Repurpose Your Candle Jars With This Easy Trick

These gorgeous jars are perfect for small items like rubber bands, paper clips, push pins, coins, buttons, cotton swabs, nails, chapstick, candy and much more.

DIY household tip! How to repurpose candle jars.

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One of my biggest weaknesses in life is when Bath & Body Works has a sale on their 3 wick candles. I probably have a lifetime supply in every scent for every holiday because I just can’t resist a good deal! Especially when they come up with new irresistible scents every year.

In the past, I’ve always felt so guilty throwing those pretty jars and lids away, but the idea of scraping out all of that wax seemed like too much of a headache. However, I recently stumbled across a little trick to getting the wax out with hardly any effort at all, and it has changed my life! Ok, that’s a little dramatic, but it’s definitely changed the way I look at candle jars now.

I’ll never throw away another one of these jars again– just look at how beautiful they are with the wax cleaned out! All of the candles from Bath & Body Works seem to have a different style of lid too, so every jar is unique.

HERE’S HOW TO DO IT:

Place your candle(s) in the freezer for about 2 hours. The cold air shrinks the wax, causing it to separate from the jar. Eat some ice cream while you’re waiting (optional).
Once the wax is nice and cold, use a knife or butterknife to help further separate the wax from the glass. Every candle seems to be a little different. Most of the time the wax comes out easily in one big chunk, and sometimes you have to pry it out in several pieces.
I’ve found that the label comes off easily with one pull, and doesn’t leave any residue behind. Yay! Now you’re left with the bottom sticker which is much more obvious once the wax is removed. After the jar is back to room temperature, simply place it in a bowl of hot water so that the sticker on the bottom is completely submerged. Wait about 10 minutes, and voila! The sticker will scrape right off.
To remove the excess wax residue, place the jar in the microwave for about 30 seconds, and wipe it away with a napkin. Now, wash the jars and lids with dish soap and water, and you’re done!

As you can see, there are so many ways to use these jars! You could even slap a chalkboard label on there for the finishing touch. I like to use them for office supplies, craft supplies and Q-tips or cotton balls for the bathroom. In fact, they’re pretty enough to simply use for decoration.