Sitting by a campfire while camping is always the highlight of the trip and a place where many memories are made. There are many ways to start a campfire, and some of them simply use things laying around your house.

We’ll cover three DIY fire starters and one for folks who would rather just click the mouse on their computer (that’s ok too).

Dryer Lint Balls

This is something that everyone has and can be a very inexpensive way to make a fire starter. All you need is leftover lint from your dryer and a container of Vaseline. The process is fairly simple. Grab a chunk of dryer lint, slather it with Vaseline and roll it until the lint has been covered. Do this with about a dozen small lint balls and put them in a container. The vaseline takes 3-5 seconds to light, but once it’s going they work great.

Waxed Paper and Dryer Lint/Sawdust

This is similar to the dryer lint and Vaseline but a little less sticky. To make this DIY fire starter take a piece of wax paper, throw some dryer lint or sawdust in the middle of a empty toilet paper roll and roll it all up, twist both ends of the paper to keep your lint contained. Simply light from the ends to use.

Cotton Pads With Wax

Heat wax in a saucepan (preferably one you don’t care to much about) heat it low and slow until you have about a ¼ inch of liquid wax. Use tongs and dip a cotton pad in to the wax. It will soak up wax and coat the outside. Take it out of the wax, let it cool on a sheet of wax paper and throw them in a Ziploc bag. We’d like to note that this also works with Vaseline. It will heat up in a bowl the same way wax does. Then just dip the pads in the Vaseline.

Cedar Fire Puck & Emergency Fire Starter

Not everyone wants to make fire starters in their kitchen. For those people there are plenty of tinder options you can buy off the shelf. We’ve had good luck with the Zippo Cedar Puck.  The package says to break it into four pieces, but we easily started eight fires with one. As long as your kindling is thin you can really make one of these last. The cedar also smells great which is a nice bonus.

The other product we want to mention here is the Zippo Outdoor Emergency Fire Starter. Think of this as a $10 insurance policy.

A campfire is not only a camping tradition but also a necessity for light, warmth and cooking. Make sure you have the right tools to get a fire started easily.