Fire Starters!

You need old cardboard egg cartons or anything that resembles them, or Ive used some of those awesome things that come in boxes in the dumpster, fill each hole with dryer lint, then drip candle wax allover the top to hold the lint in place.  I always save old candles that will no longer burn, and take a lighter to their old wax for this, or light a few candles, wait a while, and then use the pools of wax to drizzle on the cartons of lint.  I heard a rumor that you can also use sawdust with or instead of the lint.  I like to keep a bag in my laundry room to collect dryer lint, I feel like I have more lint than anyone because me and Nugget shed quite a bit!  I also like to throw other compostables into the bag, matchbooks, random shreds of cardboard, hair from haircuts, etc.  Its a great way to recycle!

who you callin a cootie queen you lint licker?!

Fire courtesy of Dalen & Robbie : )

      I learned how to make these probably in the fourth grade (Thanks mom! Best Girl Scout leader of all time!), they are extremely flammable, and can help a lot when starting a fire in different situations.  I think this is such a great way to get rid of things you wouldnt use otherwise, to help you in your camping endeavors.  The cardboard egg cartons work excellently because you can tear the squares apart really easily.  These were really helpful at camp when we would have big logs for firewood stored away somewhere, but then it rained and everything else was soaked.   Or if your kindling is damp and you need to burn your tender long enough to dry out the kindling, these firestarters will be dry in your bookbag ready to whip out!  I like to burn less naturey stuff, I like to leave it as it is, and instead burn more stuff I need to get rid of anyway, that I would be recycling or composting instead.  Now Im stocked up!  I usually never make such a large quantity, but I was feeling extra stoked about it, and hopefully they will inspire me to get outside more often!  Whos going camping, or starting campfires with me?

For the campfire starting beginnners:


An overview of fire architecture.
http://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Fire






For the more advanced pyros:


Building a fire in a hubcap
http://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Fire-in-a-Hubcap


How to start a fire with a dead lighter
"You're cold and wet and in the wilderness. You want a fire, but you only have tissues, a dead lighter and deodorant. What do you do?" might come in handy one day.
http://www.wikihow.com/Start-a-Fire-With-a-Dead-Lighter


How to Create Charcloth
Never done this but heard about it
http://www.wikihow.com/Create-Charcloth


This is interesting and Im posting it especially for all the newspaper lovers out there.(ahem kaitlyn)
How to make newspaper logs.
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Newspaper-Logs


How to make an outdoor fireplace from a clothes washer tub
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-an-Outdoor-Fireplace-from-a-Clothes-Washer-Tub