Reusable Candles

A few years ago we bought a 5 pk Pumpkin Spice candle set from Walmart. It had 2 of the huge size and 3 little fancy ones. They smelled great at first, but then they had a funky smell (that's the only way to describe it- and I guess I shouldn't be that surprised, they were Walmart brand afterall...) and so we haven't used them since. So when I was trying to find a great smelling "fall" candle the other day in my closet, I stumbled on the three small funky pumpkin ones. I'd been holding onto them to use for decor but pumpkin orange doesn't really go with my style, ya know? And then it hit me, why don't I just put a new color in here? So I dug thru the rest of my candles and found one that I wasn't too fond of the smell, but the wax was white.

I went to a craft store and bought some wicks. There's an entire aisle just for candle making projects and I bought a 10 pk 3" wick set for about $2.

There's a few ways you can make your new candles- One is freezing them and popping the wax out all at once, cutting out the chunks of wax while the candle is at room temperature, or melting the entire candle and pouring the wax into your new container. I've used all three methods.

My favorite method is melting them. I usually use my candle warmer and just let it melt the candle and I pour the wax into the new container, but sometimes the container doesn't fit on it.

If the glass container you need to remove the wax from isn't tapered at the top, you can stick the entire candle in the freezer and then pop out all the wax at once using a knife or something. Let the wax get to room temp and then cut away the wick. If the container tapers at the top (like most of mine)just use a spoon or a knife and cut out all the wax into chunks while it is at room temp.

For my pumpkin-turning-white-decor-candle project, the base of the white candle was square so it wouldn't fit on my warmer. But lucky for me, the wax was very soft and easy to scoop out with a spoon.

With any method of removing the wax, be sure to do it over a sheet of wax paper for easier cleanup.


Clean out the container you'll be putting the new candle into with hot soapy water and let it dry completely. Fill up the candles as much as you can, keeping the extra wax on hand.

Then put the candles on your candle warmer or in the crockpot on high. Check on it every 20 minutes and once most of the wax was melted, put the wicks in. After the wax melts there is usually room for more, so now you can put a few more chunks of your extra wax into each candle until the wax is as high as you want it.


Turn off your crockpot/candle warmer and let the candles cool in it for a few hours, or put them on a pot holder on the counter. Do not put them in the fridge or freezer or you will get cracks and bubbles in it. Once the wax is completely solid again, trim the wick and you've got a brand new candle!


This is actually not the first time I've done this. I've been reusing candles for about a year, mostly by taking the candles I love that the wicks are too short to burn and either putting the wax into a smaller container to be a "full" candle again, or in some cases I've even combined scents that are similar (a cranberry plum from Kmart and "Welcome Home" by Salt City) and created an entirely new wonderful smell.

This has definitely gotten our money's worth out of our candles. And since the holidays are coming up quickly, this is also a great gift idea for friends and family! Enjoy!