Known for their amazing versatility, flour sack towels can do everything from leaving your mirrors and fine crystal with a streak-free shine to wiping spills and are even used in a wide range of arts and crafts projects.
Though once a repurposed piece of cloth cut from flour sacks during the Great Depression, flour sack towels are now an essential household item that works harder than just about any other tool in your home. An excellent multipurpose item to have, it is an especially good investment if you enjoy cooking and gardening. Here are some inspiring ways they come in handy.
Flour Sack Towels in the Garden
Quality is essential in order to get the most out of this versatile household gem. Here are a few ways to use flour sack towels in your garden.
- Line pots and planters
Transplanting plants and changing out plant soil can be messy endeavors made much more manageable with the use of flour sack towels. Line your flower pots and planters with the towels and when it is time to remove the plants for any reason, simply pick the plant up using the towel. By using flour sack towels as liners, you can also easily create beautiful arrangements containing several different plants in one large display.
Flour sack towels can also be used to give plants proper drainage. If you have a planter with drainage holes that are too large, soil will fall through, jeopardizing a plant’s health. Lining the pot with a flour sack towel allows drainage to occur while stopping soil loss. For planters without drainage holes (or holes you don’t feel like drilling), a towel-lined planter allows you to simply life the plant, drain the water and remove any excess water pooled at the bottom.
- Line baskets
When using baskets to gather delicate fruit like berries, you know how easy it is for the fruit to fall into a basket’s gaps or be ruined by an older basket’s splintered material. A basked lined with a flour sack towel protects your fruit from well-worn weaving and prevents fruit from falling through any gaps.
Another thing this does is keep your basket clean, letting the towel get dirty from fruit stains instead. A flour sack towel is much easier to wash than a basket and actually gets softer with each wash. Also more sanitary, fruits and veggies remain free of debris or dust that may have settled into the basket.
Flour sack towels make gorgeous liners. Mary’s Kitchen Towels has colored flour sack towels at $27.99 here that will add a personal touch to the baskets holding your gardening supplies and tools. You can even use a hot glue gun to permanently fix towels in place.
- Protect plants
Flour sack towels can act as a barrier, protecting your garden against harsh weather and pests, just drape them loosely over plants and secure the edges with soil or rocks. Plants will retain moisture and won’t overheat when the sun gets intense and insects will be denied access.
These towels also can be used to deter moths. Fill them with garlic, lavender, chives and cedar chips. Secure the contents and hang them near your plants for a great alternative to pesticides.
Flour Sack Towels in the Kitchen
The kitchen must-have, flour sack towels can do much more than dry your dishes. Here are two ways to use them that may not have considered.
- Filter herbal teas and oils
Flour sack towels work great for making herb-infused oils, replacing the need for a strainer or cheesecloth. The loyal sack cloth can also be used as a tea bag. You can sew it if you want, but simply putting tea in and securing it like a pouch will work just as well! Fill it with loose-leaf tea, steep and enjoy.
- Preserve fresh herbs
Sometimes you buy more herbs than you do ways to use them, but there’s no need to throw them out. Use a flour sack towel to preserve them for several months.
Grab a microwave-safe plate and line it with a clean flour sack towel. Spread the herbs you’d like to preserve on the plate and cover the herbs with the towel’s excess material or another clean towel.
Microwave thyme, rosemary and other thicker herbs for a minute and then in 20-second increments until they are dry. Delicate herbs like basil and cilantro should be microwaved for 40 seconds and then in 20-second increments. When herbs crumble, they are ready.
You can then grind them into a powder or put them away.
Conclusion
The flour sack towel is a multi-tasking powerhouse, capable of aiding you in every room of your home. Get a pack today and see what else they can do.
