Fire Starters for Camping

Summer vacation is here!!! Time to start thinking about when we are going camping. As a kid I loved camping. There is something fun and adventurous in camping. Among my favorite things about camping are:
#1 a campfire
#2 roasting marshmallows (if you have all the makings for smores, so much the better)
#3 hiking/nature walks
#4 making memories for my children that will last a life time

#5 everything else

As a parent my favorite thing is watching my kids have so much fun on their adventures. Just watching them explore around the campsite even. I like areas where you have a nice big campsite so the kids can explore with out going through every one Else's campsites. Also it is more peaceful at night, if you know what I mean. ;)

As a kid I was in the Girls Scouts and my troop was big on camping. We went all the time, rain or shine. We learned all sorts of related skills. Building a campfire was one of them. I have memories of rolling up news paper and tying them off with twine and then dunking them in a can of melted wax. Recently I have come across another method that involves a cardboard egg carton, dryer lint and wax. For this method you can also use saw dust instead of dryer lint (most of us have dryer lint readily available).

What I love about the dryer lint or sawdust fire starters is how convenient they are. Think about it, you are making them in their very own container. Another bonus is that container does not take up a lot of room.

Here is how it is done:

Fill all the wells in the carton with dryer lint.

Place old broken crayons, candles, any type of wax in a tin can.

Place that tin can in an old saucepan with boiling water and melt the wax. (you need a double boiler for melting wax, if you heat it up directly on the stove it will catch fire)

*******I have placed one carton nested on top of another. That way as the wax soaks through the container I am filling, it does not get all over the counter.***********
Pour the hot wax on top of the dryer lint. Get it good and saturated. The wax will keep the lint from burning too quickly.

Close the lid of the egg carton and store till you are ready to use them.

To start a fire simply tear off one or two of the wells and place them in the fire pit. Now build up your campfire with smaller branches in a log cabin style. Your fire starter should be in the center. You don't have to do the log cabin style but, you need to cris cross your sticks so that air can get to the fire (otherwise it will smoke and smother itself) Light the cardboard of your fire starter. Enjoy!