Transform A Pickle Container Into A Genius Coffee Cup Solution

Surely we aren't the only ones sitting on a surplus of pickle jars? We adore these briny treats — we even rounded up the top Trader Joe's buys for pickle lovers — and we're all about holding onto potentially useful recyclables for future utilization. What if we told you, however, that a stylish and useful social media DIY hack was the only thing standing between you and better coffee drinking ... and your cache of empty pickle jars was the key to success?

Strictly speaking, it needn't be an actual pickle jar for you to drink out of it. Jelly jars or any glass jar used for food storage can be put to work creating a better coffee cup. Your first step is to meticulously clean the inside of your jar of any residual food particles or odors. Remove the outside labels or leave them on for quirky coolness factor. All there's left to do is use a drill to (carefully!) bore a hole in the center of the lid, and you have the ideal place to stick a straw.

Glass is a superior choice for drinkware; recall that it ranked high on our list of plastic water bottle alternatives. Drinking from glass eases worries about microplastics, for one thing. Glass can also be reused indefinitely, though be aware of thermal shock – your jar likely isn't heat-resistant borosilicate glass, so avoid sudden temperature changes that can crack it, like pouring in very hot liquids. Also, glass pickle jars in particular are super cost-effective. You already paid for the pickles, so why not upcycle the jar? As a bonus, your coffee cup will likely fit in your car's cupholder and will look super cute in your hand.

As a project, transforming pickle jars into coffee cups really has very few provisos. The biggest exception to that statement, however, has to do with the straw hole that you might drill into the lid. Since the lid is very likely made of metal, the cut edges are liable to be sharp. You might dull them down a bit with a piece of sandpaper, but, for the safest option, pick up some rubber grommets from your local hardware store and keep them on hand. Not only will you have extra grommets for future coffee cups you put together, but you'll also have replacements on hand for when the ones installed need to be switched out for cleanliness — unlike glass, rubber will eventually need to be replaced!

When we covered a TikTok DIYer turning pickle jars into cute treat storage with the addition of thrifted decorative doorknobs, we discussed possible issues having to do with jar decorations and food storage. We can't condone utilizing spray paint here for that same reason, as hardware store spray paints tend to not be food safe. That doesn't mean that you can't turn your bespoke coffee cup into something beautiful and special, however! Removable decorations like ribbons are always solid choices, and you might just find that silicone bottle boots intended for narrower, taller water bottles fit your jars just fine. Of course, you can also decorate your pickle jar with fannish vinyl stickers the exact same way you might do with a pricey Stanley or Owala specimen! If it's marketed as an accessory for drinking vessels already, you can consider it safe to adorn your pickle jar.