To think you don't throw away birthday cake candles?

[catsonthebed]

Was at my SILs at the weekend celebrating a birthday. When I went to help clear up, I saw that all the candles from the birthday cake were in the bin. When I rescued them, thinking they'd been thrown away accidentally, she said she always bins them. Apparently they're 'gross' after they've been in a cake and 'who on earth cba to wash things like that?'.

Is this really a thing? I've had the same candles for years, still use some of the holders from my childhood. They get lit for a few seconds and then blown out, a handful of times every year.

YABU: Eurgh, reusing candles, that's so gross, I've got a whole life to live and it holds no time for rinsing tiny plastic candle holders, you loser

YANBU: Obviously you reuse the things, this is just another example of a profligate and wasteful world gone MAD

Absolutely reuse - I’m not adverse to buying new ones if needed for a particular themed cake but we have a little pot where we keep used candles (and the unused ones from each pack) and generally use from there for each birthday. So wasteful (resources and cash) to throw away when they’ve been lit for just a couple of minutes).

Nope. The hotter the better ☀️ No flooding issues or storm issues here.

Weather is weather. There’s always been floods, storms, heatwaves, ice ages etc.

People can get their knickers in a twist about it as much as they want, but I’m going to live my life however I want. I won’t have it curtailed because some people are panicking.

So no, I don’t recycle. I chuck lots of stuff away. I rarely reuse stuff. We fly a lot, drive everywhere, use as much water as we want, eat meat.

I’m not changing. You do you, I’ll do me.

One thing I loved as a child was the tradition of birthdays and other celebrations, knowing what decorations and stuff would be coming out. The familiarity of it was part of the experience.
A friend and I have a gift bag that we reuse every year for our birthday gifts, it's still as good as new.

I can’t say I’ve ever kept them, and come to think about it I’ve never seen candles with already burnt wicks on a cake.

YANBU but I wouldn’t take them out the bin.🤢🤮

Cos my husbands birthday and mine are so close we reuse the candles on my birthday cake and his.

Thing is though kids don’t care. My sons birthday was last week and I just asked him what colour candles I put on his cake .he couldn’t remember

YANBU to reuse your own candles. YABU to go through someone else’s bin.

Really?! Are you the type who gets offended by everything?

I reuse old ones for family only occasions/ cakes, but then I do buy new if it’s for an occasion where there will be others there. So I end up with a lot of candles in a box!

This was my thought too! You could have asked “oh the candles are in the bin, was that on purpose”

You can do what you like, I keep candles too. But you are VVVV unreasonable to judge your SIL. Which you are.

We have a plastic food bag full of candles and candle holders. Reuse except for parties, then I buy new ones (which would then be reused).

I keep the plastic holders but new candles always look nicer on a cake.

Nope. Are you the type that gets offended by what everyone else posts?

We reuse, waste not want not!

I barely ever have a cake with candles in it, yet we have got partially used birthday cake candles in the kitchen Drawer of Doom.

I don't understand what could possibly be 'grim' about washing some icing off and putting them in a drawer. Do you lot in the 'grim' camp throw all your plates and cutlery away after each use because its had food on it?

I'm with you op. I always keep the candles and they'll do about 3 uses on a birthday cake before they have burned down too low. I just keep them in a little tupperware tub.

how can you tell, once they are lit?

Especially important to keep the number ones. The candles you use for your child’s 12 th birthday are perfect to help celebrate its 21st.

I’m pretty minimalist, try not to buy or keep clutter but I definitely keep used candles & reuse the holders. One small box in the drawer. Don’t buy the number ones though, a token few are enough for an adult.

That poster sounds similar to the one on the balloon release thread who’s said she’d continue letting balloons off every year and didn’t care about animals or the environment 🙄

Also remember another one who would make something like a big lasagne and chuck half of it cos they ‘never saved leftovers’! Said they’d never dream of freezing or reusing leftovers (and I’m talking about another few full untouched servings not a MN teeny weeny teaspoon sized scraping).

Don’t know if posters like this are on the wind up or genuinely wasteful and a bit thick?

Next to the packet of pipe cleaners and behind the plastic tub with a red lid that stores cocktails sticks bought at an unknown point, nobody can ever remember doing it, but is immediately missed when there's a bit of gunk along the edge of the sink that needs cleaning and somebody's moved them?

Yeah. That's where they go.

Ours always used to go in the stove to help in fire-lighting,

Well tbf it is a bit gross. Blowing out the candles means a kid spitting all over it. The whole performance is a bit grim when you think about it.

I don't chuck them though, but I won't eat the cake either.

Were similar plus tend to have 2 cakes for the kids one for a party and one for family. Who cares if the candles aren't pristine, kids certainly dont and im not bothered. I have some large number candles which look virtually untouched after first use and usually get us through at least 3 cakes before they fall apart. It feels wasteful to chuck them out every time