Creative Recycled Stuffed Animals Tips

Do your kids have too many stuffed animals? Want to declutter your child’s bedroom but don’t want to throw them away? Responsible toy disposal and recycling can be challenging. Keep reading for a few creative stuffed animal recycling tips!

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Stuffed animal recycling tips to help bring new life to old plush toys.

Can you recycle stuffed animals?

Have you ever wondered whether stuffed animal recycling was possible? When my children were young, they had so many stuffed animals that they could barely be contained in toy boxes anymore.

I kept trying to get them to let a few of them go to the thrift store but they would get all emotional and have a nervous breakdown. Seriously…do you even know where you GOT that stuffed cat that you are clinging to with tears in your eyes? NO! Hand it over, kid!

Like this post about eco friendly decluttering?  Read these sustainable tips, too!

  • Best Tips for Decluttering Your Child’s Room Want to know the best tips for decluttering your child’s room?  Here are a few tips to get you started.
  • What To Do With Old Books Instead Of Throwing Them Away. From donating books to libraries to making upcycled book crafts, learn how to cull books instead of throwing them away.
  • What Can You Do With Old Hangers?  Have you cleaned your closet and realized you have way too many hangers?  What can you do with them?  Here are a few ways to repurpose hangers as we sort through our mountains of clutter!

Stuffed animal recycling is something I had never really considered before but now that they are older, I think I can convince them to part with a few! I thought I would share a few ideas about how to bring new life to your children’s not so loved any more plush toys.

What to do with too many stuffed animals

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What to do with Old Stuffed Animals

If your house is filled with barely used stuffed toys, getting rid of them is a good idea.  Learn where to donate stuffed animals to, as well as tips for how to repurpose stuffed animals if you happen to be crafty.  Remember, if you have a stuffed animal with batteries in it (yes, those exist, unfortunately), recycling batteries is important!

Create a cushion from your child’s old plush toys:

Check out the directions on Indistructables to learn how to use your child’s old stuffed animals to create a beautiful new pillow.

Basset puppy sleeps in teddy bears arms

Donate them to a pet shelter:

Many dog and cat shelters would love your unneeded stuffed animals. They are always looking for toys to keep the animals happy.

Give them to Stuffed Animals for Emergencies:

I  came across a wonderful way to ‘reuse’ those stuffed animals your kids outgrow. They will get them into the hands of kids who really need them. I don’t have any affiliation with the website, I just have WAY too many stuffed animals that I need to find new homes for. I would hate for them to end up in a landfill when there are children who could be comforted by them!

Create your very own stuffed animal chair:

Yes, you can create a chair made out of nothing but stuffed animals. Crazy, huh? Check out Marth Stewart for directions.

brown cardboard box with various stuffed animals

Donate to local emergency services organizations:

If you have too many stuffed animals in your own home, you can consider donating them to your local fire department, police station, or battered women’s shelter. There are a ton of underprivileged kids in pretty scary situations that would be comforted a great deal by a fuzzy companion at just the right moment.

Sometimes children have to be removed from their home and just having a few stuffed toys in the trunk of the police cruiser can come in handy. Stuffed animal recycling could help bring a smile to an otherwise sad face.

What to do with old stuffed animals

Turn them into a rug:  

Minus the stuffing, you can make a fuzzy rug out of recycled stuffed animals. That way, maybe your kids won’t freak over the idea of stuffed animal recycling! They will still have a lovely rug to remind them of their special plushies. Check out this stuffed animal rug and see if you could make one!

How do you keep the collection of stuffed toys under control in your child’s room? Do you hang them from nets on the ceiling? Sort through them and donate them to Good Will without asking your child’s permission?

Kids get a TON of stuffed animals throughout their childhood and you will eventually need to figure out a way to get rid of them all!  Have you found any great places that offer stuffed animal recycling near you? Recycling household items is a great way to clear your house and your mind of clutter!

8 thoughts on “Creative Recycled Stuffed Animals Tips”

  1. Thanks so much for that information! In fact, I just signed up to start a chapter in my area! I think I just may have enough stuffed animals of my own to fill up a donation box! LOL. This will also make a GREAT charity for my kids to participate in.

    Reply
  2. I wish we had something like this where I lived, we’ve resorted to doing our own local version where new babies’ parents get the “baby basket” with newborn clothes and stuff the rest of the gang of friends don’t need right now. Reuse is always better.

    This is a great concept, it encouraged reuse and gives children who need it joy in life. Thanks for sharing this!

    Reply
    • Im glad you found the article helpful. I am always amazed at how much ‘stuff’ children acquire over the years and trying to find new homes for it all is very challenging!

      Reply
  3. Thanks SO much for posting this! We just moved and have 5 big boxes of stuffed animals to get rid of. I was going to just donate them to the thrift store, but haven’t yet because I was trying to find a ‘better cause.’ This is exactly what I was looking for!

    Reply
  4. This is a great idea! My daughter loves stuffed animals (as do most children) problem don’t have enough room anymore!! It is time she needs to pick which one’s need a new home. Now we now were to send them thanks to you. I am following you btw

    Reply
  5. I was looking for images to include in my Kickstarter campaign and I was so grateful to find your blog. As a soft toy designer for 30 years plus I realize that truly this has become a problem for parents who are torn when it is time to throw them away whether they have outgrown them or they are just beyond cleaning.
    Please visit my website and blog to show you the products that I have created because of this issue.
    Thank you,

    Reply

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