Monday, May 30, 2016

Life Hack - old shirts

People wear beloved t-shirts until they are nearly tatters, then toss them. Or try to, if they have sentimental value. Here are some ways to keep those shirts around and still useful, or to use old t-shirts which would otherwise be tossed in the trash.

Cut off the arms of large t-shirts, above the seam, and they make fantastic hair covers/sweat catchers when you're working around the house or yard. You can pull them over your hair and wear them under a hat or cap. Or wear one under a wig.

You can also sew the hemmed end together and gather the ragged end to create makeshift grouch bags or utility bags for small items or items which might otherwise leave a mess behind - baby eating utensils, bottles, milk bags, etc.

Scraps from fronts or backs are great for:

  • working on the car - who cares if it gets greasy or gross?
  • wearing around your neck in the yard for a quick sweat wipe.
  • t-shirt material doesn't usually leave a lot of fibers behind, so it's great for wrapping sex toys made of jelly or silicone or other soft materials. If you wrap your sex toys, anyway.
  • baby burp rags.
  • baby chew toys.
  • baby lovies - many babies want something soft in their hands when they're going to sleep.
  • oversized handkerchiefs for the snot overachiever in you.
  • oversized handkerchiefs for your runny-nosed toddler.
  • clean and toss - no guilt for throwing money in the trash if it was already scrap anyway, and t-shirts are much sturdier than your average paper towel for those extra elbow grease places.
  • kitten and puppy rags - cleaning them up after birth and housebreaking/litter training accidents.
  • cat and dog rags - lining pet beds, wiping allergy eyes or noses, tying in knots to play tug-of-war, cleaning up pet yak, cleaning up cages at a mobile pet adoption center.
  • keeping in the car for emergencies - vehicle accidents, unexpected visits from aunt flo (in case you don't pack sanitary supplies in your purse all the time - many women don't), tying to your antenna if you want/need help but don't feel comfortable standing outside your car, carsickness, moving injured animals off the road.
  • practice sewing, applique, test stitch changes on your machine.
  • in your purse to line the back of a movie theater seat - have you ever gotten lice that way?
  • in your purse for any emergency/random act of kindness - I can't count the number of times having a wad of t-shirt in the bottom of my purse means having exactly the thing someone else needs right then.
  • wrapping rolls or biscuits right out of the oven.
  • tossing over rising dough.
  • wrapping thawing meat so the flies don't get to it.
  • tossing over cooked meat on the platter if you're grilling outside, or any other non-liquid food outside.
  • cleaning out that fridge containing science experiments.
  • cleaning around that nasty toilet or urinal.
  • cleaning out under the kitchen sink which has had one too many broken pipes - vinegar, wipe with a t-shirt, toss that motherfucker.
  • bathing/molting your snake - your actual serpent, not your body part. lol
  • napkins for barbeque or eating watermelon or other messy foods.
You can wash t-shirts until they literally fall apart, so you're going to get your money's worth out of even the most expensive t-shirt.

What do you use old-t-shirts for?



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