Sometimes, there is no worse feeling than when your favorite candle has burned out.
This heartbreak can lead to so many questions: should you buy a new one? How much will a new one cost?
Should you throw away the old candle jar?
We will answer the latter question for you: absolutely not.
There are several reasons why you should keep an empty candle jar around, and we have listed some of these reasons below. Check them out, and give your empty candle jar a new life.
Let’s get started!
How To Remove Excess Wax From Candle Jars
Even if you have used a candle until it cannot be lit anymore, the odds are that there will be some wax left inside the glass container. In fact, it’s likely that there will be a lot of wax left over.
How do you clean an old candle jar?
One option is to scrape the wax out, but this method will take forever.
You can try to scrape the majority of the wax out if you want: the easiest way to do this is to place the candle jar in the freezer, allowing it to freeze until the wax starts to separate from the glass container.
Then, take it out of the freezer, and use a butter knife to scrape as much out as you can.
Your best option is to simply fill the candle jar with boiling water, and wait for the heat to melt all the wax.
The waxy particles will then float to the surface, and you will be able to scoop it all out – just be careful not to burn yourself!
Then, rinse the jar with soap and water, and you’re done. Easy, right?
What To Do With Old Candle Jars
So, now that you have removed all the old wax from your candle jar, you are left with an empty, spotless, seemingly useless candle jar.
What do you do with it now?
Well, there are a couple of options here. Below, we have listed a handful of purposes that an old, empty candle jar could be put to use for.
Decoration
The reason you most likely haven’t thrown the candle jar away already is because you appreciate how it looks, and feel that you should find a purpose for it elsewhere.
Why not use it as a decoration around your home?
You could fill it up with fairy lights (battery operated, so the wires don’t hang out of the jar), or place a tiny, tea light candle inside.
This small but powerful light will light up an entire room, creating a beautiful ambiance throughout your home.
Or, you could fill it up with stones, sand, and flowers to create a simple ornament. Fill it up with layers of colorful rocks, sand, and other materials to make your very own homemade decoration.
Storage
Another idea that will change your life is to use an empty candle jar as a form of storage.
Depending on the size of the jar, you could have it to hold several items, in any room in your home.
If placed in the bathroom, you could use the jar to hold cotton balls, cotton buds, or even toothbrushes.
If you still have the lid for the candle, even better: you can place the lid on top to secure everything in place.
When placed in the kitchen, you could use it to store spices, or anything else that you might need at hand, that is small enough to fit inside.
In the bedroom, you could use it as a nightstand lamp holder, or to hold jewelry.
A popular use for candle jars is to use them as pencil holders, paper clips, or to hold office supplies in general.
If you’re looking for a storage holder in your study, look no further than an empty candle jar to do the job for you. Plus, this way, you get to save money through recycling!
Planting
Here’s an option for anyone who considers themselves to have green thumbs. Grab some soil, seeds, and a small watering can, and grow a plant inside the jar!
Of course, miniature candle jars will be far too small to contain a plant, but if the container is a decent size, you may be able to do this.
If you’re an experienced gardener, you will know which plants are suitable to be planted inside a small container like a candle jar, so you can decide what you would like to plant.
If you’re a beginner, you should probably do your research first, but it is important to know that you can start growing certain plants in a small container, and then move them once they start to outgrow their environment.
We think this is a genius idea, as it is not only a fun hobby to take up, but a blooming plant will also look beautiful in your home. Give it a try!
New Candles
Last but not least, you should definitely consider creating a new candle.
If you have never done this before, it may sound a little difficult, but don’t worry: once you get the hang of it, you will hate yourself for not doing this before.
The best part about this is you can create a candle of any color, and any scent! You can create your very own candle, completely to your own preference.
To create your own candle, you will need to purchase suitable wax, essential oils, some oil based color dye, and a wick.
There are plenty of tutorials online that will help you manufacture your very own candle, and they’re pretty easy to follow. We say go for it!
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are many ways to repurpose an old candle jar. It really depends on what kind of project you are working on, and whether you need something practical.
We hope that, while sifting through our list above, you found some options that work for you. In this day and age, it really is important to reuse old materials rather than just throwing them away.
Plus, this will save you money! Why would you buy a brand-new candle when you can make your own, and make it look and smell exactly how you would like it to?
We hope you enjoyed this article. Good luck with your crafting!
Slowing down the process of global warming can allow them to have all of the amazing experiences that I had with my children, but with theirs.
It’s too late to stop global warming altogether, but we can slow it down. If everyone were to live a greener lifestyle, we might be able to help the younger generations just a little bit in the future.
We have already made irreparable damages to our planet, so can’t we all band together and commit to slowing down the consequences?
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