12 Ways To Use Old Clothes
We all have old clothes, and most of us often feel very attached to them to throw them away ruthlessly. We want to keep those clothes with us for as long as we can, using them in someway or the other. While some of your clothes can be used by mixing and matching with other clothes and can be altered to create new looks and outfits, other faded and completely worn out clothes can’t be saved for wearing again. So then what do you do with that batch of old clothes that can’t be worn anymore?
In some places, there is also an issue with waste disposal, so throwing your clothes in the garbage may not turn out to be the best idea exactly. However, repurposing might just be the solution for you. We’ve listed here interesting ways in which you can use all kinds of old clothes.
1. Donate
That’s one of the easiest things to do, and a noble one too! You can simply donate your old clothes (which are somewhat in decent condition) to an orphanage or other places where such things are welcome. It’s better than throwing the clothes away or doing something else that might make them unusable.
2. Create Dusting Cloths
Absolutely faded and worn out clothes can be cut into pieces to work as dusting cloths for you. These worn out cloth pieces are the best to catch dirt, and also save you a lot of money on buying new dusting cloths specially from the market.
3. Make a Grocery Bag
Just a little cutting and sewing here and there, and old t-shirts can be turned into reusable grocery bags. This is a good move to save paper and contribute towards saving trees and the environment. Plus, these bags would be much more durable than paper or plastic bags.
4. Make Sweater Mittens
Old sweaters can easily be cut out in the shape and size of your hands to then sew into sweater mittens. This way, you could get plenty of new ones in your collection without having to spend any extra money.
5. Make rugs or table cloths
Plenty of patterned old clothes can be cut into patches, which can then be joined together to create rugs, tablecloths, runners, throws etc. These would become interesting home décor elements for you, adding color and variety to the space. In fact, if you go to purchase rag rugs in the market these days, they are very expensive, and you could simply create them at home for free!
6. Make scarves
Old pajamas can be cut down to use one leg of them as a nice scarf. Printed pajamas are the best for this kind of repurposing, and you can actually get two scarves from one pajama, leaving you with one to gift to someone!
7. Cover cracks and vents
In winters, you can use old clothes to stuff in cracks and vents, in order to keep the cold at bay and make the heating system at home more effective. You can also do this during the rainy season to keep the water out.
8. Make Patches
Take all your printed old clothes and cut patches from them in interesting shapes. These can then be used to redesign a plain t-shirt or to cover up a hole or stain on a pair of jeans. Patches are instant savers and work as good fixes for all kinds of damaged clothes.
9. Make Toys
Kids love the sock toy! And all you need for that is a pair of old socks. You can also use old sweaters, mufflers and t-shirts to make soft toys, with just a little stuffing of cotton or other waste pieces of cloth. Add a few buttons for decoration to make the eyes, nose etc. Then give the toy a name, and your kid will be more than happy with a new customized toy!
10. Dye them!
Some of your old clothes can definitely be used again if you simply dye them into a new color. This is especially true for clothes that have gotten stained with something or have developed small fade marks on them. Dye them into a darker color, and they will be as good as new to wear again.
11. Cover Books
All stores these days are filled with handmade diaries and photo albums that have cloth covers on them. These cloth covers are actually made from old or leftover pieces of cloth sewn together in an interesting manner. You too can do the same for all your photo albums and books in the house with your old clothes. These cloth covers are very durable, and make your books look very interesting too.
12. Make a lampshade
Old clothes can also be used to create interesting designs of lampshades. Of course, take a fabric that isn’t flammable and install a low watt bulb inside the lamp.
When segregating old clothes, try and store similar fabrics together for easier access, so that when you want to repurpose them, you know whether you have enough of the same type of fabric or not. That will help you to think creatively and come up with new things on what to do with the old clothes. If you are a little smart and proactive, the possibilities of reusing old clothes are simply endless!
