Make This From That

i rarely think of handtowels as cool. in fact, they are usually a nuisance in my house; constantly on the floor rather than hanging ever so nicely on the rack. but i have scouted a few optional uses for those terry cloth burdens, and they just might fit into your meaning of excellent:

*toiletries organizer: find the how to @ marthastewart.com. definitely a must for my teeny tiny bathroom!

*animal wash buddies: also from martha, but use a tip from one of her readers and make the animals out of terry cloth, and stuff with a sponge or two, cut into chunks


*dish-towel apron: i am on a martha kick, but she and her team come up with excellent solutions sometimes!

and one last idea from martha (yeah martha!) who tells us how to turn a hand towel into a mop:

Most of the mops we use around the house come in two forms: a sponge or a nest of strings. But you can also use a simple hand towel. Martha prefers using towels on her mops because they're more sanitary and more effective at picking up the dirt.

Most hardware stores carry inexpensive mop handles, and hand towels or terry-cloth bath mats make ideal mop heads. Begin by folding the towel in thirds lengthwise. Open clamp, and pull one end of the towel a few inches through the opening. Bring the other end of towel up and over top of clamp, tuck it into the opening from the opposite direction to form a loop, and shut the clamp. For wood floors, spritz lightly with water. For other flooring, use very small amounts of cleaner and water applied directly to the towel. When the towel gets dirty, refold it so the clean side faces up. When finished, simply place the towel in the wash with bleach.

this is SO cool! i hate mops, they never seem to work right, but this seems like a great new way get my dirty floors sparkling again!