"Ugly" Fire Starters

Here's a simple recycling project that uses things you would normally throw away to make something very useful. We love to camp and have campfires and I learned how to make these years ago on the Phil Donahue Show.

The supplies are: cardboard egg cartons, dryer lint, and old candle stubs (birthday candles, taper candles or that last inch of a pillar candle that you can't light anymore). All you do is stuff the lint into the bottom of the cartons, melt the wax in an old can or pot set in another pan of water (sort of a double boiler) and pour the wax over the lint, wicks and all. Work over newspaper and if you spill a little wax or it seeps through a bit, crumple that paper and use it as a fire starter too. Let the cartons cool and close them up. You can tear them apart, top and all, and they will burn for quite a while giving your campfire a good start. Even though they are ugly, they smell a lot better than lighter fluid and work better too.

Hint: If you have a used up votive candle and the wax is stuck in the glass container, just set it in the freezer for a while and it will come right out.

Simply,
Mary