Help Your Gardening Gloves Last Longer With A Simple Storage Tip

Gardening is known to be one of the most relaxing and enjoyable hobbies possible. It gets us outside, away from screens, and up close and personal with Mother Nature. Gardening is even considered to be good for your health, in stark contrast to many other hobbies. Still, gardening comes with a few drawbacks, as you're often ripping out weeds, dealing with thorny shrubs, and coming into contact with dangerous plants such as poison ivy. Any gardener worth their weight in soil knows that the most powerful tool in their arsenal is a sturdy pair of gardening gloves. If you're not a seasoned professional in the garden, however, you might not know that glove storage can make or break your experience in the dirt. Nothing is worse than preparing for an early morning pulling roots and planting flowers, only to find that your gloves have become tattered and stringy from improper storage.

Luckily, there are a few methods for keeping your gardening gloves fresh and ready for action, such as sealing them in a mason jar while not in use. A lidded jar can help to prevent your gloves from being exposed to the elements in between gardening sessions, and it will keep them fresher much longer. This hack will also save you from the terror of finding an unknown bug nesting inside of your cuffs, or getting a nasty bite when you slide your hands inside. 

After a long day of pulling weeds in the garden, many amateur gardeners find themselves taking their gloves off, dropping them near the flower beds, and heading inside for a refreshing beverage. While it's tempting to fall into this pattern, you should remain mindful that your gloves deserve to be treated as carefully as any other expensive tool in your arsenal. Storing them inside a mason jar not only ensures that bugs and moisture won't get inside, it also develops a sense of reverence for the in-demand material. The mason jar trick is fairly straightforward, though there is one thing to keep in mind before screwing the lid on your jar and heading for the refrigerator. Make sure to thoroughly clean and dry your gloves before dropping them inside the jar, as the airtight seal could host the conditions for mold and mildew to form.

For the tidiest look, consider rolling the gloves into a tight pair, and tucking them into the jar similar to the military roll method for folding socks. From there, be sure to place the jar in a handy and visible space so that you never lose it. When doing so, think of the French term mise en place, which means everything has its place. Creating specific zones for your gardening tools, gloves, and other accoutrement is a fun and enjoyable way to clock in and clock out of your gardening time, making you a more efficient and forward-thinking hobbyist. Of course, you should always keep a spare pair of gloves on hand, just in case the day finally comes that the main pair start to fall apart. Plus, you can always repurpose your mason jars once you're finished with them to make something cute and stylish.