DIY Reusable Beeswax Wrap

Swap-out your plastic wrap for these fun, eco-friendly natural beeswax wraps

Let’s be honest, plastic cling wrap has played a massive, convenient role in our daily lives, whether it be to save our sandwich or last night’s leftovers. BUT although it may save our food, I can’t say the same for the environment (see what I did there).

Plastic cling wrap is an example of a single-use plastic item that is used daily by millions of people around the globe. Now what is single-use plastic, you may ask. It is exactly what it sounds like. It is plastic products that are only used once and then thrown away. Plastic cling wrap is also not recyclable as it is made of poly vinyl chloride (PVC), so it goes straight to the landfill.

Believe me, I know how easy and convenient it is to grab a sheet of cling wrap to cover that bowl of soup from lunch you didn’t finish or that burrito from Chipotle that you just can’t (obviously not) throw away.

So why not try out a fun DIY project to swap-out the cling wrap in your life, am I right?

Reusable beeswax wrap is an easy, fun, eco-friendly alternative to cling wrap. You can purchase beeswax wraps at many zero-waste shops or online stores. However, sometimes you will be paying around $30 for 3 wraps, which is not exactly your most cost-effective option. Here is how Caitlyn and I spent $45 to make 30+ beeswax wraps (that's about $1.50 per wrap!). Of course you do not need to make 30, however, Caitlyn and I thought they were great gift ideas for the holidays.

What You'll Need

• 600 g Beeswax pellets (approx. $25)

• 100% cotton fabric in fun patterns (approx. $20)

• Baking sheet

• Paint brush or spreading utensil

• Tape measure

• Close pins and hangers

• Pinking shears (optional)

*Before starting, make sure you have washed and dried your fabric squares.

Let’s Get to It

1. Cut Your Fabric

First things first, preheat your oven to about 200°F and begin to cut your fabric into the shapes and sizes you desire for your wraps. We cut our fabric into ten large squares (12”X12”), ten medium squares (10”X10”) and ten small squares (8”X8”). Use the pinking shears to add that extra little touch.

2. Line Your Baking Sheet

Lay a single layer of your fabric squares on your baking sheet. If squares overlap or you need to fold the larger squares, no problem, you will just need to add more beeswax to those areas.

*Note: Caitlyn and I bought two cheap baking sheets from the dollar store so we weren’t using our good cooking trays

3. Sprinkle Your Beeswax

Sprinkle the beeswax pellets evenly over your fabric squares. Add more pellets to the areas where you overlapped fabric or had to fold your larger squares.

4. Melt Your Beeswax

Place your baking sheet in the oven and wait for the pellets to completely melt. When all the pellets have melted into the fabric, remove the sheet from the oven. If you notice some areas without beeswax, use a spreading utensil or brush to spread out the beeswax. Remove the squares from the baking sheet quickly as the wax will begin to dry to the baking sheet. BUT be careful because the beeswax is extremely hot when it is fresh out of the oven (I can say this from experience).

5. Hang to Dry

Once you remove from the baking sheet, wave the beeswax-soaked squares in the air for a few seconds. However, do this gently unless you want to scrape beeswax off your kitchen cupboards (also can say this from experience). Hang your squares on a hanger with close pins or a clothesline to let it completely dry.

And there you have it! Once your beeswax wraps have fully dried, you can put them to use and rid yourself of plastic cling wrap! Use them to wrap up your sandwich or cover your fruits and veggies. And the best part about your new wraps is you can reuse them! Wash your wraps by hand in cool water and keep them away from heat!

Give them as a gift to your friends and family for the holidays or make some for yourself to use a little less plastic in your life.