My friend Kelly and I were recently chatting about pillows and how often we buy new one's. If you have seen that one OMGCANTGETITOUTOFMYHEAD Oprah episode you probably buy new pillows on a regular basis. But what do you do with old one's? I don't really even know if I have thrown a pillow out before. Have I? I seriously have no memory one way or the other. You can't donate them because charities will not take them due to the same things we saw in the OMGCANTGETITOUTOFMYHEAD Oprah episode. So what are the options? It can't really be that they just end up in the trash?
Here are some ideas in the order in which I like them.
Donate to a animal shelter!
Obviously call ahead of time to make sure they accept them but they may just take the filling to make pet beds for their animals.
Make draft barriers!
If you live in a cold climate like we do then you know that sometimes when the wind is blowing fierce you can get a crazy draft under your doors. Why not take your old pillows and make a draft barrier with the pillow stuffing! I like this idea and can see it being very useful in the winter.
Make pet beds!
You can use all the filling in your old pillows to make a pet bed. I believe this may be the most realistic option for us but I have a feeling Louie (our cat) won't like it one bit. I don't know if I have ever seen him sit on a pillow. He prefers random places to sit/lay/sleep. Like on suitcases, chairs, my sweaters, that one fabric chair that is impossible to get fur free.
Make throw pillows!
Cut your pillows into squares, sew them back up and make (or buy) some decorative cases. If you need to make them pillows fluffier than cut the pillow into a square and take the stuffing out of the one side and put that into the square.
Make 2 old pillows into 1!
Pillow get so frickin flat so fast. Take the filling from one pillow and stuff it into another and then keep using that pillow. The only way I would do this is if I knew 100% there was no way my pillow had any of the OMGCANTGETITOUTOFMYHEAD Oprah episode stuff in it.
Use them to protect things!
Not like a body guard or anything like that but if you are moving things or putting something into something (I am getting very technical here) and you don't want it to be scratched you could use some old pillows as protection. This option seems like a good one to me but when does it end? Won't you just end up with that one room that no one goes into because it is full of pillow you keep just in case you have to pick up a dresser your buddy bought on craigslist?
What do you do with your old pillows?
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Hi J and J,
ReplyDeleteInstead of replacing pillows often, I'd invest in a good quality washble pillow so you can wash your pillow on sanitize regularly.
Hi Jessica: I completely agree with this. Spending more upfront will save you more in the end. Washing them in hot water will help to prevent the bites/bugs etc.
ReplyDeleteBut you will still need to replace them every so often (most say 5 years) so it is good to know that there are options of what you can do with them other than just trashing them.
Love the idea of donating to an animal shelter :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for hopping with us
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My pillows are so dang lumpy and I need new ones BAD! I like the idea of making pet beds from the stuffing... I usually just toss, but that's a great idea! I know my kitties will love it.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me laugh. I have not seen that episode, and before recently buying wool pillows, I'm sure our pillows were 10-20 years old (some hand me downs from the in-laws), and were very rarely washed. In my pillow research, I did read some disturbing things. I wrote about my wool pillows here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.eco-novice.com/2011/02/plastic-alternative-wool.html
Don't watch the Oprah episode Betsy! You can't unsee those things!
ReplyDeleteI planned on using them to make new pillows. I thought about taking the stuffing out and putting it loosely into a zipped cover and putting it through a hot wash. Do you think this would get the nasty stuff out?
ReplyDeleteI think washing it in hot water and then putting it into the dryer on hot would help kill whatever could be in it. Then just make sure the new pillow you put it into is tightly enclosed.
ReplyDeleteHow often are you supposed to replace your old pillow? I'm kind of used to the I have that it is difficult for me to sleep with any other one.
ReplyDeleteIt is recommended that you replace your pillow every 2 years Mauro.
ReplyDelete