When most people think of bean bag chairs, they picture brightly colored squares filled with polystyrene beads. This is usually the most widely available bean bag chair type and is often the most suitable to use when you have children.
However, these bean bags can also be the most prone to tearing, and, if you are a parent, you may be fed up with having to clean up those tiny white balls.
In recent times, many people have been looking for ways to stuff bean bags with more eco-friendly and less messy options, which make repairs easier and less expensive. Great.
So, whether you are making one from scratch, or are simply restuffing one, what are some of the other stuffing materials that you can use?
Shopping Bags
The days of buying plastic bags at the grocery store are fading, with more people turning their attention to using reusable options. So, what do you do with all those spare plastic bags?
Well, you can either cut them into strips and make plarn with them (a kind of plastic yarn for knitting), or you can use them to stuff your bean bag chairs. Even lovesac bean bags can be stuffed with plastic bags and, if they leak, there won’t be a mass spilling of plastic balls everywhere.
Organic Material
When it comes to stuffing a bean bag with organic material, you need to be careful. If you have someone in the home who has allergies, you will want to avoid materials such as sheep’s wool. And, if you opt for stuffing your bean bag with truly organic options like leaves, be aware that over time, these will break down.
In most cases, it is best to stuff a bean bag with wool or softwood fibers.
Eco Beans
Yes, you can now buy eco beans.
These are perfect for stuffing a bean bag and, unlike the polystyrene balls that were mentioned earlier, these are sustainably sourced and derived from plant materials. These can be purchased online and can last for years.
Beans
There is a reason they are called bean bags.
While most people think of baked beans when they hear the word ‘bean,’ when it comes to stuffing bean bags, cooked or baked beans are probably going to be messy and unsuitable. If you are looking to stuff a bean bag chair with beans, make sure they are dried and cleaned. This can be a pricey option, so many people pair it with stuffing the bag with other filling materials, which are more readily available.
Rice
One of the more affordable materials that is widely available is rice.
Much like the beans, make sure you don’t cook them. Rice has the added advantage of being great as a heated material for sore muscles. While you won’t be able to stuff an entire bag into the microwave to heat it up, you can use this material to fill up a small pillow. That way, if you have back pain or neck pain, simply heat it up and apply it to the area.
