A woman on TikTok has a clever and simple way to repurpose her old candles, adding decorative flair to her home while keeping unnecessary waste out of the landfill.
The scoop
TikToker Haley Sheram (@haleysheram) posted a video demonstrating how to remove the wax from the jar or container holding her old candles once the wicks had been used up.
@haleysheram My best bowls/jars/containers are former candles!! This one is from @magnolia at @target #diy #homedecor #candletok #candles #easydiy #diyhome #fyp ♬ original sound - haleysheram
As she explained, all you need to do is stick the candle in the freezer, and the wax will harden, making it easier to chip out of the jar or bowl.
She noted that the "hardest part" is removing the wicks, which are usually glued to the bottom of whatever vessel held the candle. After chipping out as much wax as possible, you can submerge the whole container in hot water, and that will loosen the glue until you can remove the wicks.
To remove any excess residue, Sheram suggested putting the item in the dishwasher.
Once the bowl in her demo video was clean and dry, she styled it in her home with a small collection of matchbooks, perfectly accentuating her personal style.
How it's helping
Candles are an incredibly popular home decor item, with an estimated $556 million in sales in 2022 according to Grand View Research. That's a lot of jars, bowls, or other containers typically made of glass that could end up in landfills, where they would take as long as 1 million years to break down naturally, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Repurposing the containers also helps you save money on buying a new item when you can use the jars for home decor, storage, planters, or dozens of other uses, as Haley's demonstration shows.
Some candle companies also offer refillable candles to help eliminate waste, such as Pott Candles, which makes reusable candle jars with custom wax inserts.
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Saving money 💰 Companies are starting to offer incentives to lower waste as well. For example, Trashie takes old clothes and repurposes the materials, offering shoppers rewards in return. ThredUp and GotSneakers also offer incentives for sending in old clothes and shoes, helping to keep them out of landfills as well.
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The little steps we take to work together to lower consumption and waste can add up.
What everyone's saying
People in the comments loved Sheram's easy life hack.
"Genius gal!!" one person declared.
"That is beautiful!! Definitely going to try this, such a great way to reuse cute candle jars," a second commenter added.
Another person had an additional suggestion to extend the usefulness of the candle and its container, writing: "I've done this and then use the leftover wax in a warmer!"
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