What Do with Unwanted Clothes During COVID-19

Since all the thrift stores and donation centers are closed, it may be hard to know what to do with the excess amount of clothes that have been cleaned out from your wardrobe. Clothing bins have been found overflowing and dumpsters brimming with an overflow of odd and ends. If you haven’t tossed your clothing, there are clever and simple ways to rework them into useful products that will produce value and comfort in your life. You will need basic sewing skills and a couple of hours to achieve the following ideas.

1. Make a patchwork quilt

This by far the easiest way to reuse old tops that no longer fit, are out of style, torn/used or clothing that just aren’t vibing with you. Cut them up in squares, stitch them together and then throw it over your couch. You do not need to be an expert nor does it have to be perfect. Find what you have at home and follow the instructions from YouTube videos, articles, and blogs. There are many different patterns and designs you can try. I recommend you try out a patchwork quilt to get in the groove of making a quilt if it is your first time making one.

2. Make quilted pillow covers

Following the idea of making a quilted blanket, quilted pillow covers could help brighten up your living room or bedroom. This requires a little bit more sewing skills and thoughtfulness towards the intended color scheme. Consider the fabrics you will be using since you don’t want to be laying your head on anything too scratchy or worn. Make sure that the prints and aesthetic correlate so you will use the covers for years!!

3. Make socks out of old sweaters

Have you thought if you could make socks from old sweaters? Well, if not, now is the time to try. Consider grabbing your favorite fuzzy sucks and outlining its shape against the fabric you have available. Make sure to give yourself an inch or so of extra fabric to sew along the edges so that’ll fit perfectly. Try to be creative and think outside of the box. Challenge yourself to do this without instructions.

4. Thrift flip

Having clothing that you really love but that doesn’t fit quite right or has stains is always a bummer. Recreating the clothing can be as simple as creating extra pleats, shortening the hem or cutting off seams for a grungier look. Every piece of clothing will be a different scenario and different issue. It is much better to flip that shirt or pants into something you will wear more often than having it folded away into neglect.

5. Pass it down to your family and friends

By far the easiest and fastest option, if you don’t form deep, emotional connections with your clothing. It may be hard to get rid of your clothing but if you don’t have any problem with letting some pieces go, hand them down to your immediate siblings, parents or cousins. You can put all your unwanted clothing in a box that is labeled and locate it in a corner of your home. This way anyone can go in and take what they want at any time they want. In a last resort, if no one takes your old clothing, you can cut them up into rags to use to clean around the house. This may be hard for certain fabrics like denim. Try to use white, cotton fabric. This will avoid any dye in the clothing to run and to stain any counters you may be trying to clean!