A post of remorse

Well, for me, this tip comes too late. When I was in the midst of my recent “closet purge mode”, I had a couple of big candles I didn’t know what to do with now that I had burned them all the way down to the end of the wick. Since I was in my “purge mode” and not in my “be creative and organized mode”, I pitched them. Eeek! I know I know, some of you are freaking out right now.Please don’t judge me and please keep reading. In the future, I’ll totally know what to do with them. Just keep reading so you won’t fall in to this bitter waste land either.

Here’s what I should have done and here’s what you can do too: put the used candle in the freeze and leave it in there until the wax is frozen (this can take anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours – obviously the less wax the better and faster). Unlike water, wax constricts when frozen. Once the wax is completely frozen take it out of the candle holder (this can be done with a butter knife). You may need to clean off some residue that will be left behind by either scraping it with the knife, washing it with soap and warm water or, if you have it, with baby oil.

Now here’s the cool part – once the candle holders are wax-free and dry you can use them as jars for your vanity! They’re great decorative storage for cotton balls, q-tips, decorative soap, etc. Or you can pour some glass balls in it and create a holder for your make-up brushes, tooth brushes, lip liners and eye liners, etc. Or (I’m on a roll now!) maybe there’s something else you can put in there. Use them as candy dishes when guests come over, or to hold loose change, the extra buttons that come with dress shirts, safety pins, hair pins, bracelets, elastic hair bands, barrettes, rings…. Seriously, there’s a lot you can do with empty candle holders… And now that I’m writing all this out and thinking through what I could have used them for I’m deeply regretting the two I threw away… *Sigh I need to buy more candles.