Turning scraps into sparks
It is a fantastic way to clean up your property … and to start your woodstove.
I have always thought that it is a waste of kindling to leave or burn the smallest branches in the bush when cutting firewood. But the mess that they made all over the floor when I brought them inside had me back to chopping kindling in no time.
Last week, I came up with a plan for all those little branches. I wrapped them in an old What’s Up Yukon, chucked in a couple of toilet paper rolls (that I’ve been saving for something useful), taped them into a bundle and shoved them in a beer box.
I then stomped on the bigger branches to break them and put them in other beer boxes. It took a while and I suffered a couple of scratches but it was worth it for those fire starters. I thank myself every morning when I pop one in the wood stove with a couple of branches and logs, light one corner and walk away. No need to blast it with a blow torch and it works the first time, every time.
My plan works best when the branches are on your own property so you can process them at will. Nobody has the energy, patience or room to collect them after filling a truck full of firewood.
But it is a fantastic way to clean up your property … and to start your woodstove.
