Simplicity Project of the Day: Make Your Own Candles, the Easy Way

As anyone who knows me can attest, I am chemically sensitive to pretty much everything, but nothing so much as when I come within 20 yards of a scented candle. (and those of you with more than 50 of said scented candles in your abode, prepare to be mocked heartily by me, from your front porch.) It probably stems from the fact that scented candles were one of the initial triggers to my chemical sensitivity problems, way back in the salad days of 1993, having to work the register at Deluca’s on Charles Street in Boston next to a candle display that I’m pretty sure no one ever patronized (then again it is rumored that Deluca’s had some, let’s say “connections”, so I don’t think it really mattered what did or did not get sold). But, long story short (too late) I enjoy candles as much as the next gal, but it’s pretty limited in terms of eco-friendly, non-toxic, non-petroleum based and inexpensive options. So I developed my own solution by recycling the old aluminum tea light cups from a batch of Ikea paraffin candles, prying out the wick holders, cutting new wicks (and rethreading) from hemp twine, and then ordering a pound of beeswax pellets to fill the cups up. Sure, you can buy a big block of beeswax for slightly cheaper, but melting it down or chopping it up gets messy and time consuming. This way, you can make the candles as you go and even reuse the same cups if need be.