September 24, 2010

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - Swiffer Cover

I try to be very environmentally friendly and use reusable products that don't create a lot of waste.  I use cloth diapers, cloth wipes, washcloths instead of paper towels, cloth napkins... you get the idea. But we have tile floors that tend to get really dusty and using the Swiffer sweeper is just so convenient. After seeing my garbage can full of disposable Swiffer sheets I knew I could do better. So I made a reusable cover out of fleece! It works great and can be washed so I won't be creating any more garbage, plus I get the added bonus of not spending another penny on sweeper sheets.


Want to make one? Here's how I did it. 

I cut one 5.5 x 11 inch rectangle and two 5.5 x 4 inch rectangles.  I don't know much about fleece, but mine only stretched in one direction. I cut my pieces so the 11" and 4" inch sides were the lengths that would stretch. (Does that make any sense?)


I pinned my smaller pieces onto the bigger piece lining up the ends. I don't really think this is necessary because the fabric didn't move around much once I put the pieces together, but it only took about two seconds to do so better safe than sorry.


I sewed a 1/4" seam around three sides of the smaller pieces, leaving the middle open. 


I turned it inside out. I would say right side out, but I don't think there is really a right side. I didn't worry about turning under any of the raw edges because it won't fray and really, I'm using it on the floor, it doesn't need to look too pretty.


I put it on my Swiffer and now I'm ready to clean!


I like how it turned out. My somewhat Type A personality wishes I used a white fleece to be able to see all the dirt it is picking up, but I didn't have any white fleece so the green will have to work.

5 comments:

  1. Thanks so much, I was looking for something like this. My MIL loves Swiffer so I made her a fleece and microfiber one.

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  2. Love this idea. I think I'll try it with old sweatshirts. I love your commitment to reduce use of disposables. I haven't used paper napkins or paper towels (old bath towels/wash cloths/socks/t-shirts in a kitchen drawer) for 40 years. A large basket of cloth napkins (garage sale finds) sits on my kitchen counter.

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  3. I made mine out of old kitchen towels. I also made one for my wet swiffer, it was made with some felt so it would stick to the velcro strips on the head. It works like a dream.

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  4. I shared this on my blog as well as a swiffer duster pattern. I use these with my all natural homeology cleaner... I love it!

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