Firestarters from recycled items

I have a wood stove and keep a fire most of the time…it’s an Earth Stove and is pretty efficient.  This morning the house was really cold, I started a fire before I left for work and I still had part of a log when I got home this evening.  Anyway, although I try to keep a fire all the time (mostly because I don’t like those $200 electricity bills) (I’m cheap that way!) and tend to use a lot of firestarters.

All year long I save things like pine cones, sawdust (if I have any wood projects I have been working on), shredded paper, toilet paper rolls, dryer lint, candles that I collect.  Sounds fun huh?  I also save paper bags from fast food, pharmacies and other smallish paper bags.  Sometimes I find the paper lunch bags at yard sales, auctions, etc. 

First I put the candles in a double boiler and get them to melting.  Then I fill the bags about 1/3 full of various things, usually put a pine cone or two in each one, add sawdust or shredded paper, add some dryer lint, a toilet paper roll or two… just fill it 1/3 full of whatever you have on hand.  Milo the pug helped me by keeping Mama kitty under control…right up until the time he crashed in the middle of the photo area!

 

Anyway, I pour the melted candle wax into the bags carefully, using an old measuring cup to dip…each bag gets about 1/2 cup of wax.  I remove any metal wick holders or foil labels, otherwise don’t worry about the paper labels and the wicks.   While the wax is still liquid I fold the top down, gently rotate the bag and set it inside a cardboard box to dry.

The great thing is that they smell pretty darn good, pretty much like the candles they are made from.  It’s great to be able to save a little cash here and then; the firestarters I buy are about $10 for 24 of them, I usually use two to start a fire.  With the homemade bags it only takes one to start the fire! They may not be quite as pretty, but hey, they were free and are made from recycled materials and they work!

I am linking to these great parties!