How to clean a candle jar and use the leftover wax!

I finally know how to clean a candle jar and I couldn’t be happier. 

And the best part is that not only are you going to get a beautiful clean jar. 

You will also get to do something amazingly beautiful with the leftover wax!!

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My love of Jars recycling goes beyond obsession. 

You can find them anywhere in my home. 

If it is made of glass and has a pretty no branded lid, then I keep it.

I have them in my pantry, on my shelf, with plants… I even have them in my Black and White bathroom. 

Recently I made myself a beautiful set of reusable makeup remover pads. And I had this used candle that wouldn’t light anymore, but I was refusing to let go. 

Because it’s beautiful!! 

And when I came with the pads sewing project I just knew that that jar was meant to be their home. 

But you see… 

This was my favorite candle of them all. 

A great relaxing lavender candle that I loved to the last bit. 

So, I wasn’t willing to throw away that last bit of smell wax heaven at the bottom of my pretty jar. 

That’s right friends of mine… 

In this tutorial, you are not only learning how to clean a candle jar. 

We are leaving no leftovers behind!! 

Are you excited?? Let’s do this.

How to Clean a Candle Jar?

First things first.

Can you reuse a candle jar?

There is only one answer. Yes, please! 

As long it is thoroughly cleaned as I show you in this tutorial you can use it for anything you imagine. 

The question is not whether you can reuse them, but, how you will reuse them. 

In my case, I reuse them to put in my makeup reusable pads and my toilet cleaning pods in my bathroom. 

Also, for the cereals and spices in my kitchen. 

I use them to store my sewing trims and tools, to grow herbs… 

I even have a whole bunch of them for my mini scraps ordered by color. 

Anyway, the possibilities are endless. 

So, let’s get our jars cleaned.

How do you clean wax out of a candle jar? 

To remove the leftovers of wax you can use several methods. 

One of them is to put the candle inside the freezer for a night so the wax shrinks and you can pop it out with a spoon or a butter knife. 

Or, to get the most of cleaning your candle jar you can use the melting method. 

Here is how I do it.

Cleaning a Candle Jar Step by step instructions. 

1. First of all, take a damped cloth and pass it all over the outside and the inside of the jar to get rid of the dust and dirt. 

Then fill a deep pot with enough water to cover the leftover candle wax. 

2. Place the jar inside the pot and heat it with low heat for about 5 to 10 minutes. 

3. When you notice that the wax starts to melt use a pair of tweezers to remove the candlewick. 

Then comes the fun part!! 

Time to pour the candle wax out. 

The next section is all about what to do with that wax but before that, let me tell you how you get your jar perfectly cleaned. 

4. After pouring the wax out of the jar you are going to take out the jar of the pan and put it in your sink. 

Pour some of the hot water inside to melt all excess of wax (if any). 

5. And then with your tap water (warm) and some dish soap and a sponge . Wash it until it comes clean. 

Yes. It is that easy.

What can you do with leftover candle wax? 

Amm… Just the coolest thing on the planet! 

Candle wax melts!! 

There are these beautiful things called candle wax warmers or candle melters that are not only a beautiful piece of home decor but also a great way to melt those expensive wax cubes they sold you by the bulk. 

But guess what!! 

You won’t have to buy those expensive wax candle cubes, because we are going to make our own for the amount of $0 dollars.

How do you like that?? 

All right. 

While your wax is slowly melting inside the pot you are going to take a silicone mold (I am using my Mickey Mouse mold) and coat it with a little bit of oil. 

So after your wax has completely melted you are going to carefully pour it into your molds and let it dry.

And if for some reason you make a mess like I did over my counter, just scrap off the wax after it’s dry and crush it into the molds. 

Then pop it into the microwave for about 30-45 seconds and there you have it. 

No wax to waste here. 

Now you have a whole new bunch of candle melts and a beautiful new jar and the best thing is that you didn’t waste a dime.

How to use the candle wax melts? 

As I mentioned before you can get almost any kind of wax warmer. 

They come in two versions. 

One like mine where you would have to use those tea candles to warm the ceramic piece so the wax melt can warm up and release its fragrance. 

Or there are also the ones that are electric. So you can plug them on the wall and enjoy the same benefits. 

That’s up to you.

Now you know how to clean a candle jar you will have millions of possibilities to recycle them the best you want!

If you have more ideas on How you can reuse a candle jar drop them here below in the comments. I’d love to know your ideas.