Burn a lot of candles? Don’t throw the jars away – repurpose them! Candle jars make great little containers for storing and displaying things – there’s a whole printable list of ideas at the end of this post! First, you’ll need to know how to empty the jars though. Keep reading for easy instructions on how to clean out candle jars.
What you’ll need:
- A candle in a jar that can no longer be burned.
- Space in the freezer to put your candle
- Butter knife
- Soap and water
- Windex (optional)
How to Clean Out Candle Jars
Instructions
- Place the candle jar in the freezer. I left mine overnight but a couple hours should do the trick. This will loosen the sides of the wax from the jar.
- Break up the wax with a butter knife. It should break apart easily and come right out of the jar with little effort.
- Peel off all labels from the jar. The labels came off easily for me and didn’t leave anything behind. If you happen to have leftover adhesive or label pieces, try some Goo Gone on the area. Goo Gone works wonders for removing labels, but it can do a lot more than that too. It’s something you should just always have around. It even comes in super convenient wipes now!
- Wash the jar and lid with soap and water.
- If it’s still not looking completely clear after that, use some Windex to polish it up.
- Now you have a clean empty candle jar, ready to be used for whatever you can think of!
Get 2 free printables that go with this post and more in our FREE resource library!
Get these 2 printables in the library:
- Instructions on how to clean out candle jars
- A list of 30 things you can store in empty candle jars
You’ll find other awesome freebies in our library too! Click the image below to gain access to the library!
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Join the discussion
Have you ever cleaned out candle jars to repurpose them?
What do you use your empty candle jars for?
Comment below to discuss with us!
Contact: ashley@peekandponder.com
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I make centerpieces for birthday parties, baby showers, weddings and quinceaneras, bath and body works 3 wick candle jars are perfect for it and come in all different shades! My family shares their empty ones with me to helpe in my side business.
I boil a pot of water & sit the jar in the water. Once it loosens the wax slides right out & I soak it in hot soap & water with some bleach. The lable & everything is gone & the jars cam be reused.
I have also placed almost empty burnable wax candles (covered with splatter shield!!) in microwave oven. In 1 minute intervals, until the wax is completely melted. Pour out wax, clean, reuse. ??
Awesome tip! Thank you for sharing.
What I do with my candles is place them on a candle warmer and pour was out. They also continue to smell good for a while.
This is awesome sauce!! I keep my jars for repurposing, however I’ve been stuck on how to get out that nonburnable wax. Work to do☺️☺️.
I try to repurpose my jars as well, however my cleaning process is a little different. I heat my wax up slightly so that it is pliable and simply pull it out of the jar. As far as the label is concerned I make up a bowl of oxy clean and submerge my jar. (If the jar is doing to be used for food or spices fill it with water and only allow the oxy clean to touch the outside). The solution will eat away the glue and the label will slide off cleanly after about an hour soak. We use this for all levels we want to take off of glass.
Actually, I place my canister candles on a plug-in cup warmer to enjoy every last bit of the candle aroma (also a little safer if your concerned about a flame). Once it has all evaporated I can easily clean out the jar…. just another way to do it.
That is how I do it also. I get a few days of the scent out of it then poor it out and wipe with a paper towel. I don’t do crafts but am a nut when it comes to recycle so that is where they go. I have never had a problem with them breaking. Have you?
I use all my Yankee Candle jars for coffe, sugar, flour…they are perfect and it looks great! The only thing is that sticker doesn’t come off easy but I use nail polish remover for that:)
Try soaking the jar in oxy clean free. Fill the jar with water first and only submerge to just under the rim of the jar.
Can I use these for, say, storage of dry ingredients for baking (flour, chocolate chips, etc)? Especially the Yankee Candle big tall jar candles with the big domed lids are so adorable and would have that retro bakery vibe.
That would look cool! However, I’m not sure if I’d recommend storing anything edible in them unless you could completely remove all residue and the scent that gets left behind.
Even faster is to heat the wax, pour hot wax out; IMMEDIATELY wipe inside of jar FIRMLY with a paper towel and throw towel away. Now you can wash with hot soapy water…super quick!
wow, thank you for this post!