Seven Unusual Ways to Reuse Towels

1. Bath Mat / Rug–Let's start with the inspiration for this entire article, a bath mat made from strips of old towels. By simply cutting 5 inch strips of towels and tying them to a nylon grid (found at most craft stores), you can create a unique bath mat, or rug. This particular mat was made with white towels, but you can use any combination of colors to create a mat tailored to your taste.

2. Swiffer Cover–Ok, I'll admit this is similar to using your old towels as rags, but it's way cooler. Take an old washcloth (or cut up a larger towel) and wrap it around your Swiffer, using two heavy duty rubber bands to secure the washcloth. Now you have a Swiffer cover that's washable and reusable.

Pets–Here are some ideas for you pet lovers:

3. Pet Cushion–If you've ever owned a dog, you know that dog beds don't usually last very long. Instead of purchasing a new dog bed, use those old towels to make a new one. They're really quite simple to make and they make for great travel pet beds too since they're easily rolled up and stored. Here's how to do it:

Step 1: Stack your towels by size. The largest towel should be on the top and bottom (ignore this if your towels are all the same size towels).

Step 2: Using a thick needle and heavy duty thread, stich tufts through the stack. Tie the thread through the entire stack and cut off the extra thread. Spacing the tufts every 6-8 inches should provide plenty of strength.

That's all there is to it. I told you it was simple.

4. Dog Rope–If your dog enjoys a game of Tug of War, you can use your old hand towels to create a new toy. Don't worry, if you're not particularly crafty; this is another simple project. It only takes three hand towels and a few minutes to make.

Step 1: Cut a one inch wide strip from the short end of two of the towels.

Step 2: Bunch all three towels together and firmly tie one strip around an end to join them. Tightly braid the towels together and then tie the other end with the second strip. When you're done it should look like this:

5. Donate to an Animal Shelter–Animal shelters are always looking for used towels and linens to clean & care for their animals. Luckily a non-profit company, HIP for Pets, makes donating your old towels easy. There's no shortage of participating shelters either. In the Milwaukee area where we're located, there are 21 different locations that accept donations; so there's probably a close, convenient location in your area too.