Ideas for wood, kindling containers

Hi all,

I've got quite a large firewood pile that I've slowly been cutting, splitting and stacking. I've got a few cubic meters safely protected from the rain, seasoned and ready to burn. The rest is waiting for a chainsaw purchase (and I'd better hurry up, winter is coming...)

We operate a small honesty stall from which we sell vegetables and small bags of firewood. So far I've been re-using plastic/netting bags for the wood, which I have saved over the last few years, but I'm about to run out. I have asked that people return the bags but, so far, nobody has done so.

As the weather gets colder I'm sure that I will sell larger quantities of wood (it's typical to sell in m3 "bulk bags") but I would like to continue selling smaller bags too. It is more profitable, lets people know that we have firewood available and I believe it is appealing to holidaymakers, of which there are lots in my area, who might be staying nearby with a burner. I would also like to sell kindling (small sticks for getting a fire started) as I have several crates full of split pallet boards, saved from older projects, that I use for this purpose.

My question is, without purchasing new plastic products (bags), does anyone have any ideas for how I might package up logs or kindling for sale?

The weight of the log bags is probably no more than 5kg/10lbs. They are the size of a small potato sack or a bag of cement. For the Brits, they were re-used onion nets and a few bags from logs bought at petrol stations.

My only thought so far has been to try and find suitable cardboard boxes. This would work but it would be much less portable than the existing bag solution. Hopefully someone out there has a brighter idea!

Thanks in advance!

My first thought was jute.

It's cheap, biodegradable, widely available and extremely useful.

I tried searching for lashing to carry a pile of sticks to no avail.

However. With some experimentation you might be able to do something like this.

I don't know if it's possible or not.

I recall a thread from a few years ago about someone with a similar situation. They built a semi-permanent firewood rack by the roadside, with an honesty box, large painted signs and good visibility and access. It was made from old pallets and roofed to keep the firewood dry.

The rack was divided into vertical sections with wood stacked neatly - appearance matters for roadside sales. Pricing was done by section, painted clearly in big above each part.

One smaller vertical section was about equivalent to one of those mesh bags - suitable size for holiday makers. They also had one large section 4' x 4' or there abouts, priced to be slightly better value than buy a smaller section.

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Make sure your wood IS seasoned. Lots of your business will be repeat customers, so reputation matters.
Large painted signs visible from the road "SEASONED FIREWOOD - NEXT LAYBY" or whatever.

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For pre-split kindling, I would just have a divided shelf rather than large bays.

Here is an image I found of the rough idea. You can save yourself some work by not tying it.

I would clarify the signage "$10 per shelf section" or something.

It's great that you're thinking of getting away from the plastic net bags. We sell our logs and kindling (bought in) in these and I do find it annoying. They tend to catch on each other as you maneuver them as well, making handling them awkward. Some people will bring containers back (even if you don't want them!) and others are less mindful.
Like yourself we are in a holiday area, and sometimes we get asked for smaller bags of kindling (where people are only up for a day or so). I have been thinking of making bundles of sticks wrapped in twine (garden jute) maybe with a cardboard/tinder starter core as a natural firestarter for holiday makers. I'm pretty sure I could charge a fair amount for them.
I like the idea of the compartment/shelf sections, maybe provide some boxes under cover so people can use them to keep their cars clean. If you don't have access to free ones ask at your local store! I always have spare cardboard packing. I wonder whether this might work for me.....? much cheaper to buy logs in bulk.

I wonder if there are some plant fibers that the logs could be bound in?

I was thinking about some of the fibers, leaves, and limbs used for basket making.

Would it be possible to use willow to wrap the logs into bundles?

Or make rope from plant fibers to bind the logs?

Anne Miller wrote:
Would it be possible to use willow to wrap the logs into bundles?

I remembered my stick drains! I found green birch twigs remarkably easy to use to bundle up twigs for my drains. I'm sure they would work for kindling at least.

Nancy Reading wrote:I remembered my stick drains! I found green birch twigs remarkably easy to use to bundle up twigs for my drains. I'm sure they would work for kindling at least.

I'm sure that you're right. Those bundles look rather like the faggots used to fire old ovens which, I believe, were secured using a flexible hazel/willow rod. Whilst this wont work for the kindling I've got split already (photo attached), I'll have a go at making and selling some of those this winter when I'm working in the coppice.

L. Johnson wrote:
My first thought was jute.

I like the suggestion to try wrapping in jute, especially as I have a large ball of it already. I'm going to explore that for the first batch of kindling.

Michael Cox wrote:Make sure your wood IS seasoned. Lots of your business will be repeat customers, so reputation matters.

Michael, thanks for your ideas! I really like the idea of an honesty-driven help-yourself stall. It fits with my ethos of trusting people AND saves me the job of tying everything into bundles!

As for your comment about the seasoning, I appreciate the concern. The wood I have is ash (which famously, you can burn green) and starts out at a pretty low moisture content (it is around 30%; oak is closer to 60%). I've had most of it split for 3-4 months and it's below 15% moisture now, about as low as it'll go when stored outside here. I use it for BBQs and camp fires and it burns cleanly, without smoke.

I've just had someone put a note through my door, asking for 2x bulk bags so I guess they will get the majority of the really well seasoned logs. It gives me more space to stack and finish seasoning some more before it gets properly cold.

Great replies, as I expected. Thanks permies!

If you know someone that is into basket making maybe you might make a deal to sell their basket full of kindling.