6 Creative Ways to Repurpose Old Beach Towels Around the House

It’s those small, everyday choices that can really reduce your carbon footprint over time. That’s why, instead of mindlessly tossing items away, it’s good to get into the habit of looking for ways to give them a second life.

An old beach towel is the perfect example of something that typically ends up in the landfill despite its potential. Even if it’s got some frayed edges paired with a stain and a hole or two, here’s what you can do with it instead of throwing it away.

Make Wash Cloths or a Soap Holder

Most beach towels are terry cloth, which shows off a texture that’s great for exfoliating. If you’re not ready to officially part with a quality beach towel, cut it into small squares to use as washcloths. Cut them even smaller, and you’ll have great makeup remover pads.

Or if you want to get more creative with it, follow DIY blogger Christine Burrows’ lead and make a fabric soap holder to hang in your shower. You’ll still reap the exfoliating benefits, and it will conveniently keep you from dropping a slippery bar of soap at the same time.

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Turn It Into a Kneeling Pad

Give your knees a little extra cushioning by fashioning your old beach towels into a kneeling pad that you can use all around the house.

“You can cut up the towels and sew several layers together to make a great kneeling pad for the garden or as a bath mat for pet bath days,” says homesteader Lindsey Chastain. “The bonus is it’s machine washable.”

Use Them as Cleaning Rags

Cleaning rags inevitably end up stained, so it doesn’t necessarily make sense to purchase them new. Instead, make your own by cutting up an old beach towel.

Cleaning professional Armando Calderon always puts his old socks and t-shirts to use as cleaning rags, but beach towels are his favorite for this purpose.

“Beach towels probably make a better option for cleaning than other [fabrics], because they are often a thinner material and are larger in size,” he says. “You can cut them down into more manageable pieces, like 12″x12″ squares.”

Chastain also uses old beach towels for cleaning purposes. She cuts them into long rectangles to attach to her mop in lieu of the microfiber pads.

“I prefer these for pet messes and spills that may stain or smell,” she says. “That way I know my good mop pads can be used to actually clean and not have anything left over from those extra bad messes.”

Make a Dog Toy

Just like a cleaning rag, a dog toy will end up pretty worn and ragged regardless of how much money you spend on it. This means it’s the perfect item to DIY with materials you already have on hand, like your old beach towels.

Chastain does this for her own pups by cutting an old towel into strips, braiding them together and tying knots on the ends. And voila! You have a rope-style dog toy that doesn’t cost a dime.

And while we’re on the topic of pets and towels, you can also use your old beach towels for dog towels.

Make a Hair Towel Wrap

If you’ve got a great moisture-wicking towel that still has some life left in it, put it to use as a hair towel wrap. You’ll likely need to cut down the towel into smaller portions so the extra material doesn’t feel too heavy on your head.

But if you want to get a bit more sophisticated with it, Burrows offers a free hair towel wrap template you can use. All you’ll need is your old beach towel, some elastic, scissors, sticky tape, and a button.

Use Them for Moving Furniture

We’re all for decluttering, but here’s an excuse to simply fold your old beach towels and let them linger in your linen closet. Keeping a stack of old beach towels on hand may just save your furniture and floors when the inspiration strikes to rearrange or you’ve dropped something important behind your piano.

“Old beach towels make great furniture protectors and can make moving heavy furniture easier if you don’t happen to have any of those slider disks available,”  Chastain says. “Just slide a towel under the corners and push.”