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    Home » DIY Projects

    Homemade Firelighters/Firestarters

    by Patti Estep · Aug 18, 2024

    Jump to How-to Card
    Bundles of dried herbs on a table next to a pair of pruning shears.
    Bundles of herbs and garden clipping for firelighters.

    These dried bundles of herbs and flowers make wonderful homemade firelighters or firestarters and are wonderful fragrant gifts for friends.

    Homemade fire starters bundles from herbs in the garden.

    Do you remember how you learned to make a fire as a child? I remember in Girl Scouts how to gather wood and build a really nice campfire. One of the keys was to start with kindling and build upon it, with larger sticks, followed by logs. Sometimes we would make special little homemade fire starters with cardboard egg cartons, dryer lint, and candle wax.

    I haven't made a campfire in a long time, but we do have a wood-burning fireplace in our home.  My husband also made a nice fire-pit outside, with some recycled bricks. So when I'm trimming the garden I often gather bunches together to use as kindling or fire starters.

    P.S. I also have a post on DIY fire starters made with paraffin wax, pine cones, berries, and pine needles in muffin tins. They were made to be given out as gifts during the holidays.

    Bundle of wrapped lavender cuttings for lighting a fire.

    Homemade Fire Starters or Firelighters

    If you're like me you probably have lots of rogue plants that need pruning or maybe you've planted mint that's trying to take over. These are good candidates for creating your own firelighters.

    Also, though many types of plant material work well I especially enjoy herbs and those whose foliage is fragrant like mint, lavender, and sage. Woody plants like lavender also help the fire by burning a little longer, however, any non-toxic plant material works well.

    In addition, creating your own firelighters is a huge cost saver over buying fatwood fire starters.

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    Caution: Do not burn any poisonous plants like poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, and oleander. Also, if you are allergic to any plant make sure that you don't include it in your kindling mix.

    Cuttings of mint wrapped in twine.

    How to Make Fire Starters

    • All you need to do is gather the trimmings and tie them together with some twine.
    • Wrap the twine up the bunch and back down.
    • Then tie off the twine at the bottom, to keep the plant material in a nice bundle.
    • You can make them as long or short or as thick as you want.
    Drying bundles of herbs.

    Let them dry in a warm place with nice airflow. Here are some on my screened-in porch. After a few days or up to a week, they should be nice and dry and ready to use.

    Fire starter bundles laid out on table.

    You can also trim them into smaller bundles after they've dried.

    Homemade firelighter bundles in box.

    Isn't this a genius way to use prunings from the garden? Place them in a nice basket by the fireplace for easy access. Or, gather several into a big bundle and tie them up with a pretty bow to give to a fire loving friend.

    Patti signature

    More Nature and Herbal Projects

    • Make a Wreath with Wild Grapevines
    • DIY Lavender Eye Pillow
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    • Make Watercolors from Plants
    • DIY Floral Water
    • Make Herbal Infusions
    Homemade fire starters from your garden, using trimmings from herbs and flowers are beautiful, fragrant, and functional for your home.
    Print
    3.43 from 7 votes

    Homemade Fire Starters

    These homemade fire starters project couldn't be any easier to make. Plus, you can use fragrant trimmings from your yard. It's a good use of pruned plant material and they also make great gifts.
    Prep Time15 minutes mins
    Active Time15 minutes mins
    Total Time30 minutes mins
    Course: Crafts
    Yield: 1 Fire Starter
    Author: Patti Estep
    Cost: $3-$5

    Equipment

    • Garden Shears

    Materials

    • Fragrant trimmings
    • Twine
    • Ribbon

    Instructions

    • Gather fresh trimmings that are fragrant, like mint or lavender.
    • Tie with twine. Wrap the twine up and down the bunch.
    • Tie off the twine at the bottom, to keep the plant material in a nice bundle.
    • Let them dry in a warm place with nice airflow for a few days to a week.
    • Trim them into smaller bundles after they've dried if desired.
    • Gather several into a big bundle and tie them up with a pretty bow to give to a fire loving friend.
    Tried this project?Tag @hearthnvine on Instagram
    Bundles of dried herbs in a basket.
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    About Patti Estep

    Patti is the creator of Hearth and Vine, a home and garden blog filled with projects to inspire your creative side. She loves crafting, gardening, decorating and entertaining at her home in Pennsylvania. When she is not working on a project at home or searching for treasures at nurseries and thrift stores with her girlfriends, you’ll probably find her with family and friends, at a restaurant, or home party enjoying new and different food adventures.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Carole

      August 28, 2017 at 7:49 am

      I'm burning all the time in our pit and most times I use pine needles because with two large trees we have plenty. I like this idea better and will work great at the new property. Burning dried herbs does fill the air with a wonderful scent and they always need clipping back, especially that peppermint and lemon balm.

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        August 28, 2017 at 7:56 am

        Hi Carole,

        I knew you would like this. I totally agree with you about mint and lemon balm. They are huge producers so there is always plenty and they smell great!

        Reply
    2. Lorraine

      August 30, 2015 at 5:16 am

      Beautiful. Thank You!

      Reply
    3. Heather @ new house new home

      August 24, 2015 at 8:24 am

      Stunning simplicity!!! I'll be making some of these for sure!!
      Thanks for sharing this project on What's Blooming This Week!!

      Reply
    4. K Lambert

      August 16, 2015 at 10:01 am

      What a great idea!

      Reply
      • Patti

        August 16, 2015 at 3:46 pm

        Thanks!

        Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. DIY Herbal Fire Starters — Eatwell 101 says:
      August 25, 2015 at 11:41 am

      […] Check the tutorial here at Garden Matter […]

      Reply
    3.43 from 7 votes (7 ratings without comment)

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    Bundles of herbs and garden clipping for firelighters.
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