+ OK. Here is a question. What happens to old hotel linen? I have been thinking about this a lot lately. Maybe I have spent a little too much time in hotels. When their sheets get too old or their towels loose their fluffiness and those blankets get pilled. Where does all that stuff go? All I can find is that they throw them in a dumpster. Then they pay to have them hauled away to the dump. Surely we can do better than that! Does anyone know anyone in the hotel industry we can ask and get a real answer. I am getting no joy so far. Surely they do not just throw them out!
Couldn’t we collect them and fold them up and give them to the homeless or the food pantrys or someone who can use them for rags. Or something? I would use old towels. All farms need towels. Can we think on this? I hate waste. Don’t you hate waste? Plus, and this is somewhat of a secret, I love rags. Any rags. Well washed faded fabrics. I love to fold them and stuff them in my drawers. I love milking rags and dishcloth rags and floor cloths. Many of my clothes could be called rags, but I love them.
I want to save the hotel towels and sheets and give them a second use. And I KNOW we can find a use for them. Dogs? Abandoned dog sheets? People need sheets too! There must be an answer.
I will call the campaign – Save the Rags. (Actually I think that may need some work. But you know where I am heading). Ideas?
Beatrix (Beatrix is such a big name – I think I will call her Beatrix Potter – it is gentler somehow) Beatrix Potter was out in the field yesterday morning with her bad tempered mother (not all mothers are nice you know). We had some rain and winds then it cleared for a while into a lovely wistful day and all the animals moved slowly out into the light. Whenever I could get my hands close to the calf, I patted her nose and gave her big strokes and chats. Though Elsie was onto me, she was a bit calmer yesterday.
Beatrix Potter gamboled about, drinking on and off, touching noses with Aunty Del – then led her mother by her nose back to the barn. Elsie may be tough as nails with me but with that baby she is all marshmallow.
I locked them both into the barn last night. For the meantime I would rather they stuck close to home at night.
Did you see the pussy willow in the header – we have a daffodil too.
Beatrix Potter. (I think I will call her Potter for short, see how these things evolve – though you have to say it with a New Zealand accent Potta’ ) – Potter slept all afternoon in a bed of straw by the barn. A sunny spot out of the wind is the perfect place for a baby animal. If I make a dry slightly elevated bed for an animal they always go and lie in it. Always. A soft dry bed in the sun is one of the most important requirements of an animal. We all seek sunshine. This is why I worry for children (and adults) who seldom get outside. It is against nature to live in artificial light in hard rigid chairs all the time. A little sun brightens our spirits, allows our rhythm to settle, empowers intelligence – gives us life- literally.
Now, of course you and I are hoping that Lady Astor will calve soon so I can try to graft her calf onto Elsie. I am not sure if Elsie the Wild will take another calf. But it is like being a sculptor. I have never studied sculpting so how do I know that I am not brilliant at it. I think this about tennis too. I have never actually tried to play tennis but I do sometimes wonder whether I may have been amazing if I had. In fact I think I might be a REALLY amazing tennis player. Deep down. On the Inside. Care for a match? So we will give Elsie the benefit of the doubt. She may well be a wonderful nurse cow. Though it will involve some very, very careful work.
Just like: we may be able to save all those hotel towels from oblivion.
And now for the bestest rubbish shot with hilarious content.
Do you remember Sesame Street? “One of these things is not like the other!”
From a different angle. Yes, it is one of Marmalade’s kittens sleeping with the goats. If you lay down with goats you will wake up with – well – Goats.
Good morning- Another interesting Marmalade baby fact – though I have not got it on film yet – Her boy kitten. (we call him The Boy Kitten – ok that is deep),he sleeps nights in the Hut with Tima and Tane: the kunekune pigs. And hangs out with them in the fields during the day. He has even been seen sitting on top of Tane in the sun. Tane standing very still as The Boy Kitten sits up on his wide haunches kneading Tane’s back with his feet. I will stalk them for that shot for you.
In the meantime – Have a lovely day
Your friend on the farm
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
84 responses to “Hotel Towels for Farms”
It’s rare in our house any rags are thrown out, and old sheets & towels never. They are used for cleaning, drop sheets, in the shed or at the G.O.’s work site.
I think the answer as to what happens to hotel linen is as varied as the hotels. Some hotels do sell off furniture via agents. I’m never inclined to steal hotel towels but for one job I stayed 4 nights a week at the Radisson in Sydney for about 9 months, and at the end I really wanted to steal a bed… they were divine!
Wonderful pics. They put a smile on my dial 🙂
No! I cannot believe the hotels dump their old linens and towels. That is terrible! There is SO much that can be done with them. Sorry I have not way to help but I am looking forward to hearing how you get to the bottom of this and I cannot wait to see the boy kitten photos.
Have a happy farmy day C.
🙂 Mandy xo
Some hotels use linen services that manage their linens/towels. Old items are often sold to others / recycled into new items. Salvation Army is glad to collect donated “rags”. Maybe it’s like marginal produce at grocery stores/restaurants – they are happy to donate to shelters if anyone asks? This day and age people have wised up to making money off unwanted items, so doubtful things are tossed even from hotel chains.
Never have enough old “rags” /towels around here – dogs, car, house…never enough. But it does seem the quality of sheets and towels have gone down – doesn’t mater the thread count (there are multiple ways of counting for “thread count” to make one look better than the others), the sheets and towels aren’t the old heavy workhorses we had from Sears as kids (Mom always bough sheet from Sears as they were good quality and held up). Salvation Army gets the rags that get culled once a year. (but not the old nappies – still holding up! – We sailed. Cotton diapers were a must – plastic’s bad in heat and sun.)
Our city animal shelter and a couple of rescue groups welcome old towels and blankets. I make a lot of simple pet beds out of “rags”/towels for them each fall as the weather turns cooler and wet.
“Knickers” and “drawers” were in common usage when I grew up.
Surprised there’s not battles over a nice hay pile in the sun. Not much sound nicer – even for human kids!
Oops, I’m a day late here but thought I’d chime in to. Same here with the old linens…most I’ve had for years and then get donated to either our local animal shelters, vet’s office, salvation army or to our garage supply for rags. I would hate to think that hotels throw them out but like some one else said…money can be made on gently used items so I’m sure they get sold. I’m going to call a few hotels around here and find out what they do with their older linens. Yes, and it kills me that restaurants can’t give away food to even farmers for their animals…(it still bothers me that I had to waste that pancake in Portland) Why do restaurants serve such huge portions anyway? Because this country eats too much, that’s why! Ok, enough of my ranting…I too cannot wait for the photo of Tane and his kitten! 🙂
Like the rest of the Fellowship, I’m a rag-and-bone woman myself, using mine until they disintegrate. And when they finally do *that*, the all-natural-fiber ones (cotton, linen, etc) get snipped or shredded into pieces and go into the compost for nest-making and soil-filling. You are so right: more care should be taken about making long-term use out of stuff like that than it often is, but I do think slightly more users are getting smarter about it, too. I will be posting about my rags’ (and other treasured “spoils’”) odd journeys soonish as well, just have to finish a little photo documentation first. Lovely post, as always! 🙂
xo
It looks like good sleep there with the goats. How funny the male cat hangs out with Tima and Tane. I guess they’ve made friends.