Saturday, August 21, 2010

Who you callin' a cootie queen, you LINT LICKER!?

Lint . . . not the stuff you pluck from your belly button . . . the fluff you remove from the trap in your dryer . . . believe it or not that fuzzy material is recyclable.  Waste not want not and all that happy scrappy hippy skippy doo-da.
First of all, lint is extremely flammable.   That’s just one of the reasons you should be cleaning out the lint trap every time you use the dryer.  Lint makes excellent fire starter.  You can use lint as is, just be sure to store it in a container to keep it from catching fire when you don’t want it to.  Another way to use lint as a fire starter is to pack it into paper egg carton cups and drizzle with melted paraffin or candle wax – it makes storing them easier and you get to recycle egg cartons, too!
 You can spin lint into thread, much like wool, and you can knit or crochet it into a cozy garment or blanket!  It will have more strength if you spin it with wool.
Dryer lint can be used to make homemade paper. Just put your dryer lint into a blender along with some old shredded paper. Soak the paper and lint with water and wait fifteen minutes. Next blend the mixture on medium speed. Pour your paper and lint mixture onto a screen and shape your paper. Press the excess water out of the paper and allow it to dry. Now you can point to your piece of homemade paper and say, “Hey! That used to be my shirt!”

Lint can be used to stuff hand crafted toys or pillows.  You can also use it as fill for quilting.   Lint is clean and dry and smells good, too!

Lint makes excellent nesting material for pet hamsters, gerbils and the like.   Why spend money on something that you have a perpetual supply of?

Since lint is made up mostly of natural fibers, you can add it to your compost.

There you have it . . . do what you will.


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