Ten Ways to Reuse Clothes

photo by Fleur Suijten

You finally cleaned out your closet and drawers and discovered you have a pile of clothes you never wear or are worn out. Instead of throwing them away, try the following ideas to reuse your clothes.

1. Remove the buttons from shirts to use as replacement buttons for other clothes or to use for crafts. Keep the buttons in a jar for crafts or sort them by size and color for easy access when you need to find a replacement button.
2. Tear up stained and holey clothes to use as cleaning rags. Test different fabrics; some leave lots of lint and others are not good for cleaning. Regular cotton works best.
3. Use nice pieces of fabric and clothes with fun patterns for crafts.
4. Cut cotton t-shirts into strips to turn into upcycled headbands, scarves, or bracelets.
5. If you are good at sewing, use old clothes that don’t fit you anymore to make clothes for little children or for their dolls. You can also use old baby and kid clothes to dress stuffed animals.
6. Sew old ties together to make a skirt or use a tie as a fashionable belt, headband, or other accessory.
7. Put clothes in a costume box for Halloween and costume parties or a dress-up box for your kids to play with. You can also put in shoes, hats, jewelry, and other accessories.
8. Keep clothes you never wear but still fit you and put them in an emergency kit. If an emergency happens, you will have clothes to wear. Be sure to include clothes for different seasons and weather conditions.
9. Wear stained and holey clothes for painting, gardening, and other dirty work. Keep reusing them or throw them away afterward.
10. Donate to charity, sell, or pass along whatever clothes you can’t reuse but can still be worn.