Ten Ways to Recycle Your Old Jeans

Most of us tend to forget that "recycling" goes beyond the whole paper vs. plastic discussion. In fact, the more that we can find ways to re-use (or re-purpose) our worn-out things, the less stress we're putting on the environment from the get go. It's a domino effect that really does wind up making a big difference.

Even without the added benefits, recycling old jeans into new things can be a lot of fun. It is a creative outlet that frees creative expression, and because denim is such a sturdy material, it makes a great fabric for teaching sewing techniques with. Instead of buying cheap craft felt that won't stand up to wear and tear, try teaching your children how to sew that same craft using a pair of their outgrown jeans. Just getting to cut their own clothes up will have your kids grinning from ear to ear.

So what can you do with your old jeans? There are thousands of ways to recycle your denim jeans, but I'll share ten of the best ideas I've found here.

Recycle Jeans Idea One: Make a Bootie Bag Purse

I've seen denim purses selling at mall boutiques for unreal amounts of money - but there's no reason to spend it. Everything you need to make your own "bootie bag" is probably already in your home. At the very least you'll need a pair of old jeans, scissors, and a sewing needle and thread or a glue gun and glue sticks (that's right - you don't even have to sew!). You might also look around and see what you can re-use for embellishments; beads, patches, sequins, and ribbons all make good starting points.

According to this pattern, low-rise or small jeans will make a smaller bag and larger or high-waist jeans make for a roomier one. If you've got kids with itchy fingers, let them use the glue method. The finished bag won't be as durable as it would be sewn, but it will still be a lot of fun to make.

Recycle Jeans Idea Two: Make a Rice Hot Pack

Cut off the leg of a smaller (think kid-size) pair of worn out blue jeans and recycle it into a rice hot pack to ease muscular aches and pains. Use a larger leg to make a bigger heating pillow that you can use to pre-warm the bed on a cold winter's night without the use of an electric blanket. All that you really need to do after cutting the leg of your choice is sew the bottom hole closed, fill with rice, and sew the top shut - then you microwave the pillow until it's warm. Here's a good pattern to use if you prefer, though. Just substitute their cloth instructions with denim.

Recycle Jeans Idea Three: Sew a Skirt

I know, I know - you're cringing already. Let me assure you that this guide at Savvy Seams isn't the fabric-added-to-jeans skirt, or one of those terrifyingly short mini-skirts. Nope. Promise. Instead, you use your jeans with holes in the knees to create a skirt of any length you want it to be that seriously turns out looking like something you would purchase.

Recycle Jeans Idea Four: Craft a Placemat

This idea has such great "shabby chic" possibilities I'm itching to start digging through the closets. As seen here you can cut the legs into large rectangles and attach a pocket on one side with fusible seam binding to hold your silverware and a napkin. The edges don't even have to be finished, leaving that raw denim-fringe that looks so cool.

Recycle Jeans Idea Five: Use them for Insulation

Anyone who has worked on building or remodeling a home can tell you their least favorite part in one word: insulation. Nasty, itchy, expensive and terrible both for our lungs while installing it and our environment after, insulation is one of the most horrible parts of home construction. I will never forget the image of my mother in the middle of July (we're talking about 105 degrees in this arid part of Colorado) swathed in a heavy flannel shirt and face mask, struggling with the nasty pink stuff all in hopes of a warmer winter.

Jeans are made from cotton which is natural, renewable, and recyclable. It makes a perfect material for insulation that doesn't cause body and environmental harm. Try advertising in your local Freecycle, talking to friends and family, and checking with thrift stores (they often have to throw away un-sellable clothing) to collect old jeans. Then, look for a denim drive near you or email Habitat for Humanity to find out where you can donate your collection. Habitat for Humanity, the organization that builds homes for low-income families who could never afford a home of their own otherwise, use the blue jean (think green) insulation in their projects.

Recycle Jeans Idea Six: Turn them Into Sandals

Personally, I like the idea of recycling ideas that stay closer to my own hands ... but this idea is just too cool to resist. At Recycleyourjeans.com, you can get an information pack that lets you send in your favorite pair of ratty old jeans to be turned into comfort sandals. They're really well-made in the UK which means that they have the lowest carbon footprint of any recycled footwear anywhere. By using your old pants, you're eliminating processing chemicals which would have been used to make new materials.

Recycle Jeans Idea Seven: Make a Rug

Right here on AssociatedContent I found Shirley Hill, who has written a truly fantastic guide to using your old pants for a braided rug. Her idea is fantastic, a take on the early colonists' use of rags of worn clothing to create rugs they needed for warmth on cold floors. These braided rugs are easily cleaned, reversible, and simple to mend or enlarge. And with 7 full pages featuring everything you need to know (including which fabrics to use and which to avoid as well as supplies), you'll be on your way in no time.

Recycle Jeans Idea Eight: Stitch a Laundry Bag

Do we ever really have enough laundry bags? They're so much better than a plastic laundry basket that will break and tear and wind up getting tossed into a landfill, but it never really seems that we can find cool ones. Sure, that mesh thing is alright but even that isn't very sturdy.

Head over to HG TV's website and follow fashion expert Beez McKeever's instructions on making a great-looking and super-sturdy laundry bag out of an old pair of blue jeans. This large bag could also be used as a sleepover bag or for heading off to camp for the week - and unlike the mesh things with holes everywhere, denim will protect your clothes (clean and dirty) without poking big holes and dumping stuff out during the trip.

Recycle Jeans Idea Nine: Personalize a Lunch Sack

Kids are funny. The ones who are sent to school every day with a lunch sack in hand will beg their parents to be able to eat a cafeteria lunch. Those who get the cafeteria lunch every day will whine for a lunch sack and a packed lunch. There never seems to be an easy answer.

Whichever camp you fall into, you can at least send your kids to school with a lunch sack that is personalized, stylish, and earth-friendly. It's sturdy, stain-resistant, and easy to wash which makes it that much more perfect. All that you need is the leg off an old pair of jeans, some cord or ribbon, and a few embellishments (buttons, patches, iron-ons, and beads) - and this easy guide.

Recycle Jeans Idea Ten: Make Hot Pads

These are too cute and help you recycle not just your jeans, but your old dish towels as well. Whether you're making them to match the place mats or as a craft fair staple, these little guys are made really easily and protect your counters and tabletops better than any flimsy piece of fabric ever would. A ton of great ideas (make sure you read the comments for a lot more) to do this can be found at Thrifty Fun.