Towel Re-Purpose #1

It's been a busy week this week with all the folding and appreciating my clothes that's been going on.  I just took a book out of the library on how to create a capsule wardrobe so we'll see how that goes in the coming months.

But to today.  I've begun re-purposing the towels from last week starting with some lovely new dishcloths.

I've made two versions.  The bottom one is just a square of towel that has been bound like a quilt.  The top one is based on an idea I came across on one of those 'best ofs' 'top ten ways to' lists on Pintrest but it originally came from Fairview Farm blog.  It's one square of towel and one square of quilting cotton sewn together around the edge (left raw) then straight line quilted into a Tic-Tac-Toe board.

I've only made 4 and am testing them out to decide which I like best before I make any more.  The bound one washed better as it didn't shed bits all over the rest of the laundry but it took longer to make so we'll see.

Next I'll try some reusable Swiffer mop covers and I'm wondering about dying a couple of towels to cover the weird stains and making some light weight bathmats, or using them as wadding for pot holders.  I bet you're waiting with baited breath for that one!

Have a great weekend
Kirstin

Towels

So now 2019 has begun and the house is free of contractors for a day or 2, I decided to round up and sort out our vast selection of towels.

Here's the stats...

• Bath towels - 20
• Hand towels - 18
• Bath mats - 6
• Beach towels - 6
• Face cloths - 7
• Total Items - 57

I definitely do not think we need this many between 4 of us.  I have whittled it down to this...

• Bath towels - 10
• Hand towels - 10
• Bath mats - 4
• Beach towels - 5
• Face cloths - 4
• Rags and cleaning cloths - 6
• Total Items - 39

That's not a very round number is it?  I now have the problem of how to get rid of the remaining 18 without putting them all in landfill.

I have 5 that are good enough to donate to thrift, they are hardly used because they were too big or too thick or have Ben Ten emblazoned on them.  The other 13 pose a bit of a problem as they are well used or have mysterious bleach stains on them.  My first thought was the Humane Society but they have a prominent note on their website right now to the effect that they don't need any towels so I guess I'm not the only one with that bright idea.

So after a bit of research I've decided to try to re-purpose them.  Here are some ideas I found online...

• Reusable Swiffer pads
• Dish cloths
• Ironing board cover
• Make up scrubbies
• Home made pillow form
• Spa slippers
• Draft excluder

I'll be trying out a few of these over the next few weeks, my One Monthly Goal jobs will have to come first but I'm quite excited about some of these especially as I might get to use up some of my stash and scraps as well.

Does anyone else out there have any great ideas for reusing or disposing of old towels?  If you do I'd love to hear them or see some pictures.