Practical Uses for Used Clothing

I’m not sure about you, but I get awful tired of cleaning out the closets every year. I know this is just part of life, especially for those of us with growing kids, but I HATE it! Cleaning out the closets isn’t the hard part…it’s deciding what to do with the clothing that is getting removed from the closets. We all know how easy it is to get stuck with a pile of clothing we don’t know what to do with. Well, since spring is almost here I thought it would be appropriate to write a blog giving practical uses for used clothing.

• Riches to Rags – Most of the old clothing I find myself stuck with are old t-shirts that my kids, husband or even I don’t care to wear anymore. If it’s a shirt that came from my husband or I it’s probably because the shirt has gotten a hole in it or something because we both get attached to our t-shirts! For these old shirts and other items like them, I cut them up and make rags out of them. Did you know old t-shirts make amazing dust rags? They are actually my favorite dust rags to use because they don’t leave any type of “lint” behind like a lot of the store bought rags.
• Play Clothes – For the kids, some of the things I remove from their closets get taken out because they just don’t wear them out much. It’s not necessarily that they’ve outgrown the clothes but they just aren’t considered “school worthy.” Some of these clothes go from the closet rack to the dresser drawer. The clothes that are folded in the dresser are for the kids (keep in mind I have two boys) to wear outside to play in. I don’t care if these clothes get grass stains or mud on them or even a hole. They are strictly for playing outside at home in!
• Dress Up – If you have girls at home, then you may find yourself with a lot of old dresses. A lot of little girls like to play dress up from time to time, especially when they have friends over. You may want to consider putting these dresses (as long as they are still semi-fitting) in a trunk along with some of your old jewelry, shoes and handbags.
• Second Hand Store – Finally, if I’m left with clothing that I’m not going to make rags out of, use for play clothes or store for later, I will sort through the clothes and take the not-so-worn items to the second hand store. There is always going to be someone out there who will be delighted to wear the items my family doesn’t need any longer. The items that I have that are well worn that won’t make good rags usually end up in the dumpster.