The truth is that I'm impatient. I just want my fire to start up with one light of a match and I don't have time to start it with kindling first and build up to the larger logs. I want immediate results, so I've been wasting money on these:
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Here are Martha's which are perfect, of course:
...and here are mine which work just as well:
The Fake-It Yourself Breakdown:
DIY Newspaper Fire Starters: FREE, Unlimited Supply
Total Fake-It Cost: $0.00
Compare to Store-Bought Fire Starters: $12.99, Box of 24
Total Fake-It Savings: $12.99 and up*
*Depending on how many fires you have per year. I estimate that I have around 50 fires per year, so my savings would be at least $25.98!!!
Linking Up at Tip Junkie, Today's Creative Blog and these other Great Parties!
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When ever the newspaper arrives at my doorstep, I read it, then roll it! I have a big bin of them that I keep on hand when ever I need a few.
To start a fire, I usually put four of them on the bottom of my grate. Then, I pile on three medium-size logs. I light the ends of the newspapers and let them do their magic. They smolder a bit at first, but they stay hot enough to ignite the wood pretty quickly! You'll be surprised!
The Fake-It Yourself Breakdown:
DIY Newspaper Fire Starters: FREE, Unlimited Supply
Total Fake-It Cost: $0.00
Compare to Store-Bought Fire Starters: $12.99, Box of 24
Total Fake-It Savings: $12.99 and up*
*Depending on how many fires you have per year. I estimate that I have around 50 fires per year, so my savings would be at least $25.98!!!
Linking Up at Tip Junkie, Today's Creative Blog and these other Great Parties!
We heat our home with our wood stove... I light a fire in it every morning (if I don't get up during the night to feed it). Anyway another great fire starter is dryer lint.... seriously try it sometime!!! I would work well to get your newspaper logs burning quicker. Enjoy your blog!
ReplyDeleteI'll second the dryer lint. Works like a charm!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea. And they look much cuter than balled-up newspaper (which is what I use!!) haha. Awesome!
ReplyDeleteBekah
If Work Permits
When we heated with wood, we would stuff dryer lint in cardboard egg cartons, then pour parafin over the top. Break apart and use one or two to start the fire. We also used the newspaper, rolled and twisted. If you roll them tight enough, they burn long enough to cook a package of hot dogs and a can of beans on a park-type picnic grill. Huge savings in charcoal, and lots fewer chemicals wafting over the food!
ReplyDeleteThere might be chemicals in the newsprint ink. /:-(
DeleteHere is a twist on Jennifer's egg carton fire starters. I do the same thing, using dryer lint, (which I just save up in a bag all summer). I also save all my old scented candles that are nearly used up. Stuff the lint into the cardboard egg cartons, melt the candles and pour over the lint. Cut them apart and keep in a basket by the fireplace. They work great and give off a nice scent while starting your fire!
ReplyDeleteLove all of your suggestions for the wax and dryer lint! Thanks everyone!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea. We always make out own fire starters. We camp a lot so, they come in handy! Thank you for being part of Thrifty Things Friday and have a wonderful day!
ReplyDeleteOkay, I admit I'm skeptical about the twisted paper, but that doesn't mean I won't try it! Thanks for the ideas about the egg cartons / dryer lint / candle wax, too. I've now got a use for old candles.
ReplyDeleteDRYER LINT! omg. I have tons. I love using our woodburning stove but I didn't have an ingenious way like this to help get it started fast. LOVE these tips!
ReplyDeleteFor outside fires, soak wine or champagne corks in denatured alcohol. Place in jar that you can turn upside down as corks will float to the top. That way all corks will be able to soak in the liquid. Store in jar.
ReplyDeleteThis doesn't work for us. What we use instead, are ones we make ourselves, which burn MUCH hotter, and can even be used to light campfires in the rain.
ReplyDeleteTake an old egg carton, and fill each cup with a wad of dryer lint. Then you can stick a pine cone in each cup, and pour melted candle wax all over them and let them dry. (you don't HAVE to use a pine cone. they work just fine without) when they dry and cool, break the cups apart and you've got 12 or 18 little fire starters that will start a fire in any condition. No smoldering wishes that the flimsy twisty newsprint will start.
Love this idea!! Thanks for being so frugal!
ReplyDeleteI would also like to add that if you add your dryer lint it will make your fire start even easier... You wonder why they have so many dryer fires each year :O
ReplyDeleteOur family has made fire starters as Christmas gifts. We have plenty pine trees, so we dunk the pinecones in leftover wax, including a homemade wick (any type of heavy string, tied around cone prior to was process. We also use the dryer lint in egg cartons, but we usually need the cartons for fresh eggs, plus we hang laundry out when weather permits, so not as much lint as many of you have. The twisted paper coated in wax is great for campers and hunters. They stay dry, due to the wax, so it makes even damp wood start quicker. Great ideas, everyone!
ReplyDeleteYou can also stuff dryer lint in toilet paper rolls. Works great and its stuff you would normally just "trash"!
ReplyDeleteIf you need lint, ask at a nearby laundrymat!
ReplyDeleteIf you need lint, ask at a nearby laundrymat!
ReplyDeleteWe are going to try and combine the egg carton w/ the toilet paper rolls and also repurposing paper towel rolls.
ReplyDeleteMy method is just a little different than the others on here. I didn't like the mess associated with tiny egg cartons and finding the cardboard ones was becoming difficult. I started collecting drink carriers from fast food places and then stuffed them with lint and covered them with left over candle wax. I have friends saving all supplied for me so there is never a cost associated with making them. I use 1 to start a fire in my fireplace.
ReplyDeleteI tried the newspaper starters a couple of times but didn't like the soot and smell in the house.
Love it! I also use pine cones which are plentiful where I live. And if you want to make them into gifts, fill dixie cups half full of parafin, add a wick and put the butt of a small pine cone in the wax. AWEsome starters....all you need is one!
ReplyDeleteIf you need firestarter supply.. You know those annoying Sweet Gum Ball you step on in the yard?? Maybe your neighbor has a tree that drops them in your yard like mine does lol. They make great firestarters just like pine cones you could add them to your egg cartons. Just find anyone with those trees they will gladly let you have all you want :)
ReplyDeleteI am thinking about sweeping up all the pine needles on my drive and have been saving my velvetta boxes and going to use wax to make my own logs
Pine cones also help get a fire started. They catch easier than wood and last longer than the paper. We use them on top of paper with wood on top of the pine cones to start a fire in an old stove in our cabin.
ReplyDeleteYou can also take a used dryer sheet, put some dryer lint in the center, roll it up and tie the whole thing into a knot!
ReplyDeleteWe save the paper bags they give you with your order at Chipotle, fill 'em up with paper from our shredder and place them under the logs when we build the fire.
ReplyDeleteOther good items are of course the Dyer Lint with Vaseline rubbed into it, or tumble weeds crushed down into a wax milk carton or a paper bag. Lookout! Mas Caliente'
I used to make "candle kisses" with my scouts. Take old, used candles, cut into about 1" lengths, then take strips of waxed paper, about 2"-3" long. Roll up the wax bits in the waxed paper, twisting the sides. It makes a starter that has an easy bit to light, and the wax makes it last awhile. After you cut the candles, the kids can roll them up, after you show them how.
ReplyDelete