Easy DIY Firestarters With Dryer Lint

In this time of “Safer at Home” orders during the coronavirus pandemic, there are a few things that we all seem to have in common. Most noteably, we all seem to be collecting empty toilet paper rolls! Another naturally occurring byproduct in my house is dryer lint. In my house, dryer lint seems to accumulate faster than the empty bottles of acetaminophen needed to survive teaching my children at home while schools are closed!

Combine these otherwise useless items to make an incredibly helpful camping supply: easy do-it-yourself-campfire starters using your empty toilet paper rolls and dryer lint!

The minimal cost is one of the best things about this craft! I’m a thrifty person by nature. I love reusing items that would have been thrown away. This craft uses things that you already have in your home, leaving one on supply that may need to be purchased, wax paper!

I had to run to the store because I had run out of wax paper. This was my first trip to a store since the pandemic kept us in our homes over 50 days earlier! I went in, got what I needed quickly, and disinfected afterwards!

To make the campfire starters:

Making these DIY firestarters with dryer lint couldn’t be easier! First, gather your supplies. You will need to find:

• Your collection of empty toilet paper rolls (or paper towel rolls that can be cut to the desired length).
• Your collection of dryer lint. If you have teenagers in the house, there is likely a nice pile sitting on top of your dryer right now – providing they even remove the lint! Mine do, and they also seem to find it impossible to toss it out in the garbage that is 6 inches away. This has now worked to my advantage!
• Wax paper

1. Grab an empty toilet paper tube and fill it completely with dryer lint. Pack it in!
2. Cut or tear a piece of wax paper about 10 – 12 inches long.
3. Optional: If you have candles, wax, or petroleum jelly, you can add some melted wax or a small bit of petroleum jelly to the ends of each tube of dryer lint. The starters will still work without this.
4. Roll the dryer lint filled tube with the sheet of wax paper.
5. Twist each end of the wax paper, making it look like a tootsie roll!
6. Save all of your campfire starters in a ziploc or airtight container so that they remain dry.
7. When you are starting your next campfire, light the starter underneath your kindling and sit back while your fire starts itself!

This video shows how well they work!

I Began Making My Firestarters

I gathered the materials. Since the safer at home orders began with the coronavirus pandemic, I had kept all of the empty toilet paper rolls for this project. I had been collecting dryer lint for a long time. I keep a large glass jar near my dryer and just pop all of the lint into the jar. It took several months to fill it.

It was a beautiful day outside, so we set the materials out on my deck and began making firestarters. My 11 year old daughter helped, and within an hour we had finished filling and rolling 25 firestarters!

This is an extremely simple project to do, and one that we will benefit from for a very long time. I love reusing items that seem to have no additional use, and honestly there’s not much use for dryer lint that I can think of!

So, put your hoarded toilet paper to good use once the roll is empty! Fill it with dryer lint and enjoy a hassle free start to your next campfire! Or, come on over and join us! We can easily start dozens of fires this season!

---

If you would like to go RVing, here’s Everything You Need To Know!