Done With Your Holiday Candles? Try These 6 Clever Reuse Ideas
Want to know how to reuse candle jars after the wax melts down? Follow these tips!
Don’t toss out those Christmas candles, here’s how to give them new life!
Those pretty holiday candle jars are too pretty to use once! Once the wax is gone, they’re easy to clean and perfect for upcycling around the house. I had a stash of empty Bath & Body Works candle jars piling up, so I gave them new life as storage for bathroom essentials, beauty items, and more!
Get your candles ready for reuse with these easy steps:
1. Clean them out. Freeze them for at least a few hours, then you’ll be able to use a butter knife to crack the wax easily and remove it. The metal wick pops off just as easily – wiggle it loose and you’re done!
(Optional) Trash or save the excess wax. As an idea, you could also save it and place the wax in your favorite wax warmer. I can smell the leftover pumpkin spice already!
2. Remove the labels. Soak the jars in hot soapy water, and then they will usually come off pretty easily. If there’s still a little wax residue inside the glass, place it in the microwave for a few seconds to help melt and it will be easier to wipe clean.
Hip tips for stubborn labels: Try acetone, Goo Gone, or WD-40 overnight – it should magically fall off in the morning! Otherwise, for a more natural methos, one of our readers suggested lemon essential oil to get any remaining glue off.
Here are some fun ideas for re-purposing your jars!
1. Make beautiful bathroom apothecary jars.
To create some pretty apothecary jars for my bathroom, I glued some inexpensive clear glass knobs to the top of metal candle covers. Also, to make sure that the knobs stand the test of time, I used some heavy-duty e6000 craft glue.
I’m so happy with how they look on the bathroom counter! 😍 I chose to add cotton balls and Q-tips to mine, but you can add any small bathroom necessities that you want. Plus, it doubles as some pretty gorgeous home decor.
2. Use them for small, sealed food items.
While we don’t recommend using these containers for open food items, you can still fill them with smaller food items that you want to keep on display, such as sugar packets at your coffee station or individually wrapped candies for your guests.
Hip tip for reusing your candle jars: In order to get rid of the candle fragrance before placing your food items into the jars, readers suggested trying some of the following tricks:
- Run them through the dishwasher.
- Soak them in vinegar and baking soda.
- Place wadded-up newspaper inside to absorb the smell.
- Leave the lids off to air them out.
3. Place craft accessories to display and use.
If you’re reading this post, chances are you’re big into crafting like me! If you want a decorative and fun way to display all your favorite craft supplies, you can hang up some of our favorite floating shelves and fill them with your repurposed jars – they’ll look stunning with so many colorful buttons, ribbons, and whatever else your craft room has in store.
4. Use them as table centerpieces.
Do you have a special event coming up soon? We’re always looking for frugal ways to make milestone moments even more special while staying on budget. Consider reusing your candle jars as vases for fresh flowers at your wedding, graduation, baby shower, or any special occasion you have coming up.
5. Place all your makeup brushes in them.
Having the perfect storage solution for all your makeup makes life so much easier when you’re getting ready in the morning! Plus, with these Bath and Body Works candles, you’ll likely just need one jar to have enough room for all your essentials.
6. Store all your hair accessories.
Hair ties come and go in our house and having a place to store them all will ensure you’ll never be trying to hunt one down during your morning rush again! You can also consider throwing in some clips, bobby pins, or whatever else you have trouble finding when you need to get ready!
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