A Sustainable Scrubby Solution 1
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A Sustainable Scrubby Solution

January 24, 2016 / 41 Comments
Melissa's Skirt to Capelet Reader ReFash
From Robe to 60's Style Wrap Coat

I swear this is NOT turing into a foodie blog, but you never know when inspiration is going to strike. In this case, it happened in my kitchen. 🙂

After my recent culinary disaster, I decided to cook a super-delish Sunday dinner for me & the fella. I settled on Coq Au Vin. This classic from Mastering the Art of French Cooking is simply THE best way to prepare chicken that I have ever discovered.

One of the ingredients, other than chicken, cognac, mushrooms, carrots, and wine (hence the vin), are these little guys:

If this was a food blog, this would be the part where I tell you to blanche pearl onions before trying to peel them, because they practically peel themselves. But of course, this is NOT a food blog.
If this was a food blog, this would be the part where I tell you to blanch pearl onions before trying to peel them, because they practically peel themselves. But of course, this is NOT a food blog.

As I began cooking, I was filled with increasing dread at the amount of dishes I would have to wash later. Especially when I noticed the condition of my scrubby thing.

Ew.
Ew.

Wait a sec…this looks vaguely familiar…

Do you see where I'm going here?
Do you see where I’m going here?

Those plastic onion fishnets were about to start a new life!

I folded each of them inside each other, and ended up with this!

A side-by side comparison
A side-by side comparison

My Coq Au Vin turned out wonderfully.

Comfort food!
Comfort food!
Served with herbed potatoes steamed in butter. Mmmmmnnn...butter.
Served with herbed potatoes steamed in butter. Mmmmmnnn…butter.

And thanks to my new scrubbies, cleanup was a breeze!

It did the trick!
It did the trick!
Mrrrrph...ppphhhhhrmpth!
Mrrrrph…ppphhhhhrmpth!
MUCH cleaner!
MUCH cleaner!

I’m quite happy with this sustainable solution to my scrubby situation.

And I promise to get back to fashion tomorrow. 🙂

Cheers!

A Sustainable Scrubby Solution 2

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41 Comments

  • Becky

    January 28, 2016 at 8:46 am Reply

    Never thought to use the netting like that. Great tip. I have to say the frog scrubby holder brought me back to my child hood. My mom had one just like it. Thanks for the flash back 🙂

  • Erin

    January 26, 2016 at 4:35 pm Reply

    Oh yeah! Those make THE BEST scrubbies! I get all foo-foo with mine and fold a couple together and blanket-stitch the edges with yarn. They end up super cute, and they make cute gifts!

  • Jay

    January 26, 2016 at 1:30 am Reply

    This IS fashion Jillian – Fashion for the kitchen! What’s not to love? Never apologize for any food related posts, we all gotta eat and now we’ve got one more refashion to think about in our homes. Love it!

  • laurpud

    January 26, 2016 at 1:26 am Reply

    Barb is right-dryer sheets to the rescue! They make using the slow cooker a breeze. I use those little bags when I make soup to holds the veggie scraps, or a chicken carcass. They do a great job of making the bones easy to take out

  • Abbey

    January 25, 2016 at 8:27 pm Reply

    glad you found enlightenment in the onion bag! jsyk, you can stretch those things a little further by cutting smaller pieces and stuffing them with a plastic grocery bag.

  • Lisa

    January 25, 2016 at 7:04 pm Reply

    I’ve been using them as scrubbies. I’ve also sewn some together to make produce bags to avoid SO MANY plastic produce bags at grocery store!

  • Jean

    January 25, 2016 at 5:13 pm Reply

    I’ve been doing this for years! I like to tuck one half of the bag into itself so that the raw edges are on the same side. Then I slip a rubber band over it and roll the raw edges over the rubber band. I keep rolling until I’ve got a donut that’s easy to hold and store. When it gets grungy or full of food bits, I unroll it, remove the rubber band, and then impale it on the dishwasher prong thingies. When the dishwasher load is done, the bag is nice and clean and ready to roll into a scrubby again!

  • Barb

    January 25, 2016 at 3:48 pm Reply

    Hi to all: I know this is not a food blog but if the newly constructed scrubbie is not as successful as you thought try this. Fill pot up with hot water and a small amount of dish soap AND a dryer sheet. Yes it works overnight. Has something to do with the anti static stuff in it. I also did this with oven racks. In the bathtub with hot water and 1/2 cup dishwashing liquid and 7 dryer sheets – and overnight most of the burned on food was gone. I did this a couple of times and I am very happy with it.

  • Julie

    January 25, 2016 at 3:01 pm Reply

    Just wanted to comment on how much I loved your red pot! Please don’t say you picked it up for $5 at a thrift store, lol!! Love all the refashions, keep them coming!

  • annabel52

    January 25, 2016 at 3:00 pm Reply

    I have an orange net bag bow (that was red in color) on a wreath in my kitchen this very minute. On the wreath are vintage cookie cutters and cookie press discs. I recycled this 5-6 years ago for Christmas and loved it so much I keep it up year round.
    Once you think outside the box….you are there and everything else falls into place.
    Keep up any kind of refashion, it all makes sense and saves stuff from the landfill.

  • Lisa, too

    January 25, 2016 at 2:48 pm Reply

    I just did this same thing over the weekend. And by thing, I mean the realization that food packaging can be refashioned thusly! Mine’s red, though. But great minds still think alike, yes?

  • Yona

    January 25, 2016 at 2:34 pm Reply

    Love it! I also used the mesh veggie bags as bag scrubber, foot exfoliator etc… just cut it open so you can fold it up to any size in the shower to use on your back, feet, legs….. and feels so good.

  • SuzyDQ

    January 25, 2016 at 2:03 pm Reply

    is it just me, or does the first picture of Coq Au Vin (comfort food) look similar to the chicken livers? I’ll trust it turned out MUCH BETTER, though. phew!

  • Jillain (not Jillian)

    January 25, 2016 at 1:56 pm Reply

    It’s not entirely off-theme for this blog. I think once you get into the habit of looking at old clothes n a new way, you form the habit of trying to find new uses for all kinds of old things. It’s just good mental gymnastics.

  • jenny_o

    January 25, 2016 at 1:25 pm Reply

    You could write about anything and I’d read it! But I appreciate that you write about re-using and thriftiness because those are so close to my heart 🙂

  • Barbra

    January 25, 2016 at 12:48 pm Reply

    Part of being a ReFashionista is thinking outside the box. And this is the perfect example of thinking outside the box!

    Don’t change a thing about your blog! We will follow you anywhere…thrift stores, sewing rooms, wine shops, the grocery store…Keep up the interesting and inspiring entries!

  • Kerry Franciscovich

    January 25, 2016 at 12:47 pm Reply

    Love this. I think it goes to show that once you start thinking in the direction of re-use and sustainability from any view point (in your case it was clothes and how wasteful we have become with them) you are more likely to begin thinking about it in every aspect of your life. I LOVE your refashions…but I love your sustainability message….which is at the heart of what you do…even more.

  • clayo

    January 25, 2016 at 12:41 pm Reply

    I’ve used the netting for scrubbies before. I also remember making Christmas crafts with my Grandma (back in the 60’s). We painted a quart milk carton green, slipped some red netting over it, wove in some plastic holly, added some red ribbon at the top and bottom and made a decoration that we hung from the light over our kitchen table, lol! It was pretty cute, as I recall…

  • Catherine

    January 25, 2016 at 12:37 pm Reply

    Anne: O.k. now i know what to do with the plastic bags from fruits and veggies, very god refashion, love it.
    Thank-you for sharing.

    Blessings
    Catherine

  • Ali

    January 25, 2016 at 12:29 pm Reply

    I love that you re-use things! If only more people were like that – I am ALWAYS saying this is not good for our planet – let’s re-use! In my case I scored a fantastic possibly vintage dress initially tagged at $50, but turns out it was only $5 MADE IN THE USA! Funny enough I’m a size 12 and it was tagged a 1X!

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