If you’ve ever watched my Instagram Stories or seen the photos on my Instagram page, you know I always have a candle burning. I rely on them for ambiance and stress relief throughout the day. For me, having a home that feels calm and smells beautiful is important and I just don’t feel right if I don’t have one of my favorite candles burning. I think a large part of this is due to the fact I work from home; I have to create my own atmosphere to work in, so lighting a candle and turning on some soft music are the first things I do before start on a new post or work through emails.
For some strange reason, I always admire candle containers. A candle’s packaging has often played a large part in which candles I chose to purchase, yet I never knew what to do with them after I was done burning them! After a stash of burned candles built up in one of our cabinets, I decided to do a little experimentation and find new purposes for my favorite candle containers. I shared the process on my Instagram Stories and so many of you asked questions that I decided to turn this into a blog post.
The candles I’m repurposing in this post are the soft and slightly tropical Coconut Milk Mango and my all time favorite Black Hibiscus, a mixture of black tea and romantic florals that creates an unexpectedly sexy twist on floral scents.
1. Melt Candle Wax in the Oven
Create a little aluminum foil “boat” to catch all the melted wax your candles will create and place the aluminum foil on a cookie sheet into the oven at 250°F for about 5-10 minutes. You’ll want to check the candles every five minutes or so continually to ensure everything is melting safely. (Your kitchen will smell amazing while you do this.) Remember you’re not just wanting the candle wax to melt – you’re wanting the glue underneath the metal wicks to soften and melt as well.
Carefully remove the cookie sheet and candles out of the oven and use a butter knife to check and see if the glue under the metal wicks has loosened. In some cases, the glue will completely melt and you’ll see the wicks floating around with the rest of the wax in the aluminum foil. If the glue still seems hard, put the cookie sheet and candles back into the oven for another five minutes and check again. The glue is the most difficult part to remove, so you want to melt as much of it as possible.
2. Clean and Soak Candle Container
Using a butter knife, gently push the wicks (if any are left) off the bottom of the candle container and scrape off any remaining glue underneath. Pour out any remaining candle wax into the garbage disposal or trash. Squeeze a bit of dish soap into each candle, fill with hot water, and allow them to sit and soak for a bit. This will soften and loosen any remaining wax or glue. After they’ve soaked a bit, I use a stiff dish brush to scrub the candle containers clean.
3. Ways To Repurpose Candle Containers
Tea Lights: Add a little battery-operated light or a small tea-light candle and place around the house. I light or turn these on before guests come over and it creates a very cozy, comfy environment.
Office Supplies: Large, wide candle holders are perfect for storing office supplies in a pretty way. I have these binder clips stored in one of my favorite old candles with a beautifully designed lid.
Mini Planters: I love tucking a small succulent into a little tea light candle holder. These make adorable gifts to give. (See below.)
Bath Products: You know I love baths and beauty products. I use the large pink candle holder down below to keep track of all my sheet masks and mask samples. (See below.)
Makeup: You’ve probably seen a lot of these Diptyque candle holders reused on Instagram because they are so pretty, clean, and classic. I use mine to keep track of my LipSense products. As you can see, I already have containers for my makeup brushes and liners, but I think the Diptyque candle holders would be perfect for that as well. (See below.)
