8 helpful ways to re-purpose old pillows – from making handy garden kneelers and draft excluders, to cozy pet beds

We all have them – those tired and misshapen bed and couch pillows that quite frankly, need to go in the trash. But, we like to reuse as much as possible here at H&G so we're going to re-purpose our worn-out pillows this year.

These bulky items are not often recyclable so finding ways to give them a new lease of life is an excellent sustainability practice. Sometimes, no matter what you try to spruce up your old, lumpy or lackluster pillow, there's no fixing it without buying a new one.

This of course begs the question of what to do with the out-of-service ones. Here, our panel of experts reveal how they breathe new life into old pillows with eight quick DIY projects you can embrace easily too.

1. Turn them into comfy floor and couch pillows

Turn your old pillows into cozy, new couch and floor cushions by taking out the inner material and using them in new pillow cases.

Or, if you love crafting invest in some beautiful fabric and create a new cover for them that matches your living room scheme. If they are feeling a little thin then use the filling from two into one pillow to give it more shape.

2. Create a new bed for your pet

Re-using old pillows for a dog bed is a great way to add extra padding if they've worn it out. The fact the old pillows will have your scent on them will make the bedding upgrade extra special for them. This can be especially helpful to get rid of dog odors in your house.

Aiden Charron, associate director of Global Earth Day is a huge proponent of re-purposing both bed and couch pillows in pet beds. 'Always remember to cover them in a cotton pillowcase so that you can keep the pillow itself clean as well as stopping your pet from inhaling any microfibers off the pillows.'

This is really an important point, Aiden says, 'If they are made from polyester or synthetics, then they are oil-based textiles and will be releasing tiny plastic microfibers which are not good to inhale!'

Whilst it's tempting to buy the cheapest version for your pets you may find they wear through it quicker, we like the design below.

3. Use them as a door draft

Particularly useful in older properties, learning stop annoying chills and save money by draft proofing is going to save you money on your energy bills.

Front and back doors can be prone and during the colder months you can add insulation along the sides (we like Amazon's BBTO door weather stripping seal that works on both doors and windows), but it won't deal with the bottom gap. This is where you can use old pillows.

The best way to model it into shape is to fold it in half and then use ribbon or string to keep it in place, then place it in front of your draughty door.

4. Kneel on one in the garden

There's nothing worse than sore knees – and sometimes damp ones when you've been planting in the garden! So this idea is one we very much like, and Jeremy Yamaguchi, CEO of Lawn Love agrees, 'Old pillows can be used as knee pads for gardening. Kneeling down to garden can really hurt the knees, so knee pads can be a game changer.'

The key with this idea though is to recover them, 'I would just recommend covering your old pillows in some kind of plastic or water-repellent material so that they don’t absorb moisture and get gross,' suggests Jeremy.

Look for coated canvas type material as it will be tough and water-repellent.

5. Use for plant insulation

Extreme temperatures can literally kill our plants overnight, so when you know a cold snap is due, learning what budget-friendly ideas will protect plants from frost is essential. Wrapping them up to minimize damage is one key idea.

Rhonda agrees, 'Wrap your old pillows around pots or lay them on the ground to protect roots from frost. The stuffing acts as a natural insulator, keeping plants a little warmer during those freezing nights.' Hessian is great to use around the old pillows if you don't live in a wet climate, Amazon's natural burlap plant covers help with frost protection.

Similar to re-using old pillows as a kneeling pad, you'll need to waterproof them according to Rhonda, 'Consider something like a tarp or plastic bag. Otherwise, you’ll end up with soggy, useless cushions after the first rain or snow.'

You can get waterproof pillow protectors which will do the job if you don't want to make a special cover, check out Walmart's GOGREEN waterproof pillow protectors with zipper, which come in a variety of sizes.

7. Cut them up for cleaning rags

You can never have too many cleaning rags and more often than not, the exterior part of your old pillows will be intact. You can then remove the stuffing – this can be used to re-stuff other pillows, or as packing material – and cut up the fabric to use for cleaning.

Because the material will be soft it can be used for buffing stainless steel and cleaning surfaces.

8. Recycle and donate

If making things from old pillows isn't for you, then the next best thing is to recycle or donate them, if they are still in a reasonably good shape.

'We are HUGE proponents of re-using old pillows and NOT dumping them as they will end up in landfills which nobody needs/wants. You can donate your pillows to an animal sanctuary so that they can use them for the creatures they are caring for, be it dogs, cats, bunnies or wild animals even,' says Aiden.

Other options include local homeless shelters, daycare facilities and charities.

If they are a little worse for wear then a textile recycling facility like the American Textile Recycling Service is a good place to start.

Meet our experts

Aiden Charron

Aiden joined Earth Day in 2020, helping to shape the End Plastics Campaign since 2022 and becoming the director in 2023.

Jeremy Yamaguchi

Jeremy is the CEO of Lawn Love, a company that's bringing high-tech solutions to the lawn care industry.

Rhonda Wilson

Rhonda Wilson is the quality lead cleaner at FreshSpace Cleaning. She's been part of the team since 2019, bringing with her more than 20 years of experience in the cleaning industry.

It's definitely possible to breathe new life into your old pillows whether they are bed or couch designs. If a little crafting is something you love to do then you'll love our ideas, if not, simply donating them to a worthy cause is much better than allowing them to go to landfill.

Next, delve into eco-friendly organizing tips for decluttering your home.