Home Made Fire Starters (Burn Boxes)

Spring is officially here and summer is on its way.  If you're lucky enough to have a fire pit in your back yard like we are then you can't wait to get out there and start roasting marshmallows.  One great way to get that fire started is to make home made fire starters which we call "Burn Boxes" or "Burn Bags."

What you'll need:

• A cardboard box or paper bag
• Dryer Lint (optional)
• Old newspapers
• Sawdust (optional)
• Twigs, Sticks and Tree Bark

I used an Ulta box from an online delivery I had gotten.  I also used it to pack items when we recently moved.

Start by crumpling up some newspaper and putting it in the bottom of the box with the dryer lint. 

Then spread some of the stick, twigs and pieces of bark on top of the paper and then put another layer of paper on top of the sticks.

After that, close the box with each corner over another so that  it won't open on its own.

Once you've got it backed and closed up, you need to poke holes all over the box in order to let the oxygen in so that the fire will start.  I used a giant screwdriver but you can use scissors or a knife.  This is also a nice stress reliever.

This is what it will look like when you're done.

 You can also use old charcoal bags or pizza boxes -- pizza boxes work great because they're greasy and grease is super flammable.

Then all you have to do is place the burn box in the bottom of the fire pit and place your pieces of wood around it.  Light the box through one of the holes on the side so that the paper inside catches fire and then watch it all go up in flames.