Emptying Boxes with Finesse

We are still in the process of unpacking boxes from our move two years ago! There seems to be a never ending supply of them and to be honest it gets old REALLY fast. So anything that I can do to make it more exciting is a plus. Today's box was a tricky one...

Yes, it is box of melted, funny shaped candles.  My parents used to own a bookshop and coffee shop and when it closed there was a load of mismatched candles left over and I claimed them.  I then kept them in our attic in our old house, an attic that heated up majorly in the summer.  When we moved we uncovered a bizarre selection of melted wax!  Still, they were dutifully packed and came with us to the farm, where they took up their new residence in the barns.

Why are they so grubby looking?  Because last winter we had a burst pipe in the barn directly above the room this, and other boxes, were being stored.  Everything got very wet and covered in a nice thin layer of general euch..

I started my clearing of the box by chopping a few candles up into smaller chunks and reserved the wick.

I raked around in the jar cupboard and found some pretty examples.  This is an old Salsa jar!  I popped the wick into the jar and stood the whole thing in a pot of boiling water.

I then added the chunks of old candle and turned the heat right down so it was just keeping warm.  And left the wax to melt.

Once it melted I took my jars out of the pot and using various devices, as you can see, I made sure the wick was central and left it to set.  The wax sinks slightly as it cools so I melted some extra in another jar and topped up as it set.  My candles were scented so I didn't need to add extra scent which was a bonus.

And now I have nice jar candles that I can use when and wherever I wish, which is much better than a box of old wonky candles. 

I am sure there will be veteran candle makers turning in their seats as they read this but it seemed to work and I am happy with this method of emptying boxes!