What to Do With Your Old Clothes

Many of us find that we have items in our wardrobes that we no longer wear or no longer fit. These clothes can often sit there for a while before you decide to take action and do a wardrobe clear-out. In this article, we have several ideas to help you decide the best thing to do with your old clothes.

Friends and family swap

Hosting friends and family clothing swaps is a great way to give your old clothes to a new owner. Invite your friends and family for a get-together and tell them to bring any old clothes they no longer wear or items that no longer fit. When organising this event, make sure everyone is committed and brings over several items to donate to the swap. Also, consider the different sizes and shapes of your friends and family and how this will work with a clothing swap. You can all enjoy going through all the clothing together and finding new things for your wardrobe.

Donate your clothing 

There are many charity shops where you can donate clothing you no longer need or wear. The charity shops will wash the items and display them in the shop for other people to purchase. The money they make from selling your clothing will go towards the great work the charity does for their cause. When donating to charity shops, make sure you avoid giving anything that has rips or stains, and always check the pockets of every garment before donating it to the store. 

Sell your clothing

There are many websites and apps that allow you to list clothing items for sale easily. This is perfect for clothing that you’ve paid a high price for and is sought after by other people. You can make a bit of money on the side to help pay for things you need. When listing clothing, look at the descriptions other people use and always take several photos of the item and any issues on the garment. In addition, it can be a good idea to work out your postage costs first; sending a navy cashmere jumper in the post will cost much less than a pair of winter boots. You don’t want to shortchange yourself on the postage costs, so it's best to work these out in advance.

Create new items

If you’re good at sewing, you can use your old clothing to create new things for your wardrobe. Perhaps you have a dress that’s too long and boring; cut off the top half, add in a waistband, and you’ve got yourself a new skirt. This is just one example of how you can create new clothing items from old garments. There are many different video tutorials online that can help you with this process. They will show you how to transform garments into new items you want to wear. It doesn’t necessarily need to be new clothing items you produce; you can also make pillowcases, toys and decorations from old clothing. For those that love to craft, this is a great way to reuse old items that you no longer need. 

Clothing banks

Another option for donating your clothes is to use clothing banks; these are placed in many different locations around the world. They’re easy to use; you simply post your clothing through the door of the bank. When you donate to clothing banks, your items are used slightly differently; any poor-quality items will be recycled or used to make rags or insulation. Other better-quality items will go to one of the three places. The first is charity shops, as mentioned previously in this article. The second is direct donations to people in need through places such as food banks. And finally, many items of clothing get sent internationally to help those in need in other countries. Here you can find a list of clothing banks near your location.

There are many options for clearing out your wardrobe and getting rid of your old clothing. You should avoid putting old clothing in your bin as they will end up in landfill sites and add to the pollution issue the planet is already facing. There are plenty more easy options to help other people and make yourself some money.