You Don't Need A Fancy Soap Dispenser: Try This Mason Jar Hack Instead

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While there are many mason jars hacks to take your dishes to the next level, why not use a hack to keep your dishes clean? Fancy soap dispensers are often expensive with few to no ways to repair them, but a simple mason jar and a couple household tools are all you need to make your own at home!

All you need is a mason jar, hole puncher, and soap pump to make your own dispenser with some leftover jars. While you could hack away at the thin metal of the lid with a safety knife, it's much safer to puncture it with a hole puncher instead. If the hole still isn't quite the right size, try using a pair of cuticle scissors to widen it or find a large nail of roughly the same circumference as your soap pump's tube. After that, all you have to do is fill the jar with soap, screw on the lid, then thread the pump through the hole.

If you find the pump is moving too much, there are other dollar store finds that can solve your problem. You can use hot glue to affix the pump to the lid or just twist several rubber bands underneath the lid to create an impromptu rubber gasket. While hot glue may be easier, the rubber band method is great for keeping the surface of the lid nice and clean looking, giving you a rustic and functional kitchen accent.

If you're one of those people who have trouble eyeballing how much of an ingredient to add when cooking, then good news! You don't have to just use this dispenser for soap. Fill your jar with water first and see how much each squirt produces for an easy way to measure everything from simple syrups to olive oil.

If you want to use this hack for cooking oil, try to find tinted mason jars. One of the biggest reasons you shouldn't store olive oil in plastic bottles is because they let in light, increasing the rate at which the oil degrades. This is also true of most other cooking oils that may not need refrigeration, so take this opportunity to pick out some jars that match your kitchen's color scheme. Even other small accent pieces like ribbons, stickers, and paint can help protect your oil while making your dispenser more lovely, so feel free to get creative with it.

If you're big on cocktails but hate having to wash a handful of jiggers, tablespoons, and other little measuring devices every time you make a drink, these dispensers can be a real time saver. Plus, soap pumps are fairly airtight, with their various valves only opening when pressed, so you won't have to worry about too much air exposure. While you may not want to risk your fancy bottle of bourbon evaporating, these dispensers are fantastic for simple syrups, bitters, and other flavorings you may need in small doses.