20 Things to Do with Old Bed Sheets
June 29, 2007 by Deborah Ng
Filed under General
If you’re like me, you probably have several old bed sheets that are a bit worn, or they don’t match any of your bedroom décor. You don’t want to throw your sheets out, but they’re not really doing much of anything either. What’s a frugalist to do?
Behold: 20 Things to Do With Old Bedsheets
- Use them for drop clothes for painting projects
- Make a laundry bag
- Use it to make gift wrap
- Cut them into thin strips and use them to knit or crochet
- Cut them up and use them to make and stuff throw pillows
- Take them to the beach and use for picnics
- Crochet them into rag rugs
- Turn them into linen napkins and table cloths
- Cut them up and use them for dusting
- Use them for quilt backing
- Donate them to homeless shelters
- Cover fruit trees to protect from frost
- Tear into strips and use to tie your tomato plants to stakes
- Cover old furniture and other items collecting dust in attics, garages and basements
- Make drawstring gift bags
- Make kitchen curtains
- Let children drape over chairs to make tents and forts
- Use for picnic or camping table cloth
- Use to slip cover chairs
- Freecycle
What a lot of great ideas. I’m going to have to grab them before darling husband gets to them. He must have three garbage bags full of rags that he uses for who knows what?? And he will never get around to using them all. I especially like the one about gift bags. I hate wrapping gifts at Christmas!!
They can be cut and edge-finished to create Furoshiki. These are Japanese ‘wrapping cloths’
Treehugger had a writeup on the Japanese Ministry of the Environment’s effort to re-popularize the Furoshiki.
The Ministry of the Environment offers a PDF that contains instructions for how to tie them.
Ghost costumes for the kids at Haloween.
Keep a set in your car trunk 1) to protect the trunk floor from messy cargo like bags of mulch or potting soil from the hardware store or nursery and 2) to protect items (for example, furniture) being dinged, scratched, or bumped around during transport.
I never use my flat sheets when they come in a set so I take two, sew them together and make a duvet cover for my down comforter…!
I donate them to the Humane Society along with old quilts and blankets for the rescue dogs.
If they are 100% cotton or other natural fiber, they would make great paper!
I carry many messy items in the front of my truck in inclement weather. The old sheets make good seat covers for those times!
I love the letting children make tents and forts! I did this as a child and the whole living room was covered with bed sheets. Great memory.
i cut up a twin size flannel sheet and made 36-2 layered cloth baby wipes .
Depending on the thread count of the sheet, can be cut and sewn to make nice formal napkins.