The Old Milk Jug Kitchen Hack That's Too Useful To Ignore

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If you've ever tried to pour liquid from one container into another and ended up spilling it everywhere but where it was supposed to go, you're not alone. Whether you're trying to pour cooled homemade limoncello base from a pot or Caesar dressing into bottles, transferring liquids (and just about anything else, for that matter) is a surprisingly difficult task. What you need to make things easier is a funnel, but not everyone has one on hand. In a pinch, this easy hack lets you craft one from an unexpected recyclable: a plastic gallon jug.

To make a funnel, grab an empty gallon jug — the kind commonly used for milk, water or juice, and half-gallon jugs should work well too — and, using a Sharpie, draw a cutting template by marking lines around the top of the handle and a wider, squarish swath encompassing the bottom of the handle. Next, it's time to get to cutting. An X-Acto or other utility knife is probably your best option, or take a stab at your old milk jug with scissors. When you're done, make sure to clean the funnel with soap and warm water. If you can, use a straw cleaner to clean out the handle. Afterward, you should have a functional, albeit flimsy, funnel, with the handle serving as the spout.

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A homemade funnel is good for refilling dry ingredients and non-hazardous liquids. If you're trying to refill little spice jars or salt and pepper shakers, this hack should work perfectly. For liquids, like refilling a fancy olive oil bottle, try angling the funnel and potentially also the container you're transferring into so that the funnel works more as a slide, lessening the likelihood of liquid going everywhere.

Unlike a commercial funnel, the milk jug version has an open side, so trying to use it to transfer cooking grease into another container, or anything hot that could hurt you if spilled, is not a good idea. Plus, it's generally not advised to heat up single-use plastics due to chemical leaching.

It's best to look at this hack as a temporary solution. Reusing cleaned plastic gallons once or twice — especially if you didn't drink directly from them  —  is fairly safe, especially if they're "new" in the sense that they're from recent use and you didn't pull them from the recycling bin. However, this homemade funnel is not a permanent kitchen tool. If you find yourself needing a funnel often, consider springing for a store-bought one.