Happy spring, everyone!
Yes, that’s wishful thinking. Unfortunately, there’s still snow on the ground over here. But, the theme of this article is in line with spring cleaning, so, just go with me, okay?
Now that we’re coming out of the hibernation of winter, it’s the perfect time to do a little spring cleaning. Clearing out old clutter can do wonders for your mental health – and closet space – but, you might be wondering: can you still do your annual spring clean now that you’re on a zero waste journey?
The short answer, is yes! You absolutely can.
Cleaning doesn’t necessarily mean throwing things in the garbage.
In today’s article, I’m going to tell you about the two best things I’ve found for clearing out old clothes. There were originally going to be more tips, but the more I thought, the more I realized all the ‘other’ things I’d come up with were really just sub-categories/off-shoots of these two things.
Donate Them
Whether it be to a charity, homeless shelter, second hand store or even a friend’s kid – there are tons of options for giving away old clothing to people who need it. (As long as they’re still in good shape, of course)
Search your local community and you may be surprised to find how many clothing donation options you have. In my own for example, the gym class I started going to has an annual clothing swap in December. People bring in their old clothes, and then are free to pick up one or two of the items left by others. It’s a great way to give your clothes to people who need it, to ask other people directly about the clothes if you’re a little unsure (or if they’re missing tags or something) and it’s a great way to meet people who have similar interests as you!
Just be sure to double check the types of clothes that are allowed and for the love of God, please remember to wash your clothes before donating them. You don’t want to be the person who brings in a sweater that smells of B.O.
Up-cycle Them
If the clothes are too far gone for donation, see if you can turn them into something else. Personally, I’ve used old jeans to make coasters and mug sleeves, used old t-shirts for rags, made a snowman Christmas decoration out of an old sock I’d lost it’s pair for years prior and even used an old blanket to make reusable pads.
There are tons of blog posts, Pinterest boards and Youtube videos you can look at to give yourself inspiration. Some of them are obviously more elaborate than others, which can be cool to watch! But a little daunting to think of yourself attempting.
But, the great thing with up-cycling is: you are in charge. You can use clothes to create basically anything if you have tape or a glue gun and a little hands-on motivation.
You also don’t need to start with something super complicated. Start with an easy thing that you will actually use – like a coaster, since that’s essentially just cutting out a circle – and see how it goes. Then, as you get better at it, you can start to create more complicated things.
And who knows? If you get really good, you might be able to start hand-making gifts for your friends! Or, hell, even sell your creations!
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