Administered by:
Recycling tip: Do you have a glass jar you want to reuse, but the labels are held down with that sticky kind of glue which doesn’t come off, no matter how long you soak it for? Try this.
Soak it enough that you can scratch away the paper labels and leave only the glue on the jar. Take a cloth dipped in cooking oil, press it firmly to the glue, and rub it in small circular motions. The oil should loosen the glue enough that the cloth will wipe it all away. It tastes a few minutes, so be persistent.
Then wash and dry the jar with soap, and now you have a clean, reusable jar!
Ugh. Takes* a few minutes. Thanks autocorrect, but I am unable to taste time. Believe me, I’ve tried.
@InvaderXan that is a great tip, thanks 
@InvaderXan
I usually scratch the upper layer of the label as much as possible, then water helps a lot. If you let it soak a few minutes most glue comes off.
If the "friendly" way does not do it, I hit it with chemicals¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@InvaderXan Another thing that seems to work is soaking the jars/bottles in warm water with soda crystals dissolved into it.
It usually seems to weaken the glue enough that the label will fall off on its own, and any glue residue wipes off easily with a scouring pad. I've come across one type of bottle where it seemed not to work though, so there may be different types of glue?
It was very useful when I've needed to do batches of lots of bottles at once.
@InvaderXan ah yes, I've tried that a few times too, but it seems to depend on the specific adhesive, some glues work better with oil, some don't. If oil doesn't help, I've had success with alcohol too. Like, vodka, if no isopropyl alcohol or ethanol is in reach.
@daniel_bohrer @InvaderXan If all else fails, acetone usually does the trick.
@daniel_bohrer @InvaderXan second this! I finally removed some residue from a plastic container with turpentine. It had been stuck on for years, but just took a little turps on a paper towel to get rid of it. o_o
(But then, I'm an artist. We always have turps. If we don't it's like, gotta go to the DIY store and buy some turps XD)
Will try the cooking oil way next time though!
@bentosmile @daniel_bohrer Turpentine is a non-polar organic solvent. For this purpose, so is cooking oil.
Meanwhile, alcohol and acetone are polar solvents. A glue which dissolves in oil usually will not readily dissolve in a polar solvent.
@InvaderXan @daniel_bohrer oh interesting! (I do wish I had seen people suggesting oil when I originally needed it.)
Acetone I only use when I have superglue fingers XD because a tiny bit of glue always ends up on my hands no matter how careful I am!
@InvaderXan There's plenty of citrus-based adhesive removers available too, which will do the trick without any elbow grease.
@Jo Hmm, I haven’t tried those. Perhaps I should. I’ve just found that oil works better than any common household solvents, and it’s easy to get hold of
"... I am unable to taste time."
That's a little disappointing.
"Believe me, I’ve tried."
I believe you, and that's less disappointing.