DIY Goo Gone

A quick search on Pinterest (or the Google) reveals the many varied uses for coconut oil. But, did you know it's really good at removing labels and their attendant sticky residue? I've been collecting small containers for my niece. I'm putting together some Montessori materials for her, and one of the first ones is going to be an Open and Close work (watch this space for the post about that).

Anyway, several of the containers I've saved for her have rather stubborn labels. I want the containers to be as streamlined and label free as possible, so I wanted to take off all the labels. I soaked the containers in soapy water for 15 minutes while I looked around for some label vanquishing supplies. Normally, I'd just use Goo Gone, but I'm not sure about how great it would be if there was any left over on the containers, because I know these will end up in her mouth at some point.

After soaking, the labels were a little easier to peel up from the edges and as I peeled, I kept them submerged, allowing the new sections to get totally wet. I was able to get the top, glossy layer off just by picking and peeling. But there was still the sticky glue residue and a thin layer of paper. For this part, I dipped an old toothbrush (actually one I got for free from an airline...) in a bit of coconut oil. The containers were already a little warm because of the hot water, which I think helped the oil absorb into the paper. Just a little scrubbing with the toothbrush and the containers were totally clean! I used a little dish soap to clean off the coconut oil, and now it'll be fine for Baby Girl to mouth these containers as much as she wants.