During the week, I try to pick up lots of twigs around the yard to use as kindling for our fireplace. While we mostly use the fireplace as amusement, some day, we may want to fit it to be used as an alternative source of heat for our home.
That said, starting the fire in the fireplace can sometimes be a daunting task. it helps to have a good stack of fire starters ready to go. You can buy fire starters of course, those little things that light fast and burn slowly enough to help your logs catch on fire. But a frugal alternative is not that hard to come by.
You can make very nice fire starters using pine cones. Fortunately for us, we have plenty of pine cones laying around in our yard; the yard that is also known as the overgrown forest at the moment. If you have pine cones available or can scrounge them up (or local botanical garden is a great source of pounds of the stuff all for the asking), then you might want to try making your own fire starters.
Here is what you do. Get an old coffee can to heat some paraffin wax. You can find the wax in craft stores, home improvement stores and general stores. If you want to be fancy, you can purchase an inexpensive “wax” can with a handle (for candle making) to make it easier to pour your melted wax.
Place the coffee can in a pan of water that has been placed on the stove on low to medium heat. Melt your blocks of wax in the can. You can also add cinnamon, nutmeg, apple spice, essential oils or other scents to the mix.
Tie a piece of string to the top of a pine cone. Holding the string, dip the pine cone into the wax. Allow the wax to harden and then dip it once or twice more. When the wax is hardened and cooled, place the pine cone to the side and dip another.
To use these fire starters, place them under your logs and light them.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
Related Articles:
Frugal Gift Basket: Romance at Home