You can feel it in the air! Fall is here. The days and nights are getting cooler. It’s perfect weather for a campfire! Do you want to spend time getting the fire going or would you rather spend more time enjoying the campfire with your family and friends? That’s an easy one for me. I’ve never been great at getting a campfire started, so I was happy to discover these simple, inexpensive ways to make my own fire starters at home. All that’s left is to take them to the campground and get ready to enjoy a fire.
Here are five simple campfire starters:
- Use recycled items to make this easy starter. Collect dryer lint and save toilet paper cardboard. Spray the dryer lint with inexpensive hair spray and tuck it into the cardboard tube. Store in plastic zip-type bags.
- Soak wine corks in isopropyl alcohol until saturated. Store in an air-tight container, like a Mason jar, to keep the corks moist.
- Save the paper towels you use to clean the bacon grease out of your cast iron pan. Fold the paper towels into small squares and store in a zip-type plastic bag.
- After reading the newspaper or weekly ads, thoroughly wet the newsprint. Roll the paper tightly into rolls. When it dries, it will act like a paper log and light/burn easily.
- Flamin’ Hot Doritos (or any other oily snack) can really burn. In the firepit, that is. Just put a snack-size bag of the chips under some kindling and ignite!
Try these simple tricks to get your campfire going. You’ll be making s’mores in no time!
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Used dryer sheets packed in a toilet paper roll work well too. To get really fancy, add some sawdust in the middle. (If you do wood working), Add just a little lighter fluid and store in airtight jar.
This is what I learned as a Girl Scout: Fill the sections of a cardboard (not styrofoam) egg carton with dryer lint. Really stuff it in. Pour melted paraffin or candle wax into each compartment. (I save the ends of candles for this, as well as the wax from my hot wax therapy tub.) When set, separate sections. It usually takes two sections to get a fire going.
We do the same, works really well!
As a Boy Scout leader for many years I would not allow the scouts to use a match to start a fire. There are many ways to start a fire including a 9 volt battery and steel wool. Many of our trips were in kayaks camping on islands where wood was often wet making it difficult to start a fire, so I carried my own special matches for when all else failed. They are called 45 minute road flairs, just stay up wind and no cooking until they burned out!
I always carry a 9V battery and steel wool in my pocket. Lol
Yeah. Me too. 🙂
Hopefully not the same pocket…..
I start campfires with a propane torch.
This^
Probably not a good idea to use food items such as Doritos or bacon grease. They can act as attractants for wild animals, even when they have been burned.
I use the shredded paper from my paper shredder and stuff the paper into the cardboard egg carton sections. Then pour old candle wax onto the shredded paper. Another quickie is just use wax paper sections that you pull out of the box and twist them up.
I go to the hardware store and get a bottle of BBQ starter fluid, works every time 🙂
I personally think all campfires should be banned.
Or maybe go to smoke free only RV resorts, they are out there.
I personally think campfires should be required. One size doesn’t fit all.
True, Robert, but those who have campfires effect those who don’t. Those who don’t burn campfires have no effect on others (except that we all breathe cleaner air).
Sorry, I meant to address the above comment to Wayne…
See Lazy Q’s reply, can’t have it all. Fires were there first. We try to cook every thing we can over the fire, that is part of the “Camping” experience. We practice wilderness survival as much as possible when camping, just to be ready for that off chance that we have to do it for real. Happy Trails
Back in the 50’s when boy scouts were still allowed to have matches, we cut newspaper into six inch strips, tied them with string, and dipped them in melted candle wax. Getting them wet had no effect on their ability to start a fire. This was back when boy scouts were able to BE boy scouts.
Love these ideas! For years I would save cardboard egg cartons, fill with shredded paper and pour melted candle wax over. One or two “eggs” for a roaring fire!
If you still burn candles, save all the old wax. From the work shop save a small bag of sawdust or wood chips. Take an old muffin pan, line the muffin holes with the paper liners, fill with sawdust or wood chips, melt wax and fill the muffin liners. The paper liners work great as wicks. You could even make these while you got your campfire going.
Don’t use dryer lint unless it is 100% cotton, otherwise the synthetic fibers can be toxic