6 Incredible Uses for Leftover Candles
Any serious scented candle fanatic is familiar with the problem of leftover candles. You enjoy a nice candlelit evening enjoying the fragrance of your choice, but inevitably find yourself with an empty jar or pillar stub. Eventually, these items start to accumulate. If you’re of a very tidy mindset, you’ll immediately throw the remains away, grateful for the pleasure afforded by your little soy friend. Sometimes, it’s hard to let go of your leftover candles, and you end up building them up on mantelpieces and shelves. There’s always a lingering thought that the remaining wax should have a use.
This is a problem we’re very familiar with. At Made With Mia HQ, our R & D department (Aliona), goes through extensive pains to experiment with new and interesting candle designs. Spoiler: not all of them work out, and it’s only the best of the best that make it to our online store. For those that didn’t quite work out, we’ve come up with a list of ways to re-use a candle after it’s burnt. Here’s a few ideas for you to try.
1. Repurpose a Jar Candle as a Planter
Do you enjoy planting your own herbs and flowers? Well, a used candle jar can make an interesting and authentic plant jar. You’ll need to clean the inside of the jar thoroughly of any leftover wax - just soak in hot water for a minute or two, and the wax will scrape off easily. After that, just add some soil and plant your seeds of choice.
2. Use Soy Candle Wax to unstick Drawers, Zippers and More!
Soy wax and beeswax are great natural lubricants. If you’ve got a bit of wax leftover after burning a candle, just rub it on the drawer, door hinge or resistant zipper that is causing issues. The waxed surface should now glide in and out gracefully. Obviously, candle wax is a fuel for fire, so exercise common sense fire safety precautions in where you choose to apply it.
3. Make a new Candle
If you’ve got a lot of leftover candles, why not combine the wax into a brand new candle? For soy wax, the process is relatively simple - scrape out all the remaining wax into a metal pitcher, place this pitcher in a saucepan of boiling water, and wait until the melted wax reaches 65-70 degrees centigrade. Let it cool to around 50 degrees centigrade, pour into a jar, and hey presto! New candle. This is a quick and easy way to make a personal homemade candle. Quick tip: if you’re combining a lot of different leftover candles, have a quick sniff and make sure you’re using complimentary scents.
4. Shoelace Repair
Are the laces on your shoes starting to fray? Here’s a quick trick making use of candle wax. Melt down the remaining wax from a soy candle. Dip the end of your shoelace into the melted wax, remove, and allow it to dry. This will bind the frayed ends of the shoelace, and make it easier to thread.
5. Make Wax Melts
Wax melts are becoming increasingly popular. If you’ve got a lot of leftover wax from your favourite scented candles, why not make the most of it and make some wax melts? This is a very similar process to making a new candle. Just melt down the wax (removing any leftover wicks), and let it cool to around 50 degrees centigrade. Pour the scented wax into a silicone mould, and let it harden completely. You can then enjoy your favourite candle fragrance all over again!
6. Create Homemade Air Fresheners from Old Candle Jars
This is a tutorial from Thistlewood Farms that we just fell in love with - https://thistlewoodfarms.com/personalized-all-natural-room-scents/. You’ll need to very throughly clean the sox wax from the jar before attempting this. Just fill the jar with hot water, leave it a minute or two, and then the wax should scrape out easily. But this is an amazing, natural way to reuse your candle jars.
These are just a handful of ideas to get the most out of your leftover candles. Burning a quality scented candle is an incredibly personal experience, so it makes sense to get the most from it once the burn has finished. Additionally, this can save you money and open the door to a dizzying array of potential crafts projects. Good luck with reusing your leftover candles. If you have any other ideas, or want to share some photos of your homemade candles, planters and wax melts, please share them with us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. We’d love to seem them!
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