unconsumption:
Many of you might have seen yesterday’s Unconsumption post on bracelets made from vintage plastic knitting needles.
After I published it, I shared a knitting-needle-bracelet photo on Unconsumption’s Facebook page, which led to comments about the idea of turning worn-out toothbrushes into bracelets. (Check out the full Facebook discussion on Unconsumption’s FB post here.)
Both kinds of bracelets can be made using a similar process: heat the plastic pieces in a pot of hot water (in a well-ventilated area, natch), then remove them and bend the warm plastic into rounded shapes.
To make your own toothbrush bracelets, check out this tutorial from Instructables. From my reading of the comments there, it seems like the most challenging part of the process is pulling out the bristles.
Many of us repurpose old toothbrushes as cleaning tools — they make great scrub brushes, say, for cleaning bathtub corners, grout between tile, faucet bases, and other awkward-to-clean spots. After the bristles are really, really worn, why not turn the brush handles into bracelets?
[Those of us who use Preserve brand brushes, mentioned previously on Unconsumption here and here, are encouraged to drop worn brushes into collection boxes at Whole Foods Market stores and other select locations (info here), or mail them back to the manufacturer to be made into new items. Yogurt cups and other items made of #5 plastics also can be dropped in those boxes; an app (here) can help you find drop-box locations.]
Do let us know if you’ve made one or both types of bracelets. We’d love to hear about it.
