Good afternoon, folks - I kept myself pretty busy this morning (daughter and the grandsons came out last evening) so just now got around to sitting down at the computer to read a bit, and then to start this thread.
I made the mistake of going out to the giant canning jar pile on the shed porch yesterday afternoon to see if I could guess how many more pint jars there were. Got tired of the mess so spent nearly three hours moving boxes, cleaning the area, and sorting the various sizes/types of jars into rows. I took a jumbled up mess of boxes that was about 16' long and up to 8' deep in a couple areas down to 10' long and no more than 4' deep; and each different type of jar now has it's own row - wide mouth quarts, regular quarts, wide mouth pints, half pints, jelly jars, jars for the beekeeper, and jars for the neighbor that does the farmer's market.
I was able to skip rows for regular mouth pints, 24 oz jars (freezer jars?), and half gallons as I carried all the pints the porch and placed them near the kitchen door - 47 jars in trays, plus two boxes with a total of 45 decorated jars (I haven't mustered up the patience to un-decorate them yet
) Then I brought in the few half gallon and the dozen or so 24 oz jars and managed to get them ran through the dishwasher last night, so I didn't have to have a row for them.
It's so much easier to wash and box the jars when I do all of the same size/style before moving on to a different size/style. I used up every good sized empty box I had at home plus several that Hubby brought me home from work. I tried to use mostly big boxes, stacking a double thickness of cardboard between the layers of jars; and judiciously stacking the boxes as well - the jars had been in everything from drawers, trays, storage containers, dishpans, rotting boxes, etc..., so getting them all boxed neatly saved a lot of space!! My (very) rough count of jars was:
40 - jelly jars (half pints)
68 - wide mouth pints
455 - regular mouth quarts
227 - wide mouth quarts
70 - beekeeper jars (non-branded pint jars)
18 - neighbor farmer's market jars (things like spaghetti sauce jars)
I'd pulled the boxes out of the back seat of Hubby's truck while he went on inside to eat his lunch; he came back out a bit later to help me carry the 28 yucky boxes and the wooden drawers out to the burn pile; and we filled 2 bird feed bags with recyclable plastic containers as well. Then - as I was standing there, dusting off my hands and mentally congratulating myself on a job well done - Hubby turned to me and said "Did you bring out all those jars that are stacked in between the freezer and stove in the shed, and the ones in the shed attic too?" Way to burst my bubble there Sweetie Pie I told him "No, I already ran out of boxes; maybe you can bring me some home from work on Tuesday and I can get started on those ones on Wednesday..."
I don't know how those of you who have extra jars store them, but as someone who has cleaned up a ton of jars from auctions, here is a request - please don't store them with ring bands on them, and if you don't have a solid lid for the box, please consider storing them upside down - an extra thickness of corrugated cardboard under them will protect them from chipping or breaking, and it makes them soooo much easier to clean up; not to mention not having to throw out jars that have dead mice in them... (yeah, glass is supposedly impermeable, but I have limits and dead mice = no use jar!)
Today was a pretty good day - I got two loads of pint jars ran through the dishwasher; just need to give them a quick hand washing, check for chips or hard water stains and get them boxed up for storage. The third load - part canning jars and part jars for the beekeeper - is still in the dishwasher; the grandsons and I had to take some time out of chores to play outside - water balloons, sprinkler, a physics lesson by way of how to keep your balance while standing in the wheelbarrow without tipping yourself out on to the ground (it's amazing how they can entertain themselves without their tablets lol!) We also made Jello based strawberry popsicles, filled birdfeeders, and put out some grape jelly for the orioles. Youngest grandson decided we needed fried chicken for lunch, so he and I ran in to town to the store and picked up a large box while daughter fixed some sides - home canned green beans, pasta salad, deviled eggs; she also quick chilled a jar of pickled beets and one of cinnamon applesauce. After lunch cleanup, the boys and I used a bag of frozen cinnamon rolls to prepare a pan of 'Monkey Bread' for snack later today; then I read for a bit and tried to get caught up on folding and putting away laundry while Hubby went to the shed to hang out with my cousins who are planting wildlife plots and the other three took naps. I just put the Monkey Bread in the oven and am trying to convince myself that I don't need a nap, especially since I have to get up early to go to work tomorrow...
Sounds like the crew is waking up - reckon I'd better go see what we are doing next!
Take care all - have a wonderful week!!
I made the mistake of going out to the giant canning jar pile on the shed porch yesterday afternoon to see if I could guess how many more pint jars there were. Got tired of the mess so spent nearly three hours moving boxes, cleaning the area, and sorting the various sizes/types of jars into rows. I took a jumbled up mess of boxes that was about 16' long and up to 8' deep in a couple areas down to 10' long and no more than 4' deep; and each different type of jar now has it's own row - wide mouth quarts, regular quarts, wide mouth pints, half pints, jelly jars, jars for the beekeeper, and jars for the neighbor that does the farmer's market.
I was able to skip rows for regular mouth pints, 24 oz jars (freezer jars?), and half gallons as I carried all the pints the porch and placed them near the kitchen door - 47 jars in trays, plus two boxes with a total of 45 decorated jars (I haven't mustered up the patience to un-decorate them yet
) Then I brought in the few half gallon and the dozen or so 24 oz jars and managed to get them ran through the dishwasher last night, so I didn't have to have a row for them. It's so much easier to wash and box the jars when I do all of the same size/style before moving on to a different size/style. I used up every good sized empty box I had at home plus several that Hubby brought me home from work. I tried to use mostly big boxes, stacking a double thickness of cardboard between the layers of jars; and judiciously stacking the boxes as well - the jars had been in everything from drawers, trays, storage containers, dishpans, rotting boxes, etc..., so getting them all boxed neatly saved a lot of space!! My (very) rough count of jars was:
40 - jelly jars (half pints)
68 - wide mouth pints
455 - regular mouth quarts
227 - wide mouth quarts
70 - beekeeper jars (non-branded pint jars)
18 - neighbor farmer's market jars (things like spaghetti sauce jars)
I'd pulled the boxes out of the back seat of Hubby's truck while he went on inside to eat his lunch; he came back out a bit later to help me carry the 28 yucky boxes and the wooden drawers out to the burn pile; and we filled 2 bird feed bags with recyclable plastic containers as well. Then - as I was standing there, dusting off my hands and mentally congratulating myself on a job well done - Hubby turned to me and said "Did you bring out all those jars that are stacked in between the freezer and stove in the shed, and the ones in the shed attic too?" Way to burst my bubble there Sweetie Pie
I told him "No, I already ran out of boxes; maybe you can bring me some home from work on Tuesday and I can get started on those ones on Wednesday..." I don't know how those of you who have extra jars store them, but as someone who has cleaned up a ton of jars from auctions, here is a request - please don't store them with ring bands on them, and if you don't have a solid lid for the box, please consider storing them upside down - an extra thickness of corrugated cardboard under them will protect them from chipping or breaking, and it makes them soooo much easier to clean up; not to mention not having to throw out jars that have dead mice in them... (yeah, glass is supposedly impermeable, but I have limits and dead mice = no use jar!)
Today was a pretty good day - I got two loads of pint jars ran through the dishwasher; just need to give them a quick hand washing, check for chips or hard water stains and get them boxed up for storage. The third load - part canning jars and part jars for the beekeeper - is still in the dishwasher; the grandsons and I had to take some time out of chores to play outside - water balloons, sprinkler, a physics lesson by way of how to keep your balance while standing in the wheelbarrow without tipping yourself out on to the ground (it's amazing how they can entertain themselves without their tablets lol!) We also made Jello based strawberry popsicles, filled birdfeeders, and put out some grape jelly for the orioles. Youngest grandson decided we needed fried chicken for lunch, so he and I ran in to town to the store and picked up a large box while daughter fixed some sides - home canned green beans, pasta salad, deviled eggs; she also quick chilled a jar of pickled beets and one of cinnamon applesauce. After lunch cleanup, the boys and I used a bag of frozen cinnamon rolls to prepare a pan of 'Monkey Bread' for snack later today; then I read for a bit and tried to get caught up on folding and putting away laundry while Hubby went to the shed to hang out with my cousins who are planting wildlife plots and the other three took naps. I just put the Monkey Bread in the oven and am trying to convince myself that I don't need a nap, especially since I have to get up early to go to work tomorrow...
Sounds like the crew is waking up - reckon I'd better go see what we are doing next!
Take care all - have a wonderful week!!
