Friday, September 4, 2009

eco friendly friday: sheets


I just wanted to share a few ideas on to re use old sheets. I know that we all have them, so let put the old ones to good use!
1. If they are still in good condition consider passing them on, donating them to a shelter, or cutting them up and using them as curtain.
If you sheets are very worn and or stained, you can still use them.
2. Use them to cover items. I have some in the garage covering up some big nut crackers that wont fit in a box. this really helps keep the dust off of them.
3. Keep one in your car just in case. Sick children and pets always seem to need my extra sheet.
4. Use them to cover your furniture. This will help keep pet hair and human dirt off. Then when they are dirty you can just wash them and boom your furniture is fresh and clean.
5. Use them to cover a picnic table.
6. Use them as a Christmas tree skirt or to move a real tree, so you don't have needles everywhere.
7. Cover your grill or patio furniture when you are gone.
8. Old flannel sheets make great rags. Just cut them up!
9. Sew two flat sheets together and make a cover for a comforter.
10. Be creative. There is a lot of material in a sheet!
I personally have a huge stash of sheets. I cover all of my furniture with them. Some of my Christmas items are covered with them, and I use flat sheets to back quilts with. Sometimes you just have to think outside the box.
I challenge everyone to clean out their linen closet and really look at your sheets. If you can't reuse them then pass them on to someone else who can. Time are tough right now and we all need to share what we have extras of.
I think one of the coolest things I ever saw was a baby shower invitation where they asked for all the gifts to be wrapped in either a crib sheet or a blanket. What a cool idea.
I had a moment of disbelief this week. I actually saw some guys carrying around a Styrofoam cool. Yep it was loaded down with beer, and they were headed for the beach. I just stared at the cooler.
I remember as a child, my parents would buy those things and they never lasted, and they never really kept anything cold. They would just fall apart and then we have to go buy a new one. I can't believe they still make them.
Besides the fact that they are break and you have to buy a new one, they never break down in our landfills. They just sit there. I even found pieces of these coolers in the sand and in the water.
Do you think it would do me any good to complain to someone? First I would have to figure out who to complain to, and then would they even listen. So I will do my part and pick up broken pieces of these coolers and place them where the trash cans, but people come on! You can a small cooler for only a few dollars more and you will get more use out of it. Stop buying Styrofoam plates and cups. Those don't break down either.
It is just me. One person trying to keep of beach and planet clean.

5 comments:

Paula said...

I use my sheets until they are threadbare then use them for rags. We don't care if they aren't pretty, we just sleep there. Get a lot of take-out in styrofoam so I need to figure out something to do about that. I sure don't want to cook that much, I'm old and retired and have turtles to feed. lol

Gerry said...

Good eco Friday entry as usual. You have got me thinking. I have extra sheets I am going to pass on as soon as possible. I tend to wear my favorite sheets to shreds. And quilts, too. I have had a winter guilt made by my sister Ann for years, and I will go on sleeping under it, probably until I die as I know it was made with love. The first one she made I wore to tatters. It was my security blanky!
Good advice about styrofoam. That huge ocean dump has so much in it of that kind of thing. There is also a huge dump in the desert where illegals used to stop and discard their Mexican clothes and put on new ones provided for their coyotes that looked American. Who is going to go out and clean that up? Glad you are talking about this on Facebook. Did you know you are shown posting between my daughter and sometimes my son (Hitt) Gerry

betty said...

I just send them (the sheets) to you :) I figure you'll know what to do with them :)

enjoy the weekend

betty

Inge' said...

I also pass down my sheets. i use them to cover items also. The really bad ones, I keep and use as drop cloths for painting and such. I have some of my grandmother's that I am using as a quilt backing.

You can also use them as curtains. That is a big thing down here in Elvis land.

Martha said...

I'm with you on the sheets and the Styrofoam. Thank God most of the fast food places stopped using those containers - just the years they did use them probably added up to way more Styrofoam in the landfills than all the coolers put together!

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