Instead of throwing out an old love, why don’t you turn it into something new to love. Here are 7 great ideas for turning your Levi’s into a recycled wonder.

Make Shorts
If the holes in your jeans have occurred from the thighs down, you might want to cut off the offending parts and make your favorite jeans into a new pair of favorite shorts. Keep the for working around the house, in the garden or whenever you need to wear clothes that can afford to get ruined, like when you are painting.

Have a Knack for Sewing?
Pillows – You can turn your old jeans into some cool pillows for yourself or your favorite teen. You can use a number of things to stuff the pillow or purchase some cotton at the local craft or dollar store. Just cut off part of the leg, stuff it as full as you like and sew up the ends. They can be great throw pillows or toss one in the car for when you travel, especially with the kids.

Change Purse – Cut out a square or rectangle of material and fashion it into a small change purse. You can even expand your plans and make a full-sized purse out of your old denim.

Join a Quilting Bee
Check out your local community for quilting classes or groups that meet close to wear you live if you don’t already know how to quilt. It can be a great source of personal fulfillment to learn how to make a quilt. Use cut ups squares of your jeans and other favorite articles of clothing that you can no longer wear and incorporate them into a long-lasting, memory-filled quilt.

Pass Them to the Kids
Kids are always in need of different materials for crafts. If they don’t do them at home, check with your local school or organizations such as scouting. Many of these places welcome free craft materials they can use with the kids.

Add it to Your Craft Bag
If you do scrapbooking or other form of crafts, cut up your denim material and store it with your craft supplies. You can save a lot of money not having to buy such supplies at the craft store.

Keep Them for Patches
Since you know your other jeans may on day fall on hard times and end up with a hole in the knee, save the material to repair those jeans or the jeans of your kids. You can make little patches that can be glued to inside of the jeans and hide the offending hole.

If you find a pattern you like or discover you have a knack for creating the above items, you can ask others to donate their jeans to you and start a side business creating things you can sell.

What To Do With Your Worn Out Jeans was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

While there are many new recipes for creating your own cleaning materials such as window cleaners and laundry soap, there are also smell-good alternatives for scenting your home without the expensive prices tags, the dangerous chemicals, or the long process of making your own candles.

Here’s mine:

• Collect small jars such as those that come with baby food.

• Wash them out and let them dry.

• Add in a cotton ball.

• Pick up a few essential oils from the health food store or online shop.

• Carefully punch holes into the jar lid.

• Add a few drops of essential oils to the cotton ball and secure the lid.

This makes a great substitute for families with little kids who should not be around lit candles. You can use these little jars all over the house. It can be a fun project to do with your kids as you can use scraps to decorate the jars. Make sure you don’t buy a lot of scents you are not familiar with just in case you don’t like them. Choose a few at a time until you know what you like and then you can feel free to mix and match scents.

As you perfect the art of creating scents and decorating your jars, you can get ready to include your signature scents into gift packages you give to family and friends during the holidays or other special occasions, saving you additional expense in the gift department. Remember to keep your scent-sational gifts in mind and recycle common items around the house to use as decorations such as scrap paper, extra buttons, and other things that may serve another purpose beyond becoming trash.

Make Your Home Smell Good For Less was created by and is property of American Consumer News.