For those of you who like to camp, these should be in your kit along with bug spray and a sleeping bag! If you are a backyard campfire kinda person, you have these next to the matches and ligher fluid. They do exactly as the name implies, help start your wood fire. They are made from recycled materials so basically, they are FREE!
I learned to make FireStarters when I was in Camp Fire as a kid. They are super simple, but should be done with adult supervision since it involves knives and the stove.
Supplies:
Wax (old candles or crayons work great)
Clean empty can
Sauce pan
dryer lint (you are gonna need alot!)
CARDBOARD egg crate (DO NOT use styrofoam!!)
1. If using crayons, peel all the paper from the outside first. Cut the wax up into pieces that will fit into the can. Meanwhile, fill the sauce pan about half full of water and bring to a boil.
2. Add the chopped wax to the can then place into the saucepan. Reduce the heat to Medium High. Let the wax melt (you do not need to stir, just let it melt)
3. While the wax is melting, stuff each egg crate space with the dryer lint. Stuff it good! Pack it in there!
4. Once the wax has melted, use an oven mitt or OveGlove and CAREFULLY pour the wax over the lint, soaking each space generously. You may have to melt more wax. Make sure the egg crate is on top of something. The wax will soak through.
5. Let the wax cool completely. Once the wax has cooled, use scissors or a box cutter to seperate the egg crate spaces. This crate made 30 FireStarters.
6. Store in a ZipLock bag.
TO USE: Once you have arranged the wood, light the cardboard edge of a FireStarter and place in the middle of the wood. It will ignite the wood.
ALTERNATIVE:
If you have old jar candles, you can save a step by placing the whole jar in the saucepan of boiling water. Be careful when you pour out the wax not to cool the jar right away. Let it sit at room temperature until it is cool to the touch, then you clean and reuse the jar!
