As the canning season is in full swing I ran out of pint jars-no small feat! I had put an ad in the paper in the past with good response for quarts. People just dont seem to want to part with pints. Anyway, I found that St Vincent Depaul store has a stock pile of jars in their back room. I paid 15 cents each and got 75 jars. They had quarts and half pints too. Cheaper than buying new ones, worth checking out if you have a St Vinnys or such store near by. Tami in WI

-- Tami Bowser (windridg@chorus.net), September 09, 2000

Answers

That was quite a buy in any season. I am new to the computer but not new to Countryside. We have been working at homesteading for a long time. We are in Kentuckysouth central .

-- Lyn (R-WAY@msn.com), September 09, 2000.

Auctions! Auctions! Auctions! Average $1 per box (unless there is someone crazier than you there) Watch out for mayonaise jars though. I have a glass fetish and have over 2000 jars. I particularly like the patterned ones,and the old coffee jars in cool designs are great for storing dried veggies andthey look neat too!

-- Dianne (yankeeterrier@hotmail.com), September 09, 2000.

I've found some at yard sales but you have to look them over good. I bought up several boxes last year in case of Y2K but have used ALL the pints now and need more...

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), September 09, 2000.

We found two boxes of mostly pint jars at the dump! Of course they had food in them, which was probably good but we were afraid to eat.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), September 09, 2000.

Good deal! Have used a lot of jars this year. Every year more and more. Looks like money in the bank lined up on the shelves of the pantry.

FYI, I put up a small sign by the time clock at work 2 years ago "need canning jars.." In 2 days I got more jars than I will probably ever use. One lady even delivered a big bunch of them. It surprised me how many people wanted to get rid of their jars. I had to several folks down we got so many.

2 weeks ago I helped a friend move (have truck will move friends!). In the basement of his new place were 80 - 90 old blue jars w/ zinc lids he was going to throw out. These are full of "stuff" right now. Not sure yet what to do w/ the contents. John

-- John in S IN (jsmengel@hotmail.com), September 09, 2000.

John:

Locally blue glass canning jars without chips or cracks sell for from $3 to $8 depending on size. Zinc caps go for $1 to $2 extra. Personally I wouldn't eat the contents, but perhaps you can find someone who is raising a hog who would love the contents. At auctions locally canned food cannot be sold as such. They sell the jars instead.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), September 10, 2000.

John S - 2 words: compsot pile!

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), September 10, 2000.

Ya gotta love the spelling, eh?

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), September 10, 2000.

Yeah, the compost heap seems to be the most likly place for this "stuff". Whatever it is has been in those jars awhile. So maybe it's already composting!

Jars w/ zinc lids I may be able to sell like you said. I've had funny luck w/ selling jars. 3-4 years ago my good friend & I found what at one time was an old dump. About 24" down was a layer of junk about 3'- 4' deep. We excavated an area close to 60'x200' (city lot) and found thousands of old bottles, several small crocks and a whole bunch of other interesting items. Lots of the bottles had things printed right in the glass or aphacary markings, ect. Lots of different colors, brown, blue, green. Took a big bunch around to a few dealers. No real interest except for a few of the very rare types (brown Coke bottles w/ white lettering)

We still have a bunch (2000?) of bottles left. My wife has used a lot for decorating. No great loss as we've only got a little time invested at this point. Anyway,I know where to store the new ones if they don't sell! John

-- John in S IN (jsmengel@hotmail.com), September 10, 2000.

John, I have a friend that takes cut flowers out of her yard to farmers market in old bottles & jars & gets really good prices for them---just a thought I thought I'd share with you! Sonda in Ks.

-- Sonda (sgbruce@birch.net), September 11, 2000.

Does anyone still use the jars with the glass domes and wire bails? I was just given about 15 of them-beautiful shape!Also,in the bag of lids I was given were a couple boxes of the rubber rings-which also seem to be in marvelous condition:smooth and supple! Should I use them for canning???

I get most of my jars at auctions and don't mind paying a bit more for the pints.

Tonight,I hope to finally get some salsa canned-Lord willing of course.

Bye for now,God Bless,~~~Tracy~~~

-- Tracy Jo Neff (tntneff@ifriendly.com), September 12, 2000.

Since the kids are all grown we only use pints & half pints. When we asked at the job if any one wanted to sell their half pint & pint jars, we got more that we could use for free.

-- tommy joe campbell (tjcamp6338@aol.com), September 15, 2000.

Here's an idea for using quart or pint old jars. I fill them 3/4 of the way with sand and plop a candle inside of it. I actually hold the candle while I pour the sand in. As the candles burn down I pull the candles up. The drips go in the sand. They look country. Cluster many together. It works. If you have a harvest table line them down the middle. So many ways. So many jars. Jean

-- Godfreycove (ImJeanDoe@aol.com), December 21, 2000.

I use all my old blue jars with zinc lids or glass tops to store beans and rice and dried fruit and vegetables in.Some are on top of the cabinets and make a nice display as well.Most were finds from old dumps and some came from auctions. Dump diving can be rewarding!

Keep them babies,I say.Great find.

-- sharon wt (wildflower@ekyol.com), December 21, 2000.