I’ve been waiting all summer to try out my homemade firestarters. Hubby received a metal firepit for his birthday at the beginning of the summer and we thought we would be having many relaxing nights of summer fires.  I made up some firestarters and was good to go.

BUT -  we then proceeded to get several weeks with 90+ degree weather, and Hubby could not be persuaded. No how, no way, was he building a fire when we were sweating our way through a heat wave. *sigh*   

Finally – he was talked into it and we enjoyed a nice fire with friends the other night even though once again, it had been a pretty hot day. And the firestarters worked great!

We got our fire burning really quickly and easily thanks to these handy little starters that can be made out of odds and ends you most likely already have around the house.  You just need a cardboard egg carton, some dryer lint, a tin can, and some wax for melting.  You can use old candles or old crayons for your melted wax.  I had an old box of wax blocks that I used that had been in my cupboard for years (no kidding – for years – I think I was going to make something one Christmas long ago).  Here’s how to do it.

HOMEMADE CAMPFIRE STARTERS

 You will need:

• A cardboard egg carton (Do not use the styrofoam type)

• Dryer Lint (You might need to save it up for a week or two)

• Wax (old candles, crayons, or purchased wax)

• An empty clean tin can for melting the wax

1.  Cut the top lid off the egg carton.  You will only need the bottom part of the egg carton with the sections. Fill each of the sections with some of the dryer lint.  You can pack them pretty full.

2.  Next you will melt your wax.  To do this, place whatever you are using for wax in the empty tin can.

3.  Place the can with the wax into a small pan of water and place it on the stove.  The can might be kind of tippy and you may have to hold it steady until the wax starts melting which will give it a little more weight.  Heat over medium heat until the wax is completely melted.  You will need an oven mitt to hold onto your can and to remove it from the water as it will get hot.

4.  Once the wax is melted you will pour it over the dryer lint in your egg carton.  (If you don’t have enough melted wax to cover all the sections, repeat the process again with some more wax).   Put some newspapers under your egg carton when you do this as the hot wax soaks through a little bit.

5.  Now you just need to let the wax harden and cool.  Then cut the sections apart and you’ve got a dozen handy little firestarters!

6.  To use, put a few of your firestarters in the bottom of your firepit and light the edges.  The cardboard catches quickly and the wax keeps them burning as you add the logs to the fire.

So if your upcoming Labor Day weekend will include a campfire, try making a few of these handy helpers.  You won’t be disappointed!