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How To Recycle Old Candles
Recycling Guide
Pocket Survival Guide by Packard Jennings
Packard Jennings – The Pocket Survival Guide
Participants are invited to meet at SoEx for a 20-minute workshop to fold instructional pamphlets on how to devise an emergency raft out of recycled product packaging in case of a catastrophic flood- a consequence of consumer waste and mass production that contributes to pollution, and global warming.
Once the Pocket Survival Guides are folded, participants will enter various stores and install them on consumer products to replicate “instant savings coupons.” Future customers will be happy to find their household purchases subverted by public art!
Pocket Survival Guide is also in NYC through Dec 19th, 2009
His website
centennialsociety.com/durham.html
Photos of other pubic art projects that day
www.flickr.com/photos/ari/sets/72157622956171944/
How To Recycle Old Candles
Now that the trend is green, most people hesitate to throw away items that can be reused. Although you may not realize it, it is highly likely that you have items sitting around your home that you could recycle as well which is not only great for the environment but great for your wallet. Scented candles, tea light candles, and any other type of candles are a great example of an item that you can re-use to create new candles for your home since you likely have plenty of wax left over after the wick has burnt down. The following is a short guide that will help you learn how to recycle any type of scented candles, floating candles, and more.
To start off you need to prepare your candles by sorting into piles such as scented candles and non-scented candles and colored or non-colored candles. For example, vanilla scented candles would fall into the category of scented and non-colored usually while rose scented candles would fall into colored and scented candles.
After you sort your candles it is easiest to grab the pile of unscented candles and non-colors to start. Prepare these candles by scrapping out as much of the previous wick as you can and cleaning off all dirt or other grime that may be in the wax.
After the candles are ready, place them in a melting pot and melt them into one solution. Using tongs or something similar, carefully remove any remnants of the wicks that you were unable to reach before. If the wax has a great deal of debris and wick pieces in it you may consider using an old strainer and running the wax solution through it to clean out the mess so that the wax is completely clean. Once the wax cools you can set it aside or go ahead and make new candles using molds and new wicks.
Now that you are done with this pile, you can sort through the scented colors pile and choose scented candles that are the same to clean and melt down together. You can also mix scents that you think will complement each other which sometimes will work out great and sometimes will not, but since they are leftover scented candles you do not have much to lose. As a general tip when working with colors however, it is best to choose similar candles to melt together as most mixes will come out brown.
Since you will not likely have as many matches of colored and scented candles these are great to use to make tea light candles or torch candles since they require less wax. You can also experiement a bit with the scented candles taking care to mix floral with floral scents and citrus with citrus scents because you may delightfully find a scent that is quite appealing. This is also a great activity for older children with supervision as it teaches them creativity and sustainability.
recycling guide question by git along gal: I need help with clutter control, especially of ‘other peoples/dead relatives stuff that I ended up with.?
I have so much accumulated, but don’t know where to start. I’m afraid of tossing something I could get money for, and this is important, as my husband died of cancer leaving me with a mortgage, health care bills and 2 youngsters. When I sold some very nice furniture at a general auction I really got “taken” . Where do I find best prices for things? list on ebay one at a time? (ug!)
A couple of specific questions:
1. Are old National Geographics worth anythiing, or should I donate/recycle. they go back to the 60′s.
2. Record albums. They were my husbands, hundreds of them. I saved about 200, and got about .25 cents each for about 200. they don’t want the rest . should I just toss them?
3. old atari games, unused (we had a consession yrs ago)
4. big disk movies, a system that competed w/video yrs ago. Good stuff: last seasons skiis used once. Waterford crystal. Beleek China. boxes and boxes of colored glass, china, nice knick nacks.I’m overwhelmed, please guide me!
recycling guide best answer:
Answer by Jessy
Sounds like you’ve got enough to open an ebay store! I have no idea what any of that stuff is worth, if I were you I’d put it in storage and go through it little by little, checking value through ebay and other Internet resources. If any of that colored glass is carnival glass (has a shimmery rainbow quality) I know someone who collects it. Let me know, we might be able to arrange something.
Filed under: Recycling Guide · Tags: Candles, Recycle
DONT REMEMBER THE SITE BUT U CAN ORDER A BOOK OF VALUE FROM ONLINE WHICH WILL HELP U. TRY YOUR LOCAL DEALERS THEY WILL KNOW. ALSO MOST DEALERS WILL TAKE CONSIGNMENT WHERE U CAN PUT THE VALUE ON IT YOURSELF OR NO SALE TILL U APPROVE OF IT
You didn’t get taken at the auction, you got what people were willing to pay for what you sold. The records should have been sold all or nothing. Look at what you have as a blessing. Group like things together. E-bay is probably not the answer. Try using a space at a local flea market, or have several small auctions.
Go online and try to find out what everything is worth. Yes, I know, that takes time, but this way you can see what is actually worth something and what is just junk.
If it’s not worth anything or you still want to try to get some money out of it, then just have a simple garage sale. What’s left is just for the junk man. When you find out what it’s worth, list it on ebay OR call an antique dealer and start dealing. Remember to keep some things, if anything, for memory sake. Good luck!
Been there……done that. All of us face this dillema at some time or the other ( some, more often than that! ).Sit tight for a couple of months, ask around. Check with friends or colleagues, you might be surprised how many people are avid collectors.Yes, getting ‘taken’ is fairly common, but take heart -you are not the only one.Hang onto the Waterford crystal……the rest you can get rid of gradually.All the best
Here is a list of ideas:
Call an auctioneer.
They will sell and organize it for you.
Open up an Ebay store.
Look in your local yellow pages for Antique dealers & antique toy dealers and call them with the list of stuff you have.
Open up a booth in an antique mall.
Put an ad in the penny saver.
Have a garage sale!
Good luck!
I dont recommend posting every single item on ebay, but you could use ebay backwards, and see if other people are selling what you have, and for how much. Then you will have a ballpark range of what is useless to you, and what will be worth some money. You could call around to small shops, and sell things all at once. At the end you could have a garage sale, or you could donate everything, get a receipt and use it as a tax deduction. but call H and R block or something first, cause sometimes there are limits on how much you can claim… i dont know really know much about taxes… so you can ask someone who would.. good luck
There are businesses that will catalog, photograph, and list your items for you on eBay in return for a small fee or percentage on each item. Before you dismiss the idea, consider the time, effort, and expense involved in listing, selling, and shipping hundreds of items yourself – it might just be worth it to get some help! As an example of one such business, check out: http://www.quikdrop.com/what.php. Another advantage is that you can start slowly and see how it goes. If stuff is selling, great! If not, try another approach.
If there aren’t any of these types of businesses in your area, you could contact an auction house and set up an estate sale/auction.
I know it’s hard to part with things at a lower value than you know they are worth (your furniture, for example) but items sitting around your house taking up space are not adding value to your life. Better to have a dime in your pocket or bank account than an old hunk of vinyl sitting in your closet!
I have the same problem with clutter control and inhereted all my mom’s old stuff in addition to my being just like her.
But the stuff you listed, especially 3 and 4 is the stuff that a friend of mine dealt with exclusively in a small store in Raleigh, NC, and has even shown me some of the big disk movies from his collection. His name is Kirk Adam of Glitter Music and here is a way to contact him. Tell him Zandra sent you, or not, as you prefer.
He may remember that reference or not…lol. He also has an art gallery on the third floor of a group of antique dealers, so he might have info on them too. http://glittermusic.tripod.com/
Also, for the crystal and china, I have another idea. There’s a place n Greensboro NC with a national customer/source base that is always looking for China and crystal. What they do is find missing pieces of obscure dishes to complete people’s sets. Therefore they need to buy lots of stuff. Lots and lots and lots of stuff.
Here’s the link!
http://www.replacements.com/misc/packship.htm
And their number and additional quote from their site:
“1-800-REPLACE (1-800-737-5223) and select “Option 4″, or ask for our Purchasing Department (our average answer speed is 8 seconds!). Our expert staff will let you know if we are currently purchasing pieces or sets in your pattern(s). If so, we will e-mail, FAX, or mail a formal offer to you indicating the prices that we will pay for pieces in excellent condition.”
Good luck digging out. We’re both gonna need it!
You know how you can eat a full cow: One bite at a time!
Your problem has many facets to it. Sit down and create a plan. Any plan. Some software for project management can help, but the most important part is to make an initial plan, no matter how sketchy. You can revise it later as needed. It will give you great relief to see in writing that there is a finite list of actions you need to take to get rid of everything or at least decide what to keep and keep the whole thing out of mind for good. You should aim for an initial list of action items and a timeline to complete each one of them.
First, decide how many hours a week can you dedicate to this project and assign a particular time of the week to work on it (i.e. Sundays from 2 PM to 4 PM). That will give you structure. Write down all the different collections or items you need information on. Perhaps an Excel workbook w/a different spreadsheet per collection/item type is a good way to start. Then you can ask here more specific questions in each category or search the web for resources. But the important part is to break it down first. Otherwise you’ll be so overwhelmed that the temptation of doing anything but working on this will be impossible to resist. Take a deep breath and start typing.
Also, don’t fret too much about possible mistakes along the way such as the furniture that sold for less that it was worth. You have limited time to research for each item and that will happen with some of them. That is life, not your fault. Expecting to resolve everything perfectly is unrealistic unless you’ll be quitting your job, sending your kids to boarding school and hiring a full time maid to take care of the house and shopping. Relax and allow for less than optimal results. Overall, getting that huge weight off your shoulders will have such a positive effect that in the long run it won’t matter at all if the record collection went for a song (pardon the pun).
With the variety of items what you describe and your many additional responsibilities, dedicating only a couple of hours a week may take you a long time to sort through everything and decide on each thing. Take it with patience and don’t forget to add to your plan mid-point landmarks to celebrate your progress.
The silver lining is that this process can be an incredibly useful exercise for your kids to learn how to tackle big, confusing projects. Involve them as much as possible according to their age and it can turn out as a very valuable life lesson for them, as well as a source of family fun (going to flee markets together, looking for information on line, classifying items effectively, etc). You may be surprised about how excited kids can get about classifying stuff. They get pleasure on the repetitive tasks and the clear order structure.
Good luck!
Lavander- I once bought a book to teach me how to get rid of clutter and organize myself, but I have no idea where I put it.
LOL! Funny, while at the same time, sadly true.
Here is a website which might help you:
www-clutter.com
Rent a storage building.And u can look around on ebay to see how much the different stuff you have can sell for.
Don’t toss them,If you don’t want the rest of your record albums I would gladly take them off your hands!
And as the rest of the stuff, you can sell anything on ebay especially the items your describing. It would be no problem to sell any of that stuff and ebay is so easy to use.
I like lilyapples answer and some others, but when you decide you don’t want somthing call a thrift store or the good will don’t trash it unless you feel y;ou need to……………..I am trying to unload just about everything I own anybody want it all …I feel it is unhealthy for me to be hanging on to all these material things
GARAGE SALE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It sounds like my old habits!
I would say first, you probably know the antiques and other items that a dealer or collector would be interested in. Pick an unused room and put all those items in there. If it is more that the room can hold, use two, or rent a storeage unit at a mini-warehouse to put those items temporarly. Next ask some relatives or friends of yours and your husband’s if they would like a keepsake, maybe a picture, a book, record, etc. Next hold a yard sale on the weekend to see how that goes. If it goes well, after a day, extend to 2 days or two weekends.
Next is the hard part, throwing out things.The best way is to pick up at least one item every time you go into a room and toss it. After about a month of this you should be close to what you want to keep in the house. Now run an ad in your local paper about items in your warehouse, to see if anyone wants to buy them. Ebay could be a good place for antiques and other valuables, especially collectibles. Don’t forget Goodwill is a good place to take items if they are in good condition, especially clothes and furniture and other items that will just not sell. Be sure and get a tax deductible receipt. Also here is a site to join to give away things where the receiver picks it up:
http://www.freecycle.org/allgroups.html
Hope this helps.
…jj
I see that you have a lot of answers here but let me pass this
along to you.
At one time I lived directly across the street from one of the
largest flea markets in the US.
It boggles my mind about the “stuff” that people collect as a hobby & the prices the vendors get!!!
The old mags I’m not sure of,but I’m quite sure that there’s an
outlet for them somewhere out there.
I DO KNOW…that there’s a big market for the rest of the items
that you have.”Big bucks” but you have to have some idea of a
fair market value & this is where your research begins.I’m sure
that there’s a site that you can go to that’ll give you an idea of an
asking price or the “going” price for these items.
At the risk of getting lengthy,no other way to go in this matter,I’d
like to pass on some thoughts & observations:
1) Anything that’s old or is obsolete is collectable to someone.
2)Catagorize(sp) the items you have & separate them.
3)Have the items appraised by an APPRAISOR not a DEALER
OR get a starting point as to prices to ask from the web.
4)Check your area out for permanant “flea-market”sites.Set up
there after getting asking prices.(ask at a price about mid-
range to attract customers & at times,dealers)Guaranteed,
you’ll move a lot of stuff,real fast.
5)Beware of dealers.If you advertise this stuff,you’re going to
have these guys decending upon you like “buzzards on a
‘road-kill’.”
I’d hate to see you being worked over by unscrupulous people,
but by virtue of your question I’m quite sure that you’re going to
be contacted by a lot of people,just looking to make a buck.
Hope all this helps.Get back to me v/yahoo at this site if you want
me to get even more lengthy.Ha,Ha.
Put your stuff up on http://www.craigslist.org in your area. Remember you an even barter stuff away. Put a price on it you think is reasonable. Do some research on “stuff” you have that you think might be valuable. Search on ebay and see what similar things sell/have sold for.
All the stuff you want to get rid of sign up for http://www.freecycle.com in your area. Just post an email and they will reply to you if they want the stuff.
You can literally put it on your front door and people will come and pick it up. This would be ideal for all the stuff you listed above.
This of course you are giving away for free, but you might just declutter and using both start to see some daylight. Save the good stuff for the end, and as I said research it. National Geographic some people collect. You might want to put a nominal price on it and try to sell it, if it doesn’t go then freecycle it.
Craigslist is free by the way, so list and re-list until you sell stuff. Sell things for a price you’re happy with–that is all that counts. But collectibles you might want to have an antique guy come in and whatever he prices it at you can get at least double I’m sure! :~)
Some of that coloured glass might be worth something. Make a list of the china and pattern numbers and contact that china company someone mentioned on here. I’ve seen people buy up glasses one at a time, same with tea cups (on ebay) so if you have the time to do all that go for it. Ebay though is a bit of a rip off…if it doesn’t sell and you have lots of stuff you might end up losing money plus you have to have the shipping costs right up front for everyone and stay on top of it all.
Try Craiglist, you’ll be happy…I’ve sold several things this month and traded a guitar for a violin for my daughter…so I’m really happy with the possibilities there.
Sorry about your husband. You sound like a strong woman, hang in there and you’ll get it all sorted out.
Good luck!
1. Recycle the National Geos
2. If you don’t want the rest, donate or sell them
3. Get rid of the games
4. Not really sure about big disk movies, (you should probably pitch them, technology is moving on). Keep the skiis to treat yourself, unless you hate skiing. Generally, just look at what you really need and keep it, and then look for what you really really really would like to keep around, and then donate, sell, or pitch the rest. Believe me, too much junk is NEVER a good thing, especially with two young kids around.
http://www.messies.com or just sell it all on eBay.
I would think the old albums and Atari games would bring in big bucks on ebay. Your should try the old National Geographic magazines too. What you don’t sell you can give away, donate or maybe a big yard sale to raise money for a local benefit??? Sorry for your loss, I know how you feel, just give yourself alot of time and keep busy. Don’t forget to cry when you feel the need, that comes naturally. Love to you, and yours!
Have you thought of contacting an auction house? Borders books (Walden’s too) have books on price guides for collectibles. Some record albums are worth a fortune. For example: Some of the original Elvis Presley albums are very valuable. Internet sites for collectibles also help in valuabtion.
Sort the items you wish to sell or get rid of. Get a digital camera and take pictures of them, like a catalog type thing. Then look up the values on the internet or in books. You can then set up an auction with minimum bids on certain items of value in person or on e-bay. You can also check with your local libraries. They have books on collectible glass or colored glass. Never underestimate the value of items that seem worthless on their surface. For example: One of our members had collected old lead crystal –Old English pattern from the time she was a little girl. Because she paid 5 cents for some of the individual pieces, she thought they were probably not worth much. A dealer offered her a small fortune for the whole crystal set, more than 1,000 times what she paid for it over the years she collectd it. It is truly leadware crystal, too!
A FEW CREATIVE IDEAS!!!!!!!!
1.) you can call a local upscale boutique(not mom-n-pop) and offer them to go thru and make an offer on items individually call several… and let it go piece for piece
2.) you could box it up until warmer weather and have a yard sale or go to a flea market and sale at your asking price
okay 3rd idea….
why not go thru it all and according to different friends taste (since it sounds like a variety) wrap stuff and gift it as christmas. i know i love a heartfelt gift if gently used. it says hey you know i like to collect butterfly stuff from the early 60′s etc….
christmas is coming and what a way to give memorable things to friends and family. their is no rule that things must be new! you could save time and money and reduce clutter.
but, if the things are a bit dirty or worn , i suggest you clean them, febreze them when nessicary and wrap them gently in nice paper or a gift bag.
e-bay the national geographics..it is an aquired thing
records….e-bay also you can get money from all things
atari….can i have it..lol
crystal,ski’s,china,colored glass…gift it out. or yard sale it
pass it off as memorabilia of grandpa,dad,cousin?…uncle…your late friend….
Sell it on Ebay
Dear,
Well, you did the first important move “Realizing that you have to do something and asking for help”
A few years ago I read a book that changes my life. This book is about Feng Shui an ancient Chinese philosophy. It is a way to mindfully organize your environment so that it fully supports you in life. This book is “Move your stuff change your life” by Karen Rauch Carter. (I’m not a friend or a promoter or anything)
After I read this book, I started to reorganize, gave stuff to Salvation Army, and forgot about how many .25 cents I will get for it. A friend of mine helped me. We got ride off everything I didn’t use for the last 6 months and also the hardest of all…Stuff for people who had past away, my dad, my mom and my late husband. When I finished I felt so relieved. I started to see a difference in my life almost immediately. In the following weeks, I received unexpected checks, I met people who helped me with my finance etc.
This book is easy to read, easy to understand and apply and the author is kind of funny. (you need a bit of humor in this process, believe me.)
You can buy Karen’s book at her website, http://www.fengshuipalace or any online store. This will be a philosophy that you’ll apply in your life for all your life.
This advice will help you only if you go ahead and DO IT.
After you read the book and you’re ready to go, ask friends to help you. You will be surprise how people like to through other people stuff away. And if it’s too hard, let them do it, go to Starbucks and enjoy your coffee while your life is about to change before you.
Good Luck
Metao
P.S My first language is French so “mille excuses” if sometime I make mistakes.
A. Research using internet, book stores, etc. the value of these objects.
B. Sell some on Ebay because flea markets won’t give you good prices on those expensive valuables. People who go to flea markets are looking for a deal.
C. Check the replacements.com website for your china.
D. Have a flea market sale at a booth.
National Geographics from the 1960′s are worth nothing:
http://uttm.com/stories/1999/03/18/deleted/main39419.shtml
I would ask your local library if they want them to complete their collection — if not, recycle them.
For all of the other items, you can generally list them for free on http://www.craigslist.org — you may need to renew the listings a few times.
Many people have warned against using eBay and I have to disagree. The beauty of eBay and other on-line auction sites is that you have a GLOBAL set of buyers instead of just the people from the surrounding couple miles who show up at the flea market or read the pennysaver. You can have a minimum sale price you will accept if you don’t want to let things go too cheaply. You get to re-list most items for free if they don’t sell. Etc.
Record Albums: There are lots of people who collect the old vinyl LP’s, 45 RPM singles, and so on. Value will depend entirely on what specific album it is. You are going to have to type in each and every album 1 at a time into the search engine to find out what they are worth. You might have luck through one of the vinyl LP collector groups:
http://www.solidviper.com/
http://www.vinylrecords.co.uk/
http://dmoz.org/Arts/Music/Collecting/Vinyl/
As a hint, start by alphabetizing them by artist name, so you can look through whole lists on-line faster.
The good albums put up on eBay or sell through a specialty vinyl LP dealer. The rest put in a box and give them to someone at a flea market who is already selling vinyl LP’s.
Old Atari games: Very sale-able. Put them up on eBay, individually but be willing to “combine shipping for multiple wins”. Make sure the listing says they are NIB (New In Box) Unopened. If they are for the Atari 2600 look here:
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/atari2600/
If for a different Atari platform, just type in “Atari _____ game group” into the Yahoo search bar and you will find enthusiast groups. As you can see by the following eBay search, these things can fetch a decent price:
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&fkr=1&from=R8&satitle=Atari+2600+games&category0=&submitSearch=Search
Video Discs: Again, there are collectors out there. Not as many as for video games, but they are there.
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&fkr=1&from=R8&satitle=Atari+2600+games&category0=&submitSearch=Search
Here is someone with specific wants:
http://puosu.dna.fi/~kerappo/ld/ld-want.html
Craigslist is a very good place to advertise these, it is global but can be narrowed to local listings to avoid shipping, and it is free so you can afford to wait for the few interested buyers.
For the skiis, contact nearby high schools and colleges — most have a ski sale each winter. Failing that, these are good items for the pennysaver.
Knick nacks — again, good eBay items if you know exactly what they are. But if they are just “this knick nack thing” then it will be very hard for buyers to find your listing so eBay probably will not get a good sale price and may cost you money in the long run. Your local flea market would be better.
Crystal, China, and colored glass — these can be very valuable, or hardly worth anything. You need to have MULTIPLE antique dealers or specialists look them over. Don’t just take the first dealers word for it that they are only worth a couple bucks. The number of people on PBS’s “Antiques Roadshow” who get their whatsit appraised at $ 100,000 after the local dealer offered them $ 100 for it is stunning… These are the kinds of things you really need to research and learn about to not get taken.
My condolances on the loss of your husband.
for the records that noone wants, contact a place that makes things out of old records and see if they’d like to buy them. (there was someone making coasters out of records. national geographics if complete set would be worth trying to list on ebay if they don’t sell, donate to school.
what are big disc movies, are you talking about lazer discs? you can sell those. try craigslist or ebay. when you list things make sure you put photos and as much detail as possible, if you have no photos, no one will buy becasue they will thing you are trying to sell crappy stuff.
do you have cable? on hgtv there is a show called mission organization that helps really cluttered people. although you might be tight on money, while the people on the show are spending big bucks, try and pick up some of the tips on leading a more organized life. it helped for me!!
There is a television show called “Cash In The Attic” on HGTV. You could contact them and see if they will consider you for one of their shows. What they do is, they come to your home with a van. They take items from your home they think will bring money at an auction and put them in the van. They have an appraiser who will give you an estimate of what they think the value of the item is so you can set a minimum starting price for the bids. Then they take you to the auction to see how much cash you can raise. See if they will take everything you are ready to part with to the auction.
Whatever you have left maybe save a few thing for the memory and then have a big yard sale with the rest after the most valuable pieces have been sold.
i know how you feel. i also have alot of STUFF i’m trying to unload. dont sell it…. put an add for free stuff… check collectors of vintage games and records. i’m sure someone will be more than happy to unload these items. We all need extra money, but giving it away will give you more gratification!
This could be a full time job and you probably already have one of those. What you have right now is an overwhelming mountain. Take a magic marker and number the boxes start with box number one and vow to open, sort, research value of and contact the best place to advertise the item. Start with one box a week and increase it as you become more knowledgeable. By the time you get to box six you should be into the routine. Turn off the TV, turn on the music and plan on spending a lot of time on the Internet.
One mans junque is another mans treasure. Good Luck!!!
i think u should do a yard sale.get rid of all that junk ya have in ya room.then ya can buy somet u really want
by the way u can find some tips on my website i do some trash and junk selling business
http://users.cjb.net/babarsattars/home.htm
http://users.cjb.net/babarsattars/babarsfun.htm