When your candle has half an inch of wax left, it's a good time to say your final farewell. Not burning that last half inch is recommended by all candle-makers as a safety precaution — otherwise, the glass might get too hot and crack. It also makes the glass easier to clean out using our freezing method below thanks to the nice solid block of wax.

If you have a Keap candle, simply peel the labels off the front and base of the glass. Our compostable labels use glues that are low adhesive,  so they’re easy to remove. Any remaining residue will come off with some hot, soapy water. 

For any other candle, you'll likely have to deal with a sticky petroleum-based glue. These stickier glues are best dissolved using googone or rubbing alcohol.

Put the candle in the freezer and leave it for at least a few hours, but preferably a whole day or two. As wax cools, it hardens and shrinks. This helps to separate the wax from the glass, and it may come out in one go as a solid puck. Failing that, the harder consistency allows us to easily crack the wax in the next step.

Apply pressure to the edge of the wax with a dull knife. You’re not trying to cut into the wax, but rather cause it to pop out as a puck or break into smaller pieces. Remove the puck or wax chunks by gently tapping them out onto some tissue, then throw them in the trash.

If you still have some remaining residue, we like to remove any remnants to avoid these going down the drain. Baby oil or vegetable oil on a piece of tissue paper helps dissolve the remaining wax. Give the glass a thorough wipe. Note: don’t use any water by itself; it will just spread any remaining wax without really removing it since wax and water don’t readily mix.

Now that you've gotten the vast majority of l the wax out, clean the glass in a dishwasher or sink like any other dish. If washing by hand, we recommend scrubbing twice with soapy water and once with clean water before drying to ensure all remaining residue is emulsified.

You are now the owner of a brand new glass tumbler, perfect for many wonderful uses (have you seen some of our recent inspiration?) Here are some of the ways we like to use ours:

• Drinks: Insert ice cubes. Serve your favorite beverage, and enjoy.
• Flowers: Fill the glass with water. Buy some flowers, trim them to length and drop them in.
• Container for [insert item]: Loose change, writing supplies, paint brushes. 
• Make-up: Perfect for brushes or lipsticks.
• Desserts: They make fantastic pots for personal cheesecakes, pot au cremes, chocolate mousses, etc.
• Coffee: Better for iced drinks given the lack of handle, with the added bonus that you can see the milk and coffee swirling together beautifully.

To see other Tumbler ReUse ideas, head to our archive of past ReUse posts. 

How do you re-use your Keap candleholder? Share a photo with us via email (TheLab@KeapBK.com) and we'll send you $10 store credit!

Note: it must be a Keap glass in order to get the credit.