Old Towels

Okay, So this isn't the promised laundry detergent recipe, but it is still fabulously frugal living. I am not an avid blogger, but there are my few that I follow. One of these said blogs is PYP, Pinch Your Pennies. I was directed to this blog by the same dear friend who is giving me the laundry detergent recipe. She's a doll.
So this blog is dedicated to the dirty, shredding towels we all have hidden in that dark back corner of our linen closets. You know, the ones you only use when there are absolutely no towels left clean in the house, those you pray your house guests never find but undoubtedly your child will pull out to use and run across the living room with wrapped around their body as your entertaining said guests. Those dreadful things actually have a use! A frugal one!
I am stealing PYP's idea, but alas, I never claimed these to be my own ideas, just the best frugal ideas I could find. So, here we go:

 Make a drying rag!
     Take one of those old towels and cut it into 6 fourteen inch squares. Then find a fabric that you think is adorable. (A good idea for the fabric is an old piece of clothing which has small stains, holes, etc.) and cut 12 fourteen inch squares from that. For each dish mat you're making, place 2 pieces of the cotton fabric right sides together with one of the towel pieces on top of it. Pin it all together, stitch around 3 sides and most of the 4th side (opening for turning).  Clip the corners, so they come out nice and sharp instead of bunchy. Tuck in the edges of the opening and topstitch all the way around. You can also stitch a big X across the whole thing to keep the layers in place. And there you have it, a pretty drying rag.

There are plenty of other ways to use old towels. They may not be as crafty or cute. Here's just a brief list off the top of my head.


oil rag for the car
drying rag after a car wash
burp rags for a baby (you could make it similar to the drying rag, with a softer material on the outside)
cut them up for cleaning rags
wrap around the end of a broom for a make-shift mop
Keep by the door to wipe off kids, pets, and even hubby's feet 
Cut into strips and put in a first aid kit for quick ties
sweat rags...
and much much more...
be creative
Be Frugal, Be Fabulous!