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Clothes

What to do with Clothes you Don’t Want Anymore

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Clothes

At some point in time there will be times when you will have a bunch of clothes that you can no longer wear. This may be due to you gaining weight or hopefully because you lost a bunch. Whatever the case may be what the heck are you supposed to do with all of those unwearable clothes you will now have?

Believe it or not there are several things that you can do with clothes that you can no longer wear, here are just a few:

•    Donate them: Of course the easiest thing to do with all of your unwanted clothing is to donate them. Your local Good Will donation center will be more than happy to accept your unwanted clothes. This is great because they then sell them at really cheap prices to anyone in need of clothing. What’s even better is that they will give you a receipt with an approximate value of the clothes you donate that you can then write off on your taxes. Talk about a win, win situation.
•    Exchange them: There are many websites now that are set up specifically for clothing exchanges. What you do is find someone with clothes that no longer fit them or that they no longer want and see if they are interested in any of your unused clothing. If they are then you can set up an exchange and each of you will end up with a new set of clothes.
•    Sell them to a vintage shop: If your clothes are old enough you can actually make a little bit of money with them by selling them to a vintage shop. You won’t make a killing, but something is better than nothing.
•    Have a yard sale: You can also have a yard sale and sell your unused clothing. Once again, you won’t get rich, but a few dollars is better than no dollars. Besides you can also sell some other stuff you have lying around the house. Use the proceeds and treat yourself to some new clothing.
•    Go eBaying: If your unused clothes are designer, check out eBay before you do anything else. You might be surprised at the amount of money you can make by selling some used clothes that are in good shape. Really when you think about it makes sense. The people buying your clothes are getting brand names at discount prices and if they are buying something like your jeans then they will come pre-broken in.
•    Upcycle them: If you end up with clothes that are too tattered to donate or sell then upcycle them. Upcycling is where you take something of no use and use it for something else. In other words, you turn it into something useful. For example, you can tear up an old cotton shirt and use it for rags when you detail your car. There are many websites now that are packed with ideas on upcycling so go nuts with it.

The last thing you should do with clothing that you no longer wear is throw it away. If you don’t want to deal with selling it, donate it. Remember, just because the clothing no longer suites your needs doesn’t mean that it won’t suite somebody else’s.

Upcycling clothes

Guide to Upcycling Clothing – Making something New from Something Old

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Upcycling clothes

Every year our planet produces countless tons of garbage. Somewhere in those tons a good portion of it is old clothing. While many are very good about taking their unwanted clothing to their local Good Will, others simply discard them with the rest of the household trash. Enter the latest craze known as upcycling.

The term ‘upcycling’ was coined by the authors of the book Cradle to Cradle; Remaking the Way We Make Things, William McDonough and Michael Braungart and essentially means taking something that was meant for the landfill and turning it into something totally new and usable. This will of course reduce waste and be better for the world in which we live.

The great thing with upcycling clothing is that you are giving your old garments a whole new purpose in life. After they have covered you body for many months or years, it doesn’t mean their usefulness is done. Of course it is always nice to donate some clothing, but many times clothing can get torn, stained, or is just un-wearable and these garments are the perfect candidates for upcycling.

Here are some easy and great ways you can get new use out of your old cloths:

•    Wrapping presents: The oriental community has practiced this for some time now. Instead of using costly wrapping paper, which accounts for many trees being cut down, try using some old clothing. Old silk shirts or any other kind of softer material can be cut up to make a unique and eco-friendly wrap that will have your friends and family dazzle in delight.
•    Quilts: Old jeans are best for this but really any material can be used. If you are handy with the needle, you can make some really unique pieces. If you are not handy with the needle, it is not all that hard to learn how to be. Who knows, you may get a fun new hobby out of the deal.
•    Rags for your car: Nothing makes for a nicer rag when detailing your car like an old cotton shirt. The nice thing about using an old shirt for rags is that you can cut the shirt up into various sizes and accomplish different task with them. These rags can also be washed and used again and again. When they are too harsh to use for detailing your car, upcycle them again and use them when performing tasks like checking the oil level in your car or cleaning up big messes like spilled oil or other types of fluids.
•    Give new life to old cloths: If you have kids, this one is especially fun. You can take old tattered clothing and have a day where you cut and sew and paste and before you know it, you will have a whole bunch of new and unique cloths for your kids to wear that they designed. Who knows, your kids might even start a new trend at school.

The limits to upcycling clothing are endless and really only stop with your imagination. Upcycling is not only good for the environment, but it can be fun as well. Everything deserves a second chance; even old cloths.