How To Upcycle Your Candle Jar

We all know the feeling. The hesitation of deciding what to do with a candle when it’s finished the last burn. We’re left standing there, candle in one hand, eyes shifting between the trash can and a cabinet where we end up “saving” the jar (when in reality we’re not completely sure what to do with it.) With the colder weather both behind and ahead of us, this is not exactly an unfamiliar situation for many.  

Instead of throwing your candle jar away, we want to encourage you to consider either recycling or upcycling the very thing that brought warmth and light into your space. In order to do that, take out the remaining candle wax as the very first step. Here’s how to do it. 

Photo: Carson Downing

There are a handful of ways to get rid of the seemingly stubborn wax in your candle jar: like adding boiling water (key word: boiling!) into the jar so the wax can be broken and taken out, using a hair dryer to melt the wax, or soaking the entire jar in warm water for about 30 minutes. But our favorite seems to be one of the cleanest ways to make the magic happen: pop it into the freezer overnight, take it out, and hit the bottom of the candle while the jar is face-down (the stronger you go, the better), and out goes the wax! If it turns out to be a bit more difficult, using a butterknife or spoon should help.  

We also recommend that you should always stop using a candle when there’s about a ¼ of an inch of wax left. Having that little wax can cause your jar to overheat, possibly causing damage to the surface it’s on. Once all the wax is gone, hand wash your jar with warm water and dish soap to get it as clean as you can. You can use isopropyl alcohol for any stubborn stains. 

From here, you can recycle the glass or give it a new life in your space by using it for anything you like! We love using our candle jars for the following: 

• To hold tea bags (like our Frozen Summit Taiwanese Oolong Tea) 
• To hold matches for your next candle 
• To organize your cosmetic products, q-tips, or cotton pads 
• As a vase for your flowers 
• To propagate your house plant
• To use as a cup for your drinks (these make fun cocktail cups for when you host!) 
• For your next candle (you can easily look up how to DIY from your own at home) 

All of our candles are either made of soy or all-natural vegan wax and have at least 50 hours of burn time. Shop from our collection of candles to warm up your home.