the fireplace and recycling

hubby and i use our woodstove to keep our house warm. this is really great with all the snow and power outages we have had this winter. we get the sunday newspaper and after reading use it as kindling. the best though for starting fires are fire starters. the first winter we bought them. little flat wax cover blocks that burn slow and really help getting a new load started when the coals are low. however those little blocks are expensive. hubby's solution lets make our own. we use egg crates (cardbaord of course ) old candles and sawdust and woodchips from splitting our wood. hubby fills the egg crate with sawdust then we melt down old candles and pour over the top. instant fire startes. best part free. my parents help us out as well they save egg crates and my mom has been finding all kinds of decorative candles and old taper candles she only uses for decorating and has given them to us. so far we have not even had to buy candles to make them.