Tuesday, January 4, 2011

More Creative Re-Using with T-shirts

There are those that thrive on finding different uses for 'stuff'.  I'm in that category, just in case you haven't noticed.  I like learning things, even if they aren't things that I am going to do.

Take the lowly old t-shirt.  Most of us have them, right?  Most of us have a few too many, too.  So, other than going to the rag bag, what do you do with them when they're past their prime?

I have seen or read that you can (and these ideas have been around for a long time):
Tear strips and crochet a rug or bathmat
Ditto on tearing, but then crochet a grocery bag or tote
Make a quilt
Make a dog toy

Other t-shirt stuff that I recently read:
Sew a tote from the t-shirt.  Sure would be faster than crocheting.  Mine would look crappy either way.

Make diapers for baby.  I guess there are patterns online for them, or you can buy them at a luxury price of $8 each!

Sew into sanitary napkins.  Lots of patterns online for this.

Cut into wide strips, fold lenthwise a few times and use them for sanitary napkins.  The post that I read about doing this pretty much told you that you were stoo-pid to take the time to sew your own personal products.  It was kind of funny, she was really ranting about it.

Use them in place of toilet paper, AKA family cloth.  Now, this gal had the system down!  She had four daughters and was constanly buying toilet paper.  She put the cut up t-shirts in a tissue box (easy dispensing and no folding) and kept a plastic coffee canister next to the toilet.  Then she added a tablespoon of white vinegar to some water in the canister for easy, odor free collection.  When it was fairly full, she'd drain the water off, add water and shake with the lid on for a pre-rinse.  Drain and add more water, add a shot or two of liquid hand soap, few more shakes, drain.  Then into the washer with her other clothes.  With all those kids, she did laundry every other day anyway.  She kept TP on the roller so their friends didn't freak out.

The posts that followed hers were interesting, too.  (My comments in italics.)
There was the 'ick' factor from poo - she responded that each person was responsible for rinsing out their cloth before it went into the container.  You're going to wash your hands anyway, aren't you?  What about doing the initial wiping with TP and follow up with cloth? Added bonus would be if the sink was close by so you could use a damp rag, too.
Some were concerned about washing them with other clothes, stating that they should be washed seperately.  Her response was that you wash your underwear with other clothes, don't you?  And that makes sense.  These aren't diapers, completely soaked with urine.  There would be just a very small amount of urine on the rag, and it's getting a prewash before it goes in with the rest of the clothes.

The comment that cracked me up was from a gal from another country that had never used toilet paper in her life.  She said that using TP was about the nastiest thing she had ever heard of - you wouldn't rub your dirty hands on a piece of paper and then call them clean, would you?  She has a point...

It is kind of funny that so many people will spend more for toilet paper that feels as soft as cloth, but freak out at the thought of actually using cloth. I sure wouldn't go buy flannel (or take the time to sew around the edges), or buy any product stated for said use.  Use those old t-shirts - I suggest you cut off logos and paint goobers.