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We use a lot of towels in our house. And with constant use, they wear out very quickly. I hate throwing any cloth away if there is a way to reuse it. So here are some ways to upcycle old towels that prevent or delay this useful cloth going to landfill.
Ways To Upcycle Old Towels
Unsponges
Plastic scrubbing sponges are so bad for the environment. But you can reuse your old towels by making unsponges and make something that does the job just as well, doesn’t cost a penny, and can even be composted once it has worn out. I call that a triple win!
Unpaper Towels
We throw away so much paper in the form of kitchen towels, so why not make these useful and reusable kitchen cloths whilst upcycling your old towels?
Make Up Remover Pads
Even the smallest pieces of old towelling can be used by making these. Whilst you can make them as just a square shape to be as zero waste as possible, I love this hexagonal tile shape, that also minimises wastage yet looks oh so pretty.
Family Cloth
Toilet paper has been a rare and valuable commodity in recent weeks. One way of reducing your use of loo paper is to use fabric toilet cloths instead of paper and wash after using.
Wash Cloth Soap Holders
I love using shower bars instead of shower gel in plastic bottles. But hate the way the bars go mushy straight away. These wash cloth soap holders keep your soap or bar secure and create a great lather in use. Plus they are a great way to upcycle old towels.
Bath Mat
You can use a towel as the base for a rag rug. The picture is of my hessian based rag rug, but instead, you can use an old towel and sew your jersey strips onto the old towel to make a brilliant absorbent bath mat with this tutorial.
Swiffer Mop Covers
I love my Flash speed mop (or Swiffer mop), but hate using the disposable cloths that you are supposed to use and throw away to landfill. So I have made a Swiffer Mop cover using old towelling. These can be washed and reused again and again. Thus saving so much money and stopping so much plastic wastage going to landfill.
Shower Pouf
Those plastic shower scrubbers that come with so many toiletry gift sets make me cringe with horror. Not only do they end up being mouldy and stinky, but they cannot be reused, and so end up going to the rubbish heap. These shower poufs are made from old towelling, can be washed, and are compostable at the end of their life… Plus they look pretty!
Reusable Sanitary Towels
So much plastic wastage is produced by disposable sanitary products. But by making some reusable sanitary towels, using old towelling as a core, you can save so much money, and save the planet too!
I hope that you have enjoyed finding out some brilliant ways to upcycle old towels. Do you think that will be following any of these ideas? I would love to know what you think. Comment below or holler at me on social media.
And please do pin this post for later.
These are all such great ideas! I love the soap holder and the bath mat.
Thank you Michelle. I really do hate throwing cloth away!
What fantastic ideas! I would never have thought of any of these. I tend to use old towels as rags for cleaning but I much prefer these super ideas.
Great excuse to buy new towels and not waste the old faded or stained ones. Must make the shower buff. Who knew it would be so simple.
These are great tips I am going to try. I have started cleaning with old (clean socks) they do shine up well!
So many great ideas I never thought of! Will definitely need to try some
What a lot of great ideas. I have never thought of using my old towels etc in this way so thank you for the ideas.
Brilliant, i especially like the kitchen towel replacement, I’ll give that a go! Thanks for the tips.
Oh my goodness you are just so clever! I wish I knew how to sew so I could make all you wonderful things. Loving the reusable ideas.
What a fantastic post! I’m off to pin loads off those as I will give them a go. I’ve been using so much more reasonable stuff and I love it, I can’t imagine going back to throw away items after one use
Thank you so much. A lot of these items are really so easy to make. And once you start up cycling your old towels and cloth, you won’t ever want to buy anything again!
Great ideas. I ususally just use old towels as rags for cleaning. I love that rug you made. x
Kim Carberry recently posted…I have just about got the garden that I wanted.
Brilliant ideas! I love the rug and the makeup remover pads. Such a fab way to reuse what you have. 🙂 x
Thank you Jayne!
Some great ideas here… though I am still not ready for the reusable toilet paper! #MMBC
What fantastic ideas !! I love re-purposing too.
Naush @doodlebuddies