The Canny Lass

So, I’ve been looking for more ways to stop throwing out as much and use up what I already have. One of the issues I have in my house is that we produce too much waste. We could be doing more to cut down.

With that in mind, I’ve been seeking out ways to use up old towels. I already cut old towels into cleaning rags – it’s something that I learned from my own mum and she from her mum before that. But, are there other things I could use old towels for?

Well, yes there is.

If you’re a pet owner, you could use old towels for drying off your animals after a bath or wiping muddy paws. When I worked as a dog walker a few years ago, we also used old towels to put on the back of seats to try and keep them clean from mucky paws. Another use is to use clean old towels in the bottom of your pet’s bed. You could sew multiple layers together to make a more comfortable, cosier liner.

If you use a Swiffer-style mop, you could cut old towels into the right size and with a bit of sewing you can use them as a washable cover.

Talking of sewing, for those of you who are bit more handy, you can sew or weave several old towels into a bath mat. If the colour is faded, you could also buy a washing machine dye and dye them to a colour of your choice.

Again, old towels can be cut and sewn into heat-resistant pot holders. Just cut them into a square, layer them up and sew them together.

Other uses for old towels include using them to wash your car with. Cut them up into a cloth size and use to wash the inside and outside of the car. Use another dry towel to dry off. You could also keep some in the garage or shed to use for quick cleanups for spills of oil or other substances.

Lastly, you could fold and sew the towel into a thick pad for use as a garden kneeling pad. This will protect your knees from the hard ground and muck.

So, there you go. Do you have any great ideas for using up old towels? Let me know!