5 Easy Ways to Reuse Old Toothbrushes & Reduce Waste

Hey! Another week has gone by, so it’s time for another episode of Jenny’s Everything’s Famtastic!!! Just to help you imagine that better, that should be announced in goofy, game-show-host voice. 😉

This week has been crazy busy between still getting our school routine down pat and juggling everybody’s extracurricular activities. I am sure I have mentioned before that German school times tend not be the same each day of the week. Mondays til 11.15? Sure! And Tuesdays? Nah, let’s schedule ‘em til 1.00!. *rolls eyes*

And not forgetting, that halfway through the school year everybody gets a whole new timetable and the adjusting and juggling starts all over again. Which of course also impacts on the extracurricular activities start times! Like currently. When I foolishly thought music lessons would always and forever be on Thursday afternoon. Apparently I am just some naïve, clueless foreigner…

Can you tell I sound a little frazzled?!?

But I’m not here today to rant about the German school system, believe it or not, LOL. No, in a convoluted way, I wanted to write about trying to reduce waste in our household. A few weeks back I talked about upcycling fabrics for sewing projects. And in a couple of weeks I will be sharing some helpful tips from my friend who is well along the path to living plastic-free. I am REALLY looking forward to her insights. Watch this space!!

I myself, still have a looooong way to go on that track. But I am aware that every person should be trying to do a little more to reduce waste in this world. Me included, of course! This week, one small event reactivated my thinking about reusing a simple household item.

“Surely you don’t mean….?” you ask.

**drumroll please**

**tada!** Yes! The Toothbrush!!

Why the Toothbrush?

I said this was going to be convoluted, remember? Well, earlier this week one of my lovely, playful children (whom I shall not name and shame) was out rolling around on the lawn in a brand-new pullover. Great, hey?!? The joy of youth and benefits of play and fresh air and movement. Yada yada yada, LOL.

Sadly for the clean clothes fairy (that would be moi!) the fun and games ended in dirt and grass stains. I am not an expert on removing stains from clothes. I am more the give-it-a-spray-with-stain-remover-throw-it-in-the-machine-and-cross-fingers type of gal. But I know that grass stains SUCK to get out and I wasn’t prepared to sacrifice the new pullover to some bonus green stripes.

Thank goodness for the internet, I was able to find some tips on how to remove grass stains (Hint: it involved vinegar) and with the help of an old toothbrush I actually managed to get out those stains! Huzzah!

Which got me thinking about all the ways you can actually use those old toothbrushes instead of chucking them all out. Sure, we are not yet up to living plastic-free, but we do try to reduce our waste by reusing, recycling and upcycling when we can.

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last decade or 2, you all know why “reduce, reuse, recycle” has become such an important mantra. For those who don’t really know where to start or want some easy, low-stress, uncomplicated ways of “doing my bit for the environment”, let’s take a look at a simple item which you find in every household: the humble toothbrush.

5 Super Practical Uses for an Old Toothbrush

Once your toothbrush has done it’s duty in keeping your pearly whites sparkling clean and is looking like it needs to go to toothbrush heaven, Wait!. Don’t throw it in the trash! There are plenty of ways you can make use of it around the house, without it ending up in landfill.

And I don’t mean having to invent some weird macramé-toothbrush creation that you give to your ever-tolerant mother (bless!) and ends up gathering dust in the back of her wardrobe. No! I mean actual, practical, easy, no-fuss solutions for you at home. Good for reducing waste. Good for the environment. Everybody wins!

Are you ready? Let’s go!

Spot Stain Removal

Just like those nasty grass stains that I bravely saved the pullover from, most stains can be gently scrubbed from clothes and upholstery (cushions, rugs etc) using the appropriate cleaning product. Toothbrushes are finer and gentler than larger, unwieldy cleaning brushes and you can always keep an old one or 2 handy with your cleaning supplies.

Getting artsy

I don’t know about yours, but my kids love painting and creating artworks. Having an old toothbrush or 2 in the crafts box adds a novel approach to painting and decorating their latest piece of art, adding in cool new textures and appearances. Give it a try! (And if the kid’s clothes get grubby in the process, you could always pull out another old toothbrush and practice spot stain removal. LOL!)

Scrubbing hard-to-reach places around the house

Hate cleaning around the base of taps where grime tends to build up? What about the grout between the bathroom tiles? And don’t even get me started about those corners in the bottom of the shower! Want a sink that looks as good as this? An old toothbrush is the perfect size for getting into those nooks and narrow spaces to leave your taps, tiles and shower corners shiny and clean.

Polishing Jewellery

Who doesn’t have at least one piece of jewellery with finely worked delicate details? Sure, a polishing cloth helps a lot. But for those fiddlly inner bits, the unassuming toothbrush can get in there and make them gleam again. Then you’re ready to dazzle 😊.

Cleaning Shoes

The soles of shoes have grip and grooves for a reason. But that provides the perfect place for dirt, grass and mud to get stuck. And although we tend to not wear shoes when we are inside our house, I can easily tell when someone has nevertheless stomped through with dirty shoes by the trail of dirt clumps down the hall. So if your shoes look anything like this one, use that old toothbrush to scratch out (dried) dirt, rocks and grass from the soles of your shoes. You can also clean any scuffs and stains from the tops of your shoes to bring back their new look (though probably not with the same grassy, rocky muddy toothbrush 😉).

There you have it. My summary of some simple but useful ways to put your retired toothbrush to good use at home rather than ditching it in the rubbish bin. Every little bit helps, right? Baby steps towards living plastic-free. 😉

Do you use old toothbrushes around your house? How? Got any top tips you’d like to share with us? We’d love to hear about them!