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Not quite 101 uses for dryer lint

I do a lot of laundry in my house and, as a result, I accumulate what seems like a metric ton of dryer lint each week. As I fished the latest clump of fuzz from my dryer's lint cup, I got to wondering, "Is there something useful could do with all this?" The only think I could think of was to toss it into my backyard for the birds to use when they build nests. I knew other people must surely have come up with other, more creative, ideas so I decided to find out.

What I learned may surprise you:

  • Thrifty Fun recommends using dryer lint to stuff small hand-sewn dolls or bears. Not only will they smell great, they'll be washable too. Lint bears aren't meant for children though, since dryer fuzz is highly flammable.
  • The same site also says lint makes a great addition to your compost heap or worm farm. Apparently stray sweater fibers make a good snack for the bacteria usually found in these types of soil.
  • The Dollar Stretcher suggests using lint to cushion small items for shipping. I'm guessing they mean jewelry or trinkets, not cookies.
  • There is also a recipe on the site for making non-edible lint-based clay that can also be used in place of paper-maché.
  • Essortment tells its readers to stuff excess lint into old tube socks and use them as draft stoppers. If you start saving lint now, you might have some ready in time for winter. If you do a lot of laundry, you could have a few made by Thursday.
At a time when it seems like everything from water bottles to cells phones are disposable, it's nice to see lowly dryer lint get a second chance at life. Who knew?

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