The Fun DIY That Puts All Of Your Excess Dryer Lint To Good Use

An annoying but necessary household chore is cleaning out the lint leftover in the lint trap of your dryer. To save you some headache, you can reach for an unexpected home item to easily clean your dryer's lint trap. But you don't have to just throw all that fuzzy lint away after you're done. Dryer lint actually can be recycled using a few tools. Instead of filling up your garbage with fluffy bits of lint, turn it into usable paper with this fun DIY. It's a little time-consuming, but it is not very complicated, and with a little patience, you can learn how to transform old lint with a few supplies.

You don't need unusual tools or special machines to make your own paper at home. Along with collecting a few large bundles of dryer lint, you will need two wood frames of the same size, window screening, fabric, and a blender. You can use large picture frames, new or used, for the wood frames. To make a homemade deckle and mould, cut the screening to fit one frame and staple or nail it in place. These two components are essential to papermaking. 

After finishing this DIY project, you may need to deep clean your blender, so consider using an older appliance or thrift a cheap one. You will also need access to a large tub, though a bathroom tub or sink can work too.

With so many clever ways to reuse dryer lint around the home, turning it into sheets of paper is a creative way to repurpose it for other art projects. Start by blending your lint into a paste. Soak the lint in warm water for about 30 minutes before blending, then blend it by adding one cup of lint and filling the blender with water. The lint is ready once it gains a mushy consistency. As you blend, pour the mushy lint into the tub. When there's enough in the tub, sift the lint with your deckle and mould. After filling the mould, gently press the lint onto a piece of fabric to dry. Drying can take several hours to several days. Repeat the process until you have used up all the lint. 

For a sturdier result, add a corn starch slurry to thicken the paste. You can also add bits of old shredded paper to add more body to the final paper sheets, or thread, flower petals, and more to decorate it. By the end, your lint will be unrecognizable, with colors depending on the shades of lint used. Consider adding food coloring to create specific shades. Using your rustic sheets of paper, you can bind them with a large needle and thread into a handmade journal or scrapbook. You could also add a handmade card or note to your gifts for loved ones, showing your care with an extra personalized touch.