I'm a Hippie and I Have the T-Shirts to Prove It

It was recently brought to my attention that I am a hippie.  This caught me by surprise.  I had never really thought of myself that way.  But once I started thinking about it, I realized it was true.

I met another mom at a group playdate.  She was a very lovely person, but very different from myself.  Let's compare:  Her (and her kids) wore clothes that were brand new fashions, she changed her daughter's designer jean disposable diapers by Huggies while using Huggies disposable wipes, and her kids sipped out of Take n' Toss sippy cups while she provided them with individually packaged apple slices for snacks.  Myself (and my kids) wore clothes from Goodwill, I changed my daughter's cute pink cloth diaper with homemade diaper spray and old cotton t-shirt rags, and my kids sipped out of reusable sippy cups while I provided them with air-popped popcorn from a 50 pound bag of popcorn kernels purchased at Sam's Club.

I am not judging her choices because everyone has their own priorities, but I think the differences are pretty clear.  I can also see why she called me "very organic."  The funny part is, I became a hippie out of selfish reasons: saving money.  I can't help but snicker when I hear about "green-friendly" lifestyles costing more money.  We found the opposite naturally took place.  To me, being green-friendly should go back to the good ol' slogan they taught when I was in grade school: reduce, reuse, and recycle.  If you reduce your number of unnecessary purchases, reuse what you have as often as you can, and recycle items to use for other purposes, a miracle will be performed: you will save money and reduce your eco-footprint (however big or small it may all ready be).

I became a "very organic" hippie by utilizing old items in our house for other purposes in order to save money.  I wanted to share with you some things I reuse.  Today, let's just start with old cotton t-shirts.  Here's what you can do with them:

• Make some artwork from an old t-shirt and hanging file folders (or any other type of folder).  Just cut up the shirt and layer it with the file folders.  Then cut out a design and place it on the contrasting color.  To make this really cheap, skip the frame and just tack it to the wall.  (This picture is currently hanging above my bed.)

• Cotton t-shirts make excellent homemade paper towels. Cut them into squares and store them in a container or wrap them around an old paper towel tube.  Once you use them, toss them in the laundry.
  
• They also make great homemade coffee filters.  Cut the fabric to fit the shape of your coffee maker.  Sew along the seam.  It can be used for weeks before you have to replace it with another t-shirt.
• Use them as dusting rags. Just wet them with water and dust away then toss them in with the rest of the laundry!
• They are perfect for diaper wipes.  Cut them into squares, moisten them with water, and store them in an old Huggies wipes container.  Wash them with your cloth diapers.

• Sew a bunch of different patterns together for an eclectic looking table cloth for an end table or a casual throw rug in your bathroom.
• Cut out a bib pattern using a couple different layers and sew them together to create a hem.  Sew on a button to attach the bib in the back.

I am sure there are many more ways to use old t-shirts in order to reduce, reuse, and recycle while saving lots of money.  Do you have other ways to use t-shirts that can bring out your inner hippie?