April 20, 2011

I Like Earth *Clothing Recycle*

Today is babysister's birthday.

Babysister LOVES clothes. So in honor of her birthday today's I Like Earth tip is going to be around Clothing Recycling.  We all know about regular recycling, but how about clothing?

  • Socks & T-shirts~ Got Holes?  Use your yucky socks that you were just going to throw away as a duster. Slip it over your hand and go to town. I do this all the time. Then shake it outside and throw it in the wash. Old, ratty t-shirts make great rags to clean up with.  I used about a bazillion last summer when remodeling the house.
  • Shrinking sleeves? Cut them off!~ My longs arms give me issues sometimes. Especially when sweatshirts and shirt sleeves SHRINK. UGH.  So cut them off.  See...
  • Jeans~ Make one of those dang cute jeans blankets.  Keep all your old crappy jeans, cut them in to squares, sew together with a heavy denim needle (backing could be flannel) and there you have it... an outdoor blanket that is super dooper durable.
  • REFASHION, REFASHION, REFASHION~ Love that t-shirt?  Got a lot of pink that no longer fits? Make something else out of it!  Ashley at Lil' Blue Boo has the cutest pattern for a pieced tunic. I cannot wait to make it! She is a rad seamstress. Just recently I used some old curtains to make pillow covers. If you think you can use the fabric later, keep it. 

And if all else fails you can ALWAYS donate your gently worn clothing and shoes to many local agencies... Deseret Industries, The Road Home, YWCA.  Or you think your stuff is really good... SELL IT.  Ebay, Craigslist, Smashion, or go directly to consignment stores and they will pay you CASH (not much, but enough to buy a Diet Coke and a smile).

To all my FASHIONISTAS... YOU too can save the earth!

3 comments:

Tarika said...

oooh! i want to make one of these tunics too! I have tons of older t-shirts that I have been wanting to get rid of. Great idea!

Holly said...

Yay for babysisters birthday!!

Princess said...

I make pillow cases out of a ton of my old clothes. It makes for a lot of different patterns and textures. They don't match, but that is part of what I love about them! Thanks for the tips! Any trips to Vegas soon?