Stockings are the bane of my trying-to-be-sustainable existence. I found a ladder in the pair I bought most recently after I'd worn them only once! Luckily, they're super useful in other aspects of life, so we can make them go a few extra miles.
By repairing or upcycling our clothes and keeping them out of landill through DIY projects we can save an estimated 17kg of CO2 per month (200kg per year).
Try these DIY ideas to reduce your contribution to landfill:
1. Remove nail polish - old stockings are perfect for removing nail polish. Just tip a bit of remover on bits of cut up stockings and wipe away the nail polish. They can even be reused, unlike cotton wool. Just rinse them out and let them dry.
2. In the garden – old stockings are great for stake ties instead of using string.
3. In the kitchen – stockings are ideal hanging storage for onions, garlic bulbs, ginger or potatoes. You can snip a little hole near the knot to reach inside.
4. Duster/shiner – place your hand in the sock section of some old stockings and use to polish shoes or dust surfaces.
5. Potpourri sachet – okay, potpourri might have gone out of fashion somewhere back in the eighties but nice smelling drawers are timeless! Even placing some cinnamon sticks, vanilla stalks and drops of essential oil in some chopped up stockings will do. Keep it in the back of your drawers for some sweet smelling garments.
6. The old soap on a rope trick – put old bits of soap inside stockings and tie it in your shower for easy access. The soap will foam through the stockings when you rub it with some water.
7. Organised packing – stocking "tubes" are perfect for separating different items of clothing in a suitcase. You can stuff all your underwear together in a tube of stocking, or keep your electrical cords together – phone chargers, USB cables etc.
8. To wash delicates - instead of a mesh bag you can cut the top off old stockings, put delicate underwear or lingerie inside, tie it at the top and wash as usual.
9. A filter for plastic microfibres - stockings made from natural fibres such as silk can be placed over the end of your washing machine hose to act as a filter, keeping microfibres out of the ocean.
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