Makin' Fire Starters

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This isn’t very interesting, but it is kinda crafty and very useful. I have a little cabin up in the mountains and I make fire starters to get a quick fire going in my woodstove which is my main heat source. The faster I light the fire, the faster I warm up.

I save our egg cartons, dryer lint and old candle stubs for these and they’re perfect for this “second job”, I only have to make these once a year or so. Each one lasts for about 4 minutes, that’s generally enough time for the kindling to catch.

Yesterday i made 132 of them, my biggest batch.

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I tear up the tops of the egg cartons and put a bit of this at the bottom of each little section, it helps to keep the wax from seeping out the bottom of the cartons, making less of a mess, it also gives each fire starter a little more omph and burn time.

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On top of the cardboard pieces goes a big pinch of dryer lint, then I spoon on the wax.

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Viola! Enough to last until next winter! Each one is easily torn off as needed. I love making something useful from practically nothin!

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Also chopped up a big basket of kindling yesterday.

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I feel warmer already.:fire:

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23 Likes
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We make these as well! My family loves a crackling fire on a cold night. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Aren’t they great? I’ve also done the ones with toilet paper rolls, but it seems to me those use a lot more wax, have you tried that style? After a few years of this, I’ve found that for me, these are just right to get the fire going without a lot of hassle.

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We use the egg cartons as well. My husband does a lot of smoking/grilling so he makes large quantities of starters all at once. He’s about due to make another batch.

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5

So cool and useful! I wish I had a cabin in the woods, but I suppose our backyard chiminea will have to do.

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6

I had no idea you could make fire starters! We have wood heat too and these would be super useful. We typically by the store bought ones when it is really cold and they are ridiculously expensive imo. So good to have a cheaper alternative.

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7

Heck yeah! Love the reducing and reusing.

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8

I make these, too! We don’t burn a lot of candles, so I buy paraffin wax, but even still they end up costing pennies a piece! WAY less than storebought. I like your idea of putting a bit of the tops into the cups to get that much more "starting power. " I’ll have to do that next time I made a batch.

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9

Good project! I love that you’re repurposing things that would otherwise be discarded.

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10

Thanks everyone!

11

That’s really cool! I might try to make some for when me and my husband go camping. It seems like they’d be a good backup to keep on hand.

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12

They’re awesome for camping, I put a few in a ziplock and keep with the camping supplies. Especially useful at the end of a camping season when there isn’t a lot of small kindling around because it’s been used by previous campers. :+1:

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13

So smart!! I will definitely make some of these for our trips.

Marked as a tutorial, too – thank you for sharing!

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14

I wish I could talk my dad into making some of these. His way of starting a fire (and he wood heats so this is a common occurrence) is to splash in some kerosene into the wood stove and then throw in a match.

15

:flushed: Yeegads! I have plenty, shall I send him some?? :rofl:

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16

Do you find the wax turns to residue in the fireplace?

This is brilliant, and i need to start saving my lint.

17

Firestarters are on my list :smiley: and these look really cool and comfy :smiley: I love that you can reuse so many things :smiley: