Wait! Before you pack it all away for next year,
It’s helpful to keep one Chanukah bin with all the items you need from year to year. It’s such a pleasure when you take it out a couple days before next Chanukah, and everything you need is already there!
But before you pack it all away, the tips in these posts will help a lot!
Any recommendations how to clean wax and olive oil from a nickel menorah?
How to clean wax & olive oil off a mahogany/silver plate menorah?
I’d put it in the freezer to start. Hot water will ruin the wood. Once very cold, most of the wax should flake off. Use something like a credit card, perhaps wrapped in a paper towel if you think it will scratch the surface, to get off the rest. Oil can be removed with a cloth or paper towel dipped in a bowl of dishwashing liquid and warm water. Dry the menora right away.
BEST HACK EVER!! Soak your glasses in amonia overnight in a sealed container. Then wash it in warm, soapy water. All the black soot will just slide off.
This might seem a little heretical but I started buying new glass cups every Chanukah a few years ago and never looked back! At least in Israel, the cups are so inexpensive and it was just not worth the effort it takes to wash and store them. Just another way of doing things if it speaks to anyone.
Yup. Buy new
For many it is a hiddur or maybe even chumra(everyone ask for themselves) not to light in something disposable, so throwing the glass cups out is not an option.. soaking the glasses in ammonia and a bit of Dawn is magic though! There are little metal thingies similar to the clasps on a Manila envelope that you fold over the top edge of the cups. They have a small hole in the center to pull the wick through. It keeps the wicks on top, keeps your cups soot free..and your menorah burns so much nicer because the flames stay aligned..
Keeping a Chanukah hamper with all the essentials from year to year is a great idea.