Candles are fantastic for creating a romantic or cozy atmosphere and can also be used to make your house smell scrumptious. Many of the scented candles on the market can be pretty pricy these days. That only serves to make it even more of a heartbreak and/or annoyance when your wick runs out, and you are left with a bunch of wax stuck to the sides of the jar.

Instead of ditching or storing away the seemingly useless object, there is a really simple way to rescue that wax and make it into a whole new candle for future burning. What’s more, there is a good chance that you don’t even have to buy anything else to complete your candle-making project.

Remember that candle making is messy, and wax is really hard to get out of clothing and furniture. It is also really troublesome to clean up, so using utensils that are designated candle-making tools is a really good idea. Never pour melted wax down the drain, and be extra careful when handling melted wax.

Gathering the Wax

Source: Starset Moonfire/YouTube

The easiest way to make a new candle from old candles is to pour melted wax into an old glass jar or votive. This is unless you have special pillar candle molds.

If you have free-standing pillar candles that have burned down, leaving you with a candle stub and no wick, all you need to do is gather a few of these stubs together so that you have enough to fill your chosen vessel. You will have to remove what is left of the wick and any possible metal. You can do this by carefully punching it out of the bottom with the end of a pencil or even your fingers.  It doesn’t matter if the candle remains broken as it’s all going to be melted anyway.

If you have old candles in jars, you will have to melt the remaining wax to get it out of the jar. There are a number of ways to do this, but one of the easiest ways is to simply pour hot water into the candle jar. As the wax melts, it will float to the top of the jar. While the wax is still liquid, you can remove any pieces of the wick with a spoon. BE CAREFUL.  Once the water has cooled and the wax has hardened again, you can remove it from the water. Strain the water for any residual pieces of wax.

Another method is to stand the candle jar in a dish with boiling water. The wax will start to soften and come away from the sides of the jar. You can use a spoon to fish your soft wax out. You can also remove the remaining wick at this point, too.

Put your wax to one side while you prepare the new container.

Preparing a Jar for Your New Candle

You can choose a glass jar or an old tin can for your new candle. You basically want something that is not flammable. Next, you will need a new wick. These can be bought in bulk very cheaply online. However, you can also make your own at home if you are feeling adventurous.

Source: Krazy Try Arts/YouTube

All you need is some melted wax and some cotton string. Dip the string into the melted wax until it is completely coated. Then carefully lift it out with a fork. Lay the string on a surface where it can cool. Bear in mind that this will be messy, so use a surface that can be cleaned or set aside for messy craft projects.

Let the string cool. If you want a thicker wick, you can dip it again. If your new wick is too long, you can cut it to the right size with scissors. You want the wick to be at least two inches longer than the height of your vessel.

Now you have your wick, you need to position it so that the end is roughly in the center of the bottom of the jar, with the top of the wick coming out of the top of the jar. Here, you can use a dowel or a pencil to hold the wick in place by wrapping the wick around the dowel and balancing it horizontally on top of the jar.

Melting the Wax

With your vessel ready, you can start melting the wax. Put the solid wax pieces in a glass jar and put the jar into a saucepan. If all of the wax doesn’t fit, just add it as space is created from melting. Fill the saucepan with water, then put it on the stovetop. You want to bring the water to a boil and then let it simmer until all of the wax is melted. Try not to get any water in the wax container.

Making Your New Candle

Once your wax is melted, you can carefully remove the jar and pour the wax into your prepared vessel. You can wiggle the wick to make sure it is as centered as possible. Then leave the liquid wax to harden overnight.

Now that your candle has hardened, you can remove the dowle or pencil and trim the wick to about 1/2 inch in length. Then you are ready to burn your candle all over again.

Related Content:

• 9 Hacks to Make Your House Smell Great Without Any Dangerous Chemicals
• 8 Eco-Friendly Alternatives to Scented Candles
• DIY Smudge Sticks
• 5 DIY Ways to Make Your Home Smell Like Autumn

Easy Ways to Help the Planet:

• Eat Less Meat: Download Food Monster, the largest plant-based recipe app on the App Store to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy. You can also buy a hard or soft copy of our favorite vegan cookbooks.
• Reduce Your Fast Fashion Footprint: Take initiative by standing up against fast fashion pollution and supporting sustainable and circular brands like Tiny Rescue that are raising awareness around important issues through recycled zero-waste clothing designed to be returned and remade over and over again.
• Support Independent Media: Being publicly funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!
• Sign a Petition: Your voice matters! Help turn petitions into victories by signing the latest list of must-sign petitions to help people, animals, and the planet.
• Stay Informed: Keep up with the latest news and important stories involving animals, the environment, sustainable living, food, health, and human interest topics by subscribing to our newsletter!
• Do What You Can: Reduce waste, plant trees, eat local, travel responsibly, reuse stuff, say no to single-use plastics, recycle, vote smart, switch to cold water laundry, divest from fossil fuels, save water, shop wisely, donate if you can, grow your own food, volunteer, conserve energy, compost, and don’t forget about the microplastics and microbeads lurking in common household and personal care products!