It's time to borrow a little cleverness from our cats – or more accurately, from their owners. We're not talking about their uncanny ability to land on their feet or their supposed nine lives. We're talking about something far more mundane, something they probably don't think is clever at all: the litter box.
That's right. It turns out cat owners are sitting on one of the best materials for drying and preserving flowers... kitty litter.
Hold on. Kitty litter? Seriously? You want us to preserve our beautiful blooms in... used kitty litter?
Gotcha. No. Absolutely not. Let's be clear: preserved flowers don't need the kind of "fertilizer" that living flowers do. Used litter is... well, let's just throw it in the trash and try not to think about it anymore.
The clean kitty litter, however – the good stuff, the unopened bag in the closet – is a handy-dandy gold mine. The whole idea behind preserving flowers is to get the moisture out, and that moisture has to go somewhere. While traditional pressing uses paper and cardboard to flatten and soak up water in a weighted press, this technique is a whole different ballgame.
Why Use Cat Litter?
The art of preserving flowers has been around for centuries, from Ancient Egyptians using dried botanicals in perfumes to Victorians pressing flowers as keepsakes to hold happy memories. Today, this craft is getting a 21st-century update by exploring new techniques and modern materials.
Using cat litter, for example, allows you to dry flowers in their perfect 3D form – a complete snapshot of what the flower looked like in its prime. These preserved blooms are perfect for all sorts of crafts, like wreaths, resin art, or handmade cards. It’s an easy, cheap, and surprisingly fast method, often taking less than a week to fully dry a flower.
But… why kitty litter?
It’s simple: cat litter is designed to clump and suck moisture out of its environment. This is exactly what you want for drying flowers, as it pulls the water out quickly before the bloom can rot. It’s also incredibly accessible. Even if you don’t own a cat, litter is a cheap and readily available material. You don't need the fancy, expensive stuff; a five-pound bag of plain ol' regular litter often costs just a few dollars. It's the perfect absorbent material for the job.
How to Dry Flowers with Cat Litter – Step by Step
- Pick out what flower you want to press. Cut this flower so it has ¼ inch of the stem leftover.
- Get an airtight container. It can either be plastic or glass, just make sure it has a lid.
- Spread ¼ inch of cat litter for your base litter. You want to make a "tomb" for your flower to dry in.
- Place your flower in the cat litter and then cover it until you can no longer see the flower.
- Cover the container and let the cat litter sit for 3-5 days. After this period, your flower should be dry and papery. It really depends on your flowers' moisture for how long you leave them in the kitty litter. Begonias can take the full 5 days, while Bells of Ireland will take 3 days. If you take your flower out of the kitty litter and it is not fully dry, do not worry! Just stick the flower back in and let it be for a few more days. You did not ruin it.
Speeding up the Process
If you can't wait 3-5 days for your flower to dry, you have the option of microwaving your flower in the cat litter. After you cover the flower with the cat litter (step 4), stick the container in the microwave on high for three minutes. Make sure all of your windows are open because you could not imagine the smell of cooked cat litter. After 3 minutes, your flower should be dry and ready to use.
