Tuesday, June 22, 2010

I Heart Candles


The title says it all. I love candles. I love having candles lit. I love good smelling candles that make the house smell divine. I ESPECIALLY love fall and winter candles the most, I can't get enough of pumpkin, apple, and pine tree scents- (I REFUSE to get a real Christmas tree. We had ONE real tree growing up and it was SUCH A MESS that I have never wanted another real tree. EVER.)

Recently, due to my old age, I've started getting a huge crush on candlesticks and candle holders of all kinds. Especially crystal ones.
(This pic was taken from google, I wish they were mine!!)

One problem with candle holders...the wax! Unfortunatley this is the consequence you get when you actually lite the candles. My mom use to soak candleholders in hot water and scrape the remains off - NOT FUN - and I don't have the time.

So my secret...

Put the candle holders in the freezer.

I swear on it. I don't know the science explanation of it, but somehow the cold freezes and shrinks the wax. I leave it in there (or forget it's in there till I open the freezer back up), take it out when it's super frozen and the wax pops right off!! And it doesn't leave any leftover residue. Sweet!

Lately, we have been putting our actual candle jars in the freezer and reusing the jars.
My favorite are Woodwick candles
We don't have a fire place and the wooden wick (hence the name) sounds like a crackling fire. And it fragrances the entire house. And they come in pretty nice jars with wood tops.
(Sorry, this is a bad pic, I took it on my phone this morning before I left for work - Iphone cameras really aren't very good). See, it's a perfectly good jar. This one is pretty tall so I might start putting pens and pencils in it. Brian comes home with - no joke- 2 new pens everyday that he puts in his pocket at work and forgets about. Seriously, we have enough pens to donate to a college campus.

I put the jars in the freezer, leave/forget about them, take them out, then I take a knife and crack the middle of the hardened wax and they fall right out. Now I have extra jars for cat treats, matches, loose change, etc... (Yeah, had to throw the cat treats in there).

This really is one of my favorite little household tricks. I LOVE reading other people's little tips and tricks around the house.

And speaking of candles...

I have 26 to blow out tomorrow ;)

3 comments:

Mary Carolyn Rentz said...

Great tip to put candles in the freezer, how ever did you come up with that idea? Yea for 26 tomorrow. It's going to be a great year!!! Love you!

EMILY said...

Happy early B-day Joy!!!!

Ashley Glass said...

I tell everyone if I had all the money in the world, I would work at Meijer because that was my dream as a child [to be a scan lady!!!] but SECONDLY, I would own ALL the candles in the WORLD!!!!! Seriously! I would go to Target and buy ALL of them. And I LOVE crystal!!! I'm running low on candles speaking of them.... I would burn them 24/7 if we could always afford to buy MORE!!!!! Happy Birthday, Cuz!!! You and Ace are now the same age!!<3