Every home used to have a rag bag - a bag or box that held odd scraps of material saved from clothing or linens that had worn out. Sometimes there was enough to make an apron or a piece of child's clothing, but more often, the pieces were too small to be used alone. Patchwork material and quilts were made from these pieces, but they were used for something else just as important. Rags. Real rags.

When material became too worn to be used for cleaning they were sent to the rag merchant who recycled them or sold them for recycling into new material. Culturally and economically, that was a long time ago, but historically it was just a century or so ago - not long at all.

Now, as soon as clothing and linens begin to show a bit of wear or sometimes just because they're "out of style," they're tossed into the garbage, or at best, into the bag for the thrift store. Most clothing never has a chance to become well used, much less a rag.

Mass consumerism, advertising run rampant and a fake prosperity has brought on the demise of the humble, yet ultimately practical and frugal, rag.

Why do I lament it so?

It's very sensible and logical, practical and wise to take a piece of material from a worn out shirt or pair of pants, hem it and wash dishes with it. In many places, dish cloths used to be called dish rags. Remember that.

Those same people called wash cloths, wash rags. And dust cloths were dust rags. And cleaning cloths were cleaning rags. Mop rags were really rags inserted into a mop handle. None of these things cost a penny. How much do you spend on wash cloths and dish cloths and dust cloths and mops and cleaning cloths over a year's time? Why?

Worn out towels make excellent wash cloths. All you have to do is hem them and if you have a sewing machine with a zigzag stitch, that's very simple. Use another wash cloth for a pattern if you need to. Make dish cloths the same way (but color code them so you don't shower with the dishcloth!).

Soft, worn cotton or flannel makes the best dust cloths possible, and mop rags - excuse me, mopheads can be nothing more than a few absorbent, stained or frayed rags clamped together. Old fashioned, metal clamp type mops are harder to find now, but they're out there if you look for them, usually in janitor supply stores. When you find one, grab it and you will never have to buy another mophead made of twisted cotton that comes apart the minute it gets wet or a sponge that moves dirt around or one of those fancy new mop "systems" that cost you over and over and over again...

But back to the rag bag.

Besides cleaning rags of various kinds, the rag bag holds material enough for napkins, rugs, quilts and patchwork to make anything else you might need. How about some patchwork curtains? Or a table cloth? Or a shirt or a skirt?

There are many ways to make rag rugs, from knitting and crocheting to weaving and braiding. Patchwork material, made by sewing squares or other shapes together to make one large piece of material, can be used for anything. The seams will be on the backside of course, but so are the other seams on a shirt or whatever you want to make. Make shirts, skirts, pillow covers or cases, kitchen curtains, potholders, tablecloths, napkins, or pajamas from it. That's very frugal and real recycling.

While you're making, hem a few pieces for shop rags. Rags that won't make good cleaning cloths can be put aside for one time uses like grease and yucky stuff you'd otherwise use paper towels for.

With all these uses, why would you throw away old clothes or rags? Get the most use from them to keep your home clean and decorated, sew for yourself or others and substitute for throwaways - all for free. Now, that's frugal.