We are all shaped by our early childhood experiences and many of us carry varying degrees of positivity and negativity around in that regard. Sometimes what may at the time seem negative, ‘miraculously’ turns into a positive. With the benefit of age and a dash of wisdom perhaps, you become grateful for having ‘endured’ these childhood proscriptions.

One of my earliest recollections of being preached to by my strong-willed mother was about waste. Mum grew up in the war years with rationing. ‘Waste not want not’ was drilled into every child. Because of mum’s early childhood experiences, in our house we had to eat everything that was put in front of us. I mean, literally everything. We had to sit at the table until the plate was clean, even if it took hours and tears were pooling on the plate. Every leftover was carefully packaged up and tidied away into the fridge with other bits and bobs to be eaten later. I think I can honestly say there was no food waste in that household.

Many years later when mum came to visit me and my family we would go through the same rigmarole and the fridge would again become the sanctuary for oddments of food. When mum left my husband would take great delight in sweeping the fridge clean of mum’s ‘packages’. This never completely sat well with me. I recall having mixed feelings about this but put it down to a sort of nostalgia for the old familiar ways of childhood, rather than any objective sense in keeping food only to toss it out two days later.

I realise now that my visceral abhorrence of waste was embedded in me, the neural pathways possibly laid down at mealtimes. The habits set during my formative years.

'Fortunately,' mum isn't around anymore to experience the world with Covid-19. Nomad that she was, all these restrictions would not have sat well with her at all. However, her waste not want not ethos is needed now more than ever.

When having a ‘thought shower’ with a business friend we discussed the wax waste that RainbowLife candles might produce. Sceptical though he was that you could, or that people even would, recycle wax, I had to at least find out. With little research I was surprised to find a great YouTube video all about what to do with your odd bits of candle wax: the nubs, spills and residue. I called my friend. I have the answer.

My excitement about the solution was met with a hint of negativity. "Are you sure that’s good for business, Lisa?"

Ah, well, that’s where he is wrong. He clearly missed the point. This is a different kind of business. A post-covid, 21st century business. A business that is built for the future, by ensuring our future. Central to that is cutting down waste at every stage of production, packing, shipping, and utility. In an ideal world there would be no left-over anything.

Failing that, we do not want you to have to throw out all your leftovers, we prefer to support you in finding ways to make use of them. Ethics first, business second. That’s the model, and it is core to our mission and vision. Now, of course, I do wish that mum was still around just so I could tell her that her lesson was a good one.

For those of you wanting to use up your candle wax leftovers, watch this fellow ‘waste not want not’ woman. She takes good care of those naughty little nubs. Now you can too.

Are you a fellow frugalista?

We are always looking for tips and tricks, ways to save, recycle, re-use, and repurpose. Please send us your story and we’ll put it in a blog (credit given, or anonymously as you wish). Just drop an email to support.