Camping season is finally here! This year we purchased a new to us pop-up camper. I think that is will be perfect for us. Now the kids will have a home away from home that they can become accustomed to which I hope will make for easier bed times.
Two weeks ago we hitched up the trailer, packed our picnic basket and loaded up the car with camping gear. We moved the camper a whopping 5 miles over to Flandrau State Park. It's located in our town of New Ulm, MN and we thought it would be a good place to test it out. Despite the 25 minutes of going-to-sleep crying, which I am sure the entire campground could hear, the kids managed to fall asleep before it got too late.
After that it was time for my favorite part about camping, relaxing by the fire. The firewood purchased from the park was a little moist and the fire wasn't starting as quickly as we had hoped. Our camper neighbor stopped by and gave us one of his homemade fire starters, an empty toilet paper roll filled with dryer lint and dipped in wax. It did the trick!
I am always excited to find a new way to upcycle my trash and I was thrilled to have a reason to use the dryer lint that I had been saving for no apparent reason. (Really, the hoarding/creative tendencies in me just happened to have the supplies needed for this on hand)
DIY Fire Starters
Materials
-Toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls cut in half.
-Dryer Lint or scraps of fabric
-Wax from old candles
-Wax paper to protect your surface.
Stuff the toilet paper rolls tightly with lint. I was surprised by how much lint would fit into the rolls. I ended up needing more so I used an old pair of socks too. Then you dip into melted wax. I had a candle warmer and an old candle that was given to me as a bridal shower gift over 5 years ago. The Candle doesn't even have any scent left but I held onto it because I had a feeling I would find a use for it some day. Voila!! This was my chance! The candle warmer worked perfectly too. Otherwise you can collect the left over scraps of wax from your old candles and melt them together in a double boiler on your stove. Dip one side of the rolls then flip and dip the other. Once the wax was cool to the touch, I dipped them a second time then let them sit on the wax paper for 2 hours to harden completely. Store them in a plastic bag so the wax does not ruin any of your other camping equipment.
Lint from my dryer.
Stuff the toilet paper rolls tight.
Heat up the wax.
Dip in halfway
Let it cool, then flip and dip the other side.
Finished product. I think it looks like TNT from Wiley coyote cartoons.
What does your family use as a fire starter?
Magnificent! Thanks for the instructions!
ReplyDeleteI too keep things if I even have the slightest inkling they may come in handy some time! I currently have a pile of lint in my laundry sitting next to a toilet roll (because I had heard they make great firestarters) but I just couldn't keep the lint inside it and was stuck for how this was done! Now I know, I shall go away and try!
Cheers,
N x