New Uses for Washclothsby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 18 Apr 2008 10:40 AM
This morning, I decided to do a little spring cleaning of our linen closet. One thing that struck me was the amount of wash cloths that we have. There were probably 20 or more of them. Now, having a lot of washcloths could be a good thing if you use them, since it is recommended that you only use a washcloth once and then launder it. But, the fact remains that we seldom use wash cloths. I can probably count on one hand the number of times that a washcloth came in handy this past year, usually for holding ice on a little person's bump or cut. I grew up using washcloths, but honestly, in the shower we use a puff, and for my face I use disposable cloths that are cut into halves or fourths. When the kids were newborn, I used thin washcloths instead of baby wipes. I made my own cleansing soap for their bottoms, which was both economical and not as harsh as the commercial wipes. But, the wash cloths I counted were never used for baby bottoms or much else. So, what can I do with all of those wash cloths? Here are some of my ideas. I would love to hear yours: Make a washcloth into a "boo boo bunny." Sew two cloths together for a dust or dish rag. Use the cloths instead of paper towels to wipe up small spills. Sew and stuff a wash cloth for a doll pillow or a doggie chew toy. Sew and fill a washcloth with catnip for a cat toy. Sew many wash cloths together for a bathroom rug. Use the wash cloths for cross stitch or embroidery projects. The washcloths can be used to cover buttons. Sew them together into sanitary napkins. Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here. Related Articles: New Uses for Blanket Plastic Bags Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments maryavan (6731) 18 Apr 2008 01:41 PMWe use a ton of washcloths and kitchen dishrags. We have ever since ds was a newborn and we were using cloth dipes. It seemed silly to use cloth diapers and have use a ton of paper towels just to dry my hands. Mainly we use them to dry hands in bathroom or in kitchen instead of paper towels. Washcloths can be used as pantyliners without being sewn. Just fold them in thirds or fourths one direction. When washing the load I'd add a few drops of tea tree oil to wash to help kill germs. It doesn't even really add much work to our wash loads. It does save money over buying paper towels. Tashi (1013) 19 Apr 2008 06:13 AMI do something a little different, with old bath towels. I bunch them up (one or two at a time) and use them as bedding in our dog's kennel, as well as on his beds. He loves to paw at the towels and "re-arrange" them before laying down. It's cheaper than buying expensive dog bedding. We also sometimes use old bath mats for the kennel.  Aimee Amodio |
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