What's a durable way to label Ikea Slom and Ihärdig jars?

November 8, 2011 11:54 AM

What's a durable way to label Ikea Slom and Ihärdig jars?

I'm storing dried herbs and spices in Slom jars of various sizes and in one or two Ihärdig spice jars, and I need a way to label them that's as resistant to wear, tear, and water as possible. It doesn't matter if the top, side, or bottom is labelled -- I just want it to last.

For the Slom jars, I know some people paint the lid with chalkboard paint, but I'm looking for other options.

posted by neushoorn to food & drink (15 answers total)

Baby bottle labels
posted by Horselover Phattie at 11:56 AM on November 8, 2011

stencils and glass etching cream, easy peasy.
posted by peachfuzz at 12:00 PM on November 8, 2011

example
inverted (and prolly easier to read)
posted by peachfuzz at 12:04 PM on November 8, 2011

Wax pencil? Or lab markers?
posted by mskyle at 12:17 PM on November 8, 2011

If the spices came labelled bag I cut off the label and put it inside the jar up against the side. For bail style containers I use metal rimmed tags like these from Avery.
posted by squeak at 12:33 PM on November 8, 2011

make a small paper label, and attach it to the bottle with clear packing tape, making sure that the paper is sealed in by the tape all the way around - this will last a long time and be washable as well. If you are careful and make sure the tape doesn't wrinkle, it looks pretty good too.

For permanent labels, you could get porcelain markers at an art supply store - then you write on the jar and bake the glaze onto the glass.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 1:16 PM on November 8, 2011 [2 favorites]

If you want it to look snazzy and semi-professional, I recommend a Brother labeler. I have this one, but the specific labeler you use is less important than the label tape. That stuff stays on through the dishwasher, sticks forever, then peels off cleanly when you want to remove it. I never realized how many things cried out for labels until I bought a Brother labeler.

There are also labels available you can write on by hand, erase and rewrite, and they also stick forever. This is just one iteration; they come in various sizes for different purposes.
posted by DrGail at 1:18 PM on November 8, 2011

I have all my spices in glass jars from the dollar store. My partner used a glass paint pen to write the name on them, and then we baked them in the oven to set the paint. They're completely durable, washable, etc. We had paper labels before, but then we could never wash them. I think we used something like this.
posted by sabotagerabbit at 1:28 PM on November 8, 2011

Oh, oops, sorry 5_13_..., just noticed you already suggested those pens...
posted by sabotagerabbit at 1:29 PM on November 8, 2011

I love this trick. Chalkboard paint !
posted by The Violet Cypher at 2:16 PM on November 8, 2011

Oops. Read... then comment. Sorry.
posted by The Violet Cypher at 2:17 PM on November 8, 2011

You want it to be permanent?

In college we used to have an "underground whisky drinking club" where we'd sign the bottle after consuming it. Sharpies and CD-pens were unsatisfying, and we ended up using a dremel with a stone tip to etch it.

It's easy to do, especially after some practice, as evinced by that extremely drunk people can do it and no-one had ever hurt themselves. However, I'd still recommend some basic eye and hand protection in case the glass bottle shatters (which it never did).
posted by porpoise at 3:27 PM on November 8, 2011

I also love my labeling machine, and I used clear tape with black ink to label my spice containers. However, I'm not sure how durable they would be. For the Slom jars, I would use hanging tags, I think, probably tied with packing string. You could take the labels off to wash the bottles, and switch ingredients as necessary.
posted by raisingsand at 3:57 PM on November 8, 2011

A label from a Dymo or Brother label maker survived two years at the bottom of a kitchen sink at work.
posted by Harald74 at 5:13 AM on November 9, 2011

Thanks, all. I went with flat paper labels, secured with clear packing tape, on the lids of the Slom jars. The Ihärdig jars are trickier because they're round and the lid isn't very label-able, so I'll be keeping an eye out for something similar to what Horselover Phattie linked.
posted by neushoorn at 8:22 AM on November 16, 2011