Homemade Mop Pic Tutorial

Farming and homesteading goes hand in hand with frugality. And yet again, today, one of "those" moments crossed my path. When in need of something, ALWAYS do an internet search to see if you can make it, before going out to purchase whatever it is you need. You may be pleasantly suprised. You may even save MUCH more money in the long run, because in my experience, handmade/homemade items, outlast mass produced store bought items, and are generally easy to make yourself.

So, I killed my mop today. I hated it anyway, and was due a new one. The mop was one of those cheap string mops you get at the grocery store, that leave their strings behind as they get old and wear out. I wound up finishing the floor on hands and knees with what was left of the mop head this afternoon. So, out of necessity comes invention. Money is a bit tight to be replacing things we can make ourselves here, so I did an internet search, and couldn't find step by step pictures for anything like I had in mind. They just had text tutorials, so here I present you with pictures on a simple way to make a WASHABLE(love that idea) mop that will last longer than those cheap grocery store string slinger mops.

All that is required for this project is, about 30 minutes and a few items as follows:
~one old bath towel
~good cloth cutting scissors
~an old broom/mop handle, or dowel rod
~about a 6 inch length of wire

First, you want to take off the hem from both of the long sides of your towel.
 
Lay one hem aside for a later step, and fold your towel in half lengthwise like this:


Begin cutting 1 to 2 inch strip from the edges of the towel inward. Do not cut all the way through the towel, leave about an inch before the fold to hold the "mop" in one piece for ease of washing. If you look, you'll be able to see where my cuts stop right below my thumb in this photo.


Next you'll want to roll the folded edge of the towel around the end of your handle, and tie it off tight with a piece of wire.

Remember the piece of hem you saved from the first step? This is where it comes into play, and it really is strictly for looks to hide that ugly wire the mop is held together with, that you can see in the last photo. Just wrap it around, and tie it off like in this picture:

Now you have a final product, that should look similar to my new mop here.


I have yet to use it, as I had already finished mopping today, but it seems to be exactly what I was looking for! Cost $0, my favorite price!! At worst, if you purchased everything, you could still make this mop for around the same price as one of the cheap grocery store mops. To wash this one, you simply remove the wire, toss the mop head in the wash, and reattach once it is clean. Easy peasy!