes removing the label on my French lemonade bottle
for my Lavender Syrup and Picnic, HERE.
If you’re not recycling a bottle, you can buy new swing top bottles from Amazon in an 8.5 oz size, a 16 oz. size or even a 33 oz. size.
Get a head start on your holiday gifting and baking with Homemade Vanilla Extract.
It comes together in five minutes and is ready to use in two months, improving as it ages.
For the Irish coffee lover or cool fall or winter evenings, whip up a batch of
ready in 5 minutes. One sip and you’ll never buy it again!
Or fill a swing top bottle with
A specialty bourbon for gifting or for mixing cocktails for the holiday season.
Here’s a fun craft project for those Oui Yogurt jars after you’ve soaked off your labels:
DIY Pressed Flower Votives and Vase
Thank you for your visit, sharing with:
Metamorphosis Monday
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Boy was this post timely for me. I absolutely hate to get labels off of bottles. My hubby and friends are saving cute liquor bottles ( don’t judge) for me so I can batch our holiday cocktail recipes for easy entertaining…and those labels are a real pain. I have also been making spiced simple syrup and want to use them for little gifts. Thanks for a wonder post!
No judgment Paula! :) So smart and your spiced simple syrup sounds wonderful! I’d love to know your recipe. 🥃
Mary, the original recipe for the spiced simple syrup came from The Cocktail Contessa…I changed it a bit and it was the hit of our family signature drink.
My version :
1/2 cup tangelo juice, plus peels from 1 tangelo- no white pith
1/2 cup heirloom orange juice (my preference) and peels from 1 orange-no white pith
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups sugar-(most people would use 2 cups but we like it a little less sweet, more spicy
6 cinnamon sticks, 3 inch size approx.
16 cloves
26 allspice berries
Peel the tangelo and orange first, then squeeze the juice. You may need more than one orange or tangelo depending on how juicy they are. I found that heirloom oranges had a better taste than navel.
The recipe calls for the spices to be toasted in a skillet slightly but I don’t do that. Put all the ingredients into a sauce pan, stir and bring to a simmer and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the sugar is dissolved and peels are slightly translucent. Remove from stove and bring to room temperature. You can remove the spices and peels, strain in a fine mesh strainer and refrigerate. I put the peels in a small glass container, refrigerate them also and use them in the drinks. I also dry the cinnamon sticks ( overnight or sometimes a day) until they are not sticky and use them as stirrers. This will keep a couple weeks or more in the refrigerator or you can freeze it by adding a teaspoon of vodka and it will keep 6 months or more.
I made my first trial batch in September last year and imported tangelos were plentiful. In November and December there was not a tangelo to be found. Tangelos in the U.S. are in season January to early March. So now I make my batches in September and October and freeze them. I do use bitters in our Old Fashioned, regular and orange. I may try cinnamon or chocolate! If you decide to make this you should read the post from the Cocktail Contessa on “Santa Needs this Christmas Old Fashioned”. Lots of info there.
Paula
Thank you, Mary…this is indeed a public serice announcement!
PS…I also voted!
Thank you so so much, my daughter is making holiday mulled wine spice jars up this year and asked us to save as many little glass containers as we could. I was dreading cleaning off the labels. Your tip with the OxiClean, will be a major time saver!
What a fun holiday gift Babs! It’s a game changer for removing labels. Some labels are more stubborn than others, but overnight soaking sure beats scrubbing. ♥
Wow! Such a great hack…one I will definitely be using. Thank you! And, I’ve voted. 😉
Thank you, so happy to know this one now!
Mary, love the tip for label removal. I have given up on some in the past! I always have OxiClean on hand so this is another great use!
I also tried the homemade Baileys Irish Cream.
It was delicious!!
Once again, thank you for the tip!
Voted!!
Thanks Mary! I’ll use this method the next time I want to remove labels. They can be a pain to remove! Enjoy your day. Clara❤️
What a game changer! Thank you Mary!!
Jenna
Hi Jenna, It’s perfect for your bottle painting! ♥
I love this. Who hasn’t fought to keep the pretty bottle? Go Gone doesn’t aways do the job. If OxiClean is peroxide based, would peroxide work ? This seems so easy and inexpensive.
Side note: Most towels have a warning label to not use Clorine bleach. Now I see some that say not to use a peroxide based detergent like OxiClean. (Speaking as a person who’s cotton underware turned orange). American cotton does not do this.
Thanks Mary
Genius! I have a big ol’ tote overflowing with jars and such awaiting label removal but have procrastinated with failed attempts at picking, soaking, “Go-goning” them off. Well, it’s a brand new day with your advice and hopefully an empty tote that can be used for something else! Thanks Mary. P.S. I voted early, too.
Happy OxiCleaning Vicki and thank you for your visit ♥
Thanks for this great hack, it is always so frustrating to get those labels off.
Thank you, Mary I thought I had tried everything and nearly always end up frustrated. Looking forward to putting this trick to use. I get the best ideas reading your blog!
Happy OxiCleaning Aris and thank you for your sweet comment. ♥
This is genius! I love it, there are so many great ways to use glass jars and bottles, and before this trick it was quite a bear to get those sticky labels off. Thank you! Xo Lidy
Hi Lidy, I was thrilled to find an easy solution. Keeping your daughter in my thoughts and prayers. 🙏❤️
Oh my gosh…you come through again! Love this tip! Here’s another one….I use a cleaner that I purchased at our local wine making supply store called 5 star PBW to clean the inside of my canning jars and other containers. It is an environmentally safe cleaner that is great for getting food deposits and stains out of containers (wear gloves when using it please.)
Hi Linda, Thanks for letting me know about PBW! I just read that it’s ideal to remove for hard water stains off glass which I had given up trying. It’s available on Amazon too. ♥
Excellent! I have never tried oxiclean for label remover. I usually use either coconut oil or Pam cooking spray. But next time I will try your suggestion
Where do you find the Reindeer party picks or did you make them???
Hi Betsy, I’m sure what reindeer picks you’re referring to as there are none in this post or post on my sidebar. Any seasonal party picks most likely were found at HomeGoods over the years.🦌
I’m so glad to learn this trick! Thank you for sharing!!
Thanks Mary for this wonderful tip! I always despise trying to remove labels!
Thanks so much for this hint and I can’t wait to try it. I reuse glass bottles/jars to give flower bouquets to friends! Getting the labels off is such a mess. I’m curious – I live in your area – are you able to find Lorina Sparkling Lemonade locally? Thank you!!
Hi Nancy, it’s a game changer! I found the Lorina Sparkling Lemonade at World Market in Mooresville. :)
Well, my dear, you have just made life easier for all of us! Thank you!
Woo Hoo!
Well isn’t that a great tip and I have Oxi Clean! Thank you so much, Mary. I will try that for sure.
This is such a time saver, where has this post been all my life haha! Thanks so much for sharing.
Ha! My husband was sitting working right next to me on this amazing post I read it aloud and you got an enthusiastic grunt of approval from him – His Royal Hard To Impress lol – love him – and a cheerleading squeal of happiness from this tip. I take all labels off everything and it has always been a very big thing for me lol. Quite labor intensive! And all your recipes – I need to def make up my own Irish Cream once the cold comes back. YUM.
Hi Mary, Thanks so much for sharing your method to remove labels! I do have a question. Do you know if it will remove the glue from the top of the Oui yogurt jar? I’ve tried so many methods….soaking in acetone and using a sanding block to remove that residue from the very top.
Hi Susan, I haven’t tried soaking a Oui yogurt lid. It’s definitely worth trying if you have some OxiClean. It completely dissolved the adhesive from the labels on my other bottles. Let me know the results if you try it!
Oh this is great Mary. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful tip! I’ve always just let bottles soak in dish soap and warm water but it was never entirely scrub free and this sounds much better. Happy almost Halloween!
Just in time for Christmas crafts and gifts! I have used it all and it’s always a chore! Thanks so much!!!
Dear Mary, Your method for removing labels inspired me. I thought I could use a variation on that treatment to solve a sticky problem of my own. I have soft close doors and drawers in my kitchen. The inside of each door and drawer has little plastic pads in the corners. They soften the closure. Unfortunately, I have found that the little plastic pads disintegrate into a sticky, gooey, yucky mess after several years. It has been very difficult to clean this up. The answer, based on your idea– my trusty spray bottle of liquid OxyClean. I spray a little bit of oxy-clean directly onto the gooey spot. Then rub with a rag or paper towel. The goo is absorbed into the rag and the surface of the door or drawer is clean again. I have been replacing the old plastic pads with felt ones. That may make a difference in the future.
Of all the tips and great recipes I have gotten from you over the years, this is my favorite. Thank you!