DIY: Recycle & Reuse Candle Jars

Asalam Waliykum,

Do you love candles? especially the ones that come in glass jars? I do! My favorite has to be Yankee candles, and the glass jars they come in are so nice and pretty. I used to chuck them in the recycle bin and it seemed like such a waste, but I never knew what I could use them for. However, I came across some advice a year or so ago, about removing the left over wax and reusing them to store food or snacks or decorate them or simply put other candles inside.

I never thought they would come in handy, but after watching a few videos on you tube about making your own makeup brush holder or to hold other bits and pieces using sweet jars and other food containers containers. Then, I had a light bulb moment! Why not use the candle Jars to hold my makeup brushes, cotton buds and cotton face pads etc.

Super easy to make. you need to collect a few candle jars or get as many as you need and any size, and depends on what you plan on using them for. 

Once the candle is finished, Remove any labels, stickers etc and place them into the freezer. I usually leave them over night. When you remove them from the freezer simple place your hand at the bottom of the jar and use the warmth of your hand to warm it up for a few minutes. The heat will transfer through the glass and warm the candle slightly so it loosens up. You can tip it upside down and if your lucky it will just fall out. If not, then you need to get a spatula or a knife and gentle scrape along the very edge of the candle to loosen it up a bit. Then tip it over again and place your hand on the back and it should just pop right out!
Tadaaa! You have your empty jar, give it a good soak in hot soapy water and scrub any residue from the wax or labels.

Once dry use as desired. You can decorate them with ribbon, or glue on sequins or fill with beads or gravel or sand or whatever you wish. I kept mine simple, plain and sleek. I made 4, one I used to store snacks in the kitchen, and the smallest one (Glade candle Jar) for my mini eco tools brushes and the the other two for cotton buds and pads. I hope to make more In Sha Allah for my Quilling bits and pieces and other things. I will try not to get carried away though. But since I realised they have so many uses I have gone a bit crazy and look at any jar and see what I could turn it into, lately I am even eyeing up the jam jars in the kitchen....

I hope this is useful. I am trying to be more green, and recycling is a good way to start. So I hope this also encourages you to think of reusing and not wasting money on jars that you already have in your home. Some Glass makeup containers and even the acrylic plastic ones can set you back quite a bit, for a piece of acrylic plastic you can pay anywhere from £10 to £50!!! So save your money and up-cycle what you have in your home.

Jazaka Allah khier for reading!

wasalam -x-