Reusing Old Clothes

Today's tip might seem a bit 'odd', however, when we think about it, how much cloth material so we actually have laying around the house, not being used, collecting dust (and possibly moths) only because we've got one excuse or another for not throwing it out. So here are some handy duty ways that you can reuse old clothing (or towels, or sheets, or neck ties, or bathrobes....etc) to make wonderful and nice new items for your home :)

pssst....you don't have to have a lot of sewing knowledge to do this. I have massive Arthritis in my fingers that makes it near impossible for me to hold a needle, much less put thread into it.

1. Old Shirts and blouses - Tuck the sleeves, collar and bottom of the shirts inside so that the shirt is the shape of a rectangle or square. Sew up the edges....instant toss pillow.

2. Old Sweaters - Same suggestion as the 'old shirts'. Also, you can use sweaters to recover older worn down toss pillows using the same method. Just stuff the pillow into the sweater and sew the sweater's edges up.

3. Towels - Depending on their condition, these can be reused for many things. Good towels that have maybe just a rip or two in certain areas can be clipped and reused for beach bags (fold in half, sew 3 sides, add a braided terry cloth handle...), Sunglasses case (same idea, sans the handle), Flip flops case for your beach bag (same idea as towel bag)...kid's bath toy basket ...etc. Older towels can be clipped up and reused as hand rags (these come in super handy for the trunk of your car and in the garage and/or basement)

4. Neck Ties - We all know that neck ties are like any other article of clothing. They go 'in' and 'out' with fashion trends. So if there are a lot of neck ties laying around the house, braid them together and make a decorative throw rug (if you've got ALOT), or, make nice place mats to put your plants on, or a cute door pull that you decorate with items to match the tie....etc. (Ties braid very easily and are about 2 1/2 to 3 feet in length on average)

5. Jeans - Cut the legs off and reuse as shorts. Cut the legs off, tuck in the remainder material to the 'crotch' area, sew up and make a neck pillow...or, add a handle and a snap, button or set of ribbon ties and make a cute denim purse. Or, like I did, collect a whole ton of old jeans and make a quilt. (see pictures below)

By the way, like I said earlier, I have massive Arthritis in my hands. This quilt is NOT sewn, and has NO batting or backing on it. I used a stapler and about 2 boxes of regular office staples. I use it as a decorative toss, or a wall hanging.

The idea is to get yourself into the habit of looking at a piece of clothing before you throw it out. Sheets can be stripped into thin lengths, braided together and made into toss rugs (this is how a lot of those really nice braided rugs we see are made). Kids clothes that they no longer wear and are possibly slightly stained, can be cut up and made into a keepsake quilt, stuffed sachets for kids closets and drawers...even into Christmas stockings. (I made my kids Christmas stockings out of their old clothes, and they absolutely LOVE them. Everytime they see these, they remember 'the good old days').