How To Upcycle Your Empty Candle Jars, Inspired By Stacey Solomon

From make-up brushes to stationary, here’s how to reuse your candle jars

Updated on2nd March 2021 at 5.46pm

Along with banana loafs, Strava runs and lots of lavish meal kits, we’ve spotted a new Lockdown trend that’s taking over social media. Enter: DIY home décor. From upcycling old coffee tables to upholstering chairs and sofas, lots of us have taken this extra free time to get creative and breathe new life into old things. And why not? If you can reuse and recycle instead of buying brand new, it will not only do our planet the world of good but our purse strings, too.

Queen of DIY, Stacey Solomon is always dishing out her top upcycling tips and tricks on Instagram. From a homemade bird feeder to DIY shelves and plenty of pretty decorations in-between, Stacey can see potential in pretty much anything. Her latest trick? Reusing candle jars. In what she calls ‘the easiest and quickest tap to tidy’, Stacey shared to her Instagram stories a video of her cleaning an empty Jo Malone candle jar before re-using it as a vase for some beautiful pampas flowers.

©@staceysolomon

Totally inspired, here's our guide to emptying and re-using your candle jars...

How To Empty A Candle Jar

According to the World Wide Web, there are myriad ways to successfully scoop out the remaining wax in a candle jar. From freezing the jar overnight to using a drill (please don't try this at home) are just two examples. Our preferred technique, which works wonders is to use hot water.

First step, boil your kettle and let the water cool down a little so it's not piping hot (boiling water can cause the glass to crack). Next, pour the water into your jar and let it sit for 20-30 minutes. Once the wax has floated to the top of the jar, pour the water out - which will take the wax with it (don't pour it down the sink, let the wax cool and then discard of it). Finally, give it a good wipe with a cloth to remove any remaining wax or soot.

Different Ways To Use An Empty Candle Jar

Here are just a few of our favourite uses for an empty candle jar:

Stationery: fill the jar with your favourite pens and position it pride of place on your working from home station.

Make-up brushes: spotted all over Instagram, the chicest way to store your brushes has to be a candle jar. For extra points, make sure it's Jo Malone or Diptyque.