Oil Bottles

I read a post from Acanthus and Acorn, one of my favorite blogs, that inspired me.  She is an interior decorator. The post was written about organizing and decorating the laundry room.  I don't have a laundry room in this house.  I have a laundry closet, but am always interested in a new way of organizing.  The picture she posted of her laundry room showed her fabric softener stored in an oil bottle.  I thought "what a neat idea!".  I prefer liquid fabric softener to dryer sheets anyday, but hate the "gunk" that accumulates in your lid as your measure and pour out the correct amount for each load.  By using an oil bottle, you can pour the fabric softener directly into your washing machine without any dribbles and spills and do away with measuring out of a lid at all.

I started thinking of other ways to use oil bottles.  Of course, I use an oil bottle for my olive oil.  Such a great way to add oil while you're cooking to the exact spot you want to add it.  I thought of using oil bottles for mouthwash.  The bottles that mouthwash are packaged in tend to leak and become quite sticky on your bathroom counter after a couple of uses.  I keep an oil bottle with mouthwash in each bathroom with little glasses for each person to pour their mouthwash into.  No more sticky bathroom counters.

I put bleach in my dish water after I have washed my dishes to kill germs while wiping down my counters.  I tried an oil bottle for the bleach knowing that it might corrode the rubber stopper.  I was right...it is slowly corroding the stopper, so I wouldn't advise trying to use an oil bottle for bleach.  I have heard of others using the oil bottles for dishwashing liquid, but I have a built in liquid dispenser with my sink so there was no need for another one.

Oil bottles are beautiful and decorative.  I found the oil bottles pictured at Wal-Mart.  The small oil bottles were $2.96 and the tall oil bottles were $3.96.  Very inexpensive!  I hope this is something you can use in your home, too.  If you find other uses for oil bottles, please let me know!  I'd love to hear from you. 

If you are interested in reading Acanthus and Acorn's blog on laundry rooms, click on the following link:  http://acanthusandacorn.blogspot.com/2010/03/tuesday-tip_23.html