Reusing Yankee Candle Jars
Our major repurposing project this week comes courtesy of Yankee Candle. I found an old jar candle with a stubby wick and not much wax to boot in one of the boxes of stuff we grabbed to set up home while we’re away from Berlin. Who knows where it came from. A wedding present, maybe? In any case, you know me: time to repurpose.
Filling the jar with jewelry is such an easy way to see what I have… and actually remember to wear it. Sure, drawers and jewelry boxes work just fine. But a sleek, free display case – who can pass that up?
Old candle jars are such a tricky case for repurposing, anyway. You can’t store food in them – the plastic ring has permanently absorbed the candle scent. Plus the jars are short, wide, and un-stackable, which is super important in kitchens without much storage like ours.
Removing the excess wax was pretty simple. I’ve heard about getting big pieces out by sticking the jar in the freezer, which didn’t seem entirely practical in this case (how would you get wax out of a small lip?). So here’s what I did:
- Boil hot water with candle sitting in pot, careful not to let water get in jar.
- When the wax was melted, I poured it all into a smaller jar. I had to reheat the wax a few times to get it all out.
- The jar was still warm as I used a paper towel to wipe out the thin coat of wax and soot.
- The smell was still pretty strong, so I threw it in the dishwasher.
Have any other ideas for reusing candle jars? Makes me wish we had more candles floating around! Don’t forget to send a few pictures our way if you do.
(Image by Making This Home)
Keep it green and simple with 2 more ideas:
June 29th, 2009 at 4:21 am
I’ve cleaned them out by putting them in the oven while it preheats which doesn’t take much time at all. Pour the old wax out, and as you say pry off the wick, then into the dishwasher.
Then what? I have some crafting supplies in them but mostly the jars are too big. Some I have are not YC so they do have flat lids but still don’t want to stack too well I’ve donated a bunch on Freecycle to children doing art projects, prob the colored sand? I do have some empty ones to try and make my own scented candles – someday. :-)
June 29th, 2009 at 4:35 am
I don’t have too many of those candle jars but I love them, but not the smell! Yessh… those things smell to high heaven. I imagine a line of them along a window sill filled with pretty momentos: beach shells, marbles.. who knows. I’m not one into collecting things, I have kids to take care of that. But collections kept tidy in pretty jars sounds delightful.
June 29th, 2009 at 6:13 am
I put Q-tips in mine, you could also use them for badaids, cotton balls or bath salt:-)
June 29th, 2009 at 6:43 am
When I first read the title “Reusing Yankee…” I immediately thought of the soda pop cup my Mom got at a Yankee game and gave to my husband. If you want to talk about reusing, let me tell you about this cup. He drinks everything in this cup (as long as it is cold). He drinks several Yankee cups of water a day (1 Yankee cup is about 16oz), milk, juice, pop, you name it and it’s been in the cup. We don’t have a dishwasher so we must wash the cup by hand which means that it still looks fairly new. Most people just throw ball game cups away after the game, but my husband is still using his religiously 2 years after the game.
June 29th, 2009 at 8:05 am
I love this project Katie. I don’t have any yankee candles, but if I ever do – I’ll definitely follow suit when the time comes. Pretty beads in there!
June 29th, 2009 at 8:15 am
Love your ideas. A few in the bathroom would look really beautiful with cottonballs and such. I need to remember that for our apartment! And a preheating oven? I never would have thought of it. Thanks ladies!
Michelle, I love that your husband is getting such great use out of a cup that probably lands in the garbage 90% of the time. Way to go! Sounds like you have a loyal cheerleader.
Katie
June 29th, 2009 at 10:16 am
I have a jar like that to hold my buttons. It makes for a pretty & crafty decorative element.
June 29th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Great idea Katie!!
June 29th, 2009 at 11:40 am
What a great idea! I’ve seen jars like that in the store, but this is a great way to use something that no longer serves its original purpose.
June 29th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
buttons, small shells, loose change, pebbles, marbles….anything small and of interest to you.
June 29th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
I love to reuse those old candle jars!
June 29th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
I love to use old glass jars too. An easy to get the last part of the candle out is to freeze it, it will just pop out once its frozen!
July 9th, 2009 at 4:27 am
Great repurose! I keep all of the glass jars that make there way into my house. I like to use them for leftovers, stuff in the pantry, craft supplies, flower vases, etc. I saw on a blog where a gal turned her jar into a mini garden, I LOVE THAT!!! So need to try that idea.
July 9th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Great tip! I have a bunch of YC around here. :) Visiting from Kimba’s party. :)
July 9th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Great idea! I always try to think of things to do with empty baby food and candle jars. They seem like they could have so many more uses!
July 10th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Great idea! I’ve seen these a yard sales before and have a few jars languishing in my cupboards.
July 11th, 2009 at 9:42 am
I have a Yankee candle jar in my freezer right now as we speak. haha!
I like to use them for cotton balls, q-tips, etc. You could also use them in the kitchen for spices, dry noodles, etc.
July 12th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
Hello Katie – that’s a great idea you have! I’ve wondered about a different way to remove candles from a jar. I only knew to put it in the freezer, but it doesn’t always remove it all. Thank you for sharing!
Blessings,
Marie
September 11th, 2009 at 7:51 am
where can I buy empty candle jars?
September 11th, 2009 at 11:40 am
Jim, I’d check with thrift shops. We tend to collect and reuse jars constantly, so that’s where I’d start if not your own pantry.
Katie
December 30th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
What about using the lids as paperweights? Put your favorite picture or sticker in the lid
January 7th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
I use a lot of candles in jars and usually just throw them in the recycle bin. But after thinking about it I think I will start cleaning them out and looking for ways to reuse the jars. Possibly find someone who will reuse them.
January 19th, 2010 at 11:28 am
I keep flour, salt, sugar, pasta, coffee and rice in old jar candles. Another idea is seed (herb, veggies, flowers) storage.
January 31st, 2010 at 11:13 am
It is great to reuse the jars, but I also wanted to provide a use for the leftover wax. If you are the camping type, or know someone that is, making “firestarters” is a great way to get rid of that wax.
Take an old egg carton and fill the bottom cups with either dryer lint or sawdust. Pour candle wax inside the cups to saturate the lint/sawdust and let cool. When you need to start a fire, tear off one or two of the cups and light it. These starters burn hot and long and they work very well (better than the commercial ones in my opinion) to start a quick fire. Also, the are fairly moisture resistant although I wouldn’t dunk them in water.
As a side note, some people are concerned about using dryer lint due to potentially toxic smoke from synthetic fabrics. However, synthetic fabrics only produce a minuscule amount of lint (if any), so it is still mostly cotton and entirely safe.