This Little Light of Mine

I love candles. If I'm home, you'll usually find one burning. The ambiance, the smell....for me, candles make a house a home.When I started to reassess the products my family uses, it never even crossed my mind that most candles are little environmental disasters waiting to release their toxins at first light. I might sound dramatic but listen to this. Let's talk about wax. Most commercially produced candles are made with paraffin wax. Paraffin is a waste product of petroleum refining. I've been trying to "just say no" to petroleum products so most candles don't fit in to my eco-friendly lifestyle. Plus, the chemicals used to process paraffin candles like benzene and esters, are released into the air, polluting both indoor and outdoor air with unhealthy fumes and soot.

And wicks. Don't even get me started about the wicks! Conventional candles often use a synthetic wick that have a metal or zinc core which, you guessed it, emits toxic stuff when lit. Lead wicks are banned in the U.S. thank goodness, but many countries continue to use them. Be wary of imported candles! Personally I can't believe any manufacturer would use such dangerous substances in their products. I guess that goes for many items in the world today but truly, I though candles would be one the last things I needed to worry about!

I have slowly been weaning off my beloved Yankee candles and switching to soy or beeswax  candles which are petroleum and chemical free. I've been toying with the idea of making jar candles for a while....I have beeswax, I have essential oils....all I need is wicking and a container (hello Goodwill!) Eager to start the candle making process, the kids and I made rolled beeswax candles for the dinner table last night (you may remember that we light candles at the beginning of our evening meal.) The process couldn't be simpler: roll sheets of beeswax around cotton wicking and ta-da! A candle! The kids tore off bits off wax to decorate them and now each night, they get to light a candle that they made with their own two hands. So cool!