Have you been hanging on to any old towels that are just a little too old and gross to donate? What about old sheets you've been meaning to give new life, but haven't yet figured out how to?
It can be tricky to figure out how to reuse large textiles. But if you're looking for a quick and easy solution, your search ends here, because TikToker Chloe Bartuska (@chloebartuska) has revealed the perfect idea in a helpful how-to video.
@chloebartuska Adulting is being excited about this #smallapartmenthacks #recycling #reuse #repurpose #ottoman #househacks #interiordesign ♬ original sound - Chloe Bartuska
The scoop
Chloe's hack for reusing textiles is quite simple. All you need is an empty ottoman, beanbag, or floor pillow cover, all of which can be easily thrifted on the cheap at a local secondhand store.
Once you have your cover, the only thing you have to do to replicate Chloe's hack is to stuff your ottoman cover with your old textiles. Once it's full, you've successfully given your old textiles new life as furniture stuffing, and you have a new piece of furniture, too.
Chloe explains that stuffed ottomans can cost as much as five times more than buying an unstuffed cover. So not only are you saving the planet by preventing old textiles from entering landfills, but you're also saving money on furniture.
If you live in a small house or apartment or want to try this hack but don't have any old textiles to use, Chloe explains that this hack is also perfect for saving space by stuffing the covers with off-season clothes, or even extra blankets or sheets.
How it's helping
Recycling hacks like Chloe's are critical in helping to reduce the number of textiles entering the world's landfills.
Reporting published by Boston University's School of Public Health says only 15% of used textiles are ever recycled, meaning the other 85% likely ends up in a landfill somewhere.
Unfortunately, it's true. Clothing items are some of the most frequently sent items to landfills. An estimated 8 billion to 60 billion articles of clothing are entering landfills each year, according to the Guardian, and about 101 million tons of clothes wind up in landfills annually, per Earth.Org.
While some clothes made of materials like 100% linen or cotton can decompose in just a few weeks or months, synthetic fabrics made from plastics can take over 200 years to break down, The Slow Label reveals. To make matters worse, textiles emit greenhouse methane gas and toxic chemicals and dyes into the atmosphere, soil, and water as they decompose, per Roadrunner.
If this hack isn't for you, but you still want to reduce your impact, there are plenty of organizations such as For Days, ThredUp, and GotSneakers where you can sustainably purchase, sell, or donate used clothing to do your part in limiting the number of textiles entering landfills each year.
What everyone's saying
Users were obsessed with Chloe's clothing recycling hack.
"Great idea," said one user.
"I love this," commented another.
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