From ApartmentTherapy.com
Well you know I’m a proponent of drying your clothes on the line, but even I don’t always follow this rule when:
- I get lazy
- I start my clothes in the evening, not making it easy/feasible/safe (it’s bear country after all) to hang on the line in the evening
- The weather does not bode well
- I get lazy (oh, wait…)
Anyhow, you undoubtedly use dryer sheets when using the dryer (hopefully the fragrance-free, non-toxic ones!) and you probably don’t think anything to throw those out. But wait! You can reuse these in several different ways and give a second life to these guys before going into the trash, including:
- Simply reuse them over and over. Just because they’ve been used once doesn’t mean their life is over! I usually add a couple drops of an essential oil to the sheet to give a nice, natural scent to my clothes and the anti-static power continues to work
- Use in lieu of poly-fil stuffing; save up your sheets and make your own pillow and stuff with your leftover sheets (works great for pet beds too!)
- Use as a dust rag (dusting furniture, blinds, baseboards, even tv screens)
- If you use a swiffer dust mop, stop using disposable sheets and instead reuse dryer sheets for the dust rags for your mop
- Line the bottom of your planters/pots to keep soil from running out
- Use in lieu of a lint brush and wipe clothing and furniture with used sheets to pull up pet hair
- Got static-y hair? Keep a used sheet nearby for calming flyaway hairs
- You know that haze that builds up on the inside of your windshield over time? Keep a used dryer sheet in your glove compartment to wipe the inside of your windshield when they get that build up
- If you have a wood stove/fireplace, you can use these as firestarters; even better, tuck them into leftover TP rolls, add a little dryer lint and you will have a quick and free way to start your fire
- I’ve read that spent dryer sheets can also help to remove soap scum in the tub/shower and can also help to remove stuck on food in pots but this likely to be due to residual chemicals left on the sheets and hopefully you aren’t using those; but in the event you are…you could give this a try…
Do you use your leftover dryer sheets for other uses around your house? Please share!
Hopefully these gave you some ideas and inspiration to think outside the box when it comes to giving a second life to common household items. And when you’re done with your last dryer sheet, instead of buying more disposables, consider a reusable dryer pillow sachet, like my friend Jane of zJayne makes (she’s been featured in many magazines for these!) You can see her shop here (or click her image below) and if you enter in “GG2010zJ” in the notes to seller, she’ll refund you shipping on these dryer sheets!
As always, reduce, reuse then recycle!
Thanks for the great ideas Jennifer!
Hi Katy, nice to see you popping in! Glad you liked!