Draven Jackson
Blogger | Teacher
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Fall is full of new and exciting fun fashion trends but trying to keep up with your child’s clothing evolution can be tricky and expensive. A coat or dress that fit months ago may be too small now, and the sweaters you bought just last year may not be what’s in “style” anymore.
However, the old fall clothes can start to pile up and it feels like such a waste getting rid of all the barely worn outfits. So how can you reuse and recycle your child’s outgrown fall clothes in order to conserve both the environment and your wallet? Here are some of our favorite ways to turn old, outgrown fall clothes into something fresh and new!
Donate Them!
One great way to get rid of old fall clothes without being wasteful? Donate them! Not only is this environmentally helpful – it’s always good to reduce your carbon footprint – but it can also help families in need find decent, barely worn fall clothes at an affordable price.
As far as helping your financial situation, consider looking for new fall clothes for you and your little one at the thrift store after you donate! There’s always the possibility you’ll come across other hand-me-down goods that will be of equal quality to the ones you’d find in a department store at a quarter of the price.
Make Them into Quilts!
One way my mom made use of outgrown fall clothes was by sewing handmade quilts out of my old outfits. My nerdy t-shirt quilt is still one of my favorite gifts from her because it allowed me to not only keep some of my favorite shirts, but it was also something I knew she spent a lot of time and effort to make.
Not every clothing item will work for a quilt, but you’d be surprised at what you can repurpose for your new comfy throw. I’ve seen t-shirt quilts, flannel shirt quilts, even denim pants quilts!
Personally, I think a comfy sweater quilt would be the softest and warmest blanket I could ever own, but that’s just me.
Now, I am by no means a quilting expert, nor will I pretend that I would know what I was doing. But I do know there are plenty of videos and books out there for those newbies looking to make one of their own, and having watched my mom learn through them I can say that it’s a skill that most crafters can pick up without too much trouble.
So, when the time comes to get rid of the old, outgrown fall clothes, keep the items that you know would make a good quilt. Once you have enough collected over time, it’s time to get crafty and start quilting!
Make Them into Reusable Totes!
Don’t want to wait to collect enough fall items to make a quilt but still want to reuse those old fall clothes? No problem! Reusable totes are a great way to refurbish your old clothes without having to wait around for enough sweaters or t-shirts to be outgrown.
Making a reusable tote from your old shirts, sweaters, and jackets is good for the environment in multiple ways, from reducing the carbon waste collected from thrown out clothes to keeping plastic out of the oceans with new, reusable grocery bags. Plus, they’re super cute and stylish – I mean, come on, who doesn’t love a good tote bag?
And like with quilts, there are plenty of demo videos and sewing patterns that can be found online that make creating a tote bag super easy and fun. So anytime a shirt or sweater gets tossed your way by kids who can’t wear them anymore, take a minute to see if you could recycle it into a cute tote. All the other moms will be super impressed with your crafting skills and may even ask you for one of their own!
Save Them for Future Little Ones!
One great way to reuse and recycle old fall clothes – especially items that may have cost a pretty penny like jackets, coats, and dresses – is by saving them for future little ones to wear and grow into.
Obviously, this works best if you know you’re going to have more children, but it’s never a bad idea to save some of the more durable and expensive items for future babies in your family, whether they are children of your own or nieces, nephews, and cousins.
For little ones, fashion and what’s in “style” aren’t necessarily the biggest factors when it comes to their clothes. They’re much more concerned with how well they can run and play in their clothes instead of whether it’s what the cool girl on Instagram wore last week.
By keeping the older child’s items to use as hand-me-downs, you can save your wallet a few extra dollars to use for when they finally come into their own style and need something more catered to their aesthetic choices.
Not to mention, by donating your big-ticket fall clothes to other new parents in your family, you help them save money on expensive clothing items that their babies and toddlers will outgrow in a matter of months.
They’ll be happy for the help, you’ll be happy they’re happy and your child’s closet is free from outgrown clothes, and all the children will be happy because now they can play and don’t have to stand around bored in a department store. It’s a win, win, win!
Don’t Be Afraid to Get Creative!
There are so many great ways out there to reuse, reduce, and recycle your and your child’s old fall clothes, so find the way that best fits your wants, needs, and crafting skills, and don’t be afraid to get creative.
Especially if you decide to reuse the old fall clothes for crafting plans, remember: you’ve already decided that these are clothing items you don’t need to keep around. So don’t be afraid to make some mistakes in order to find a great new way to reuse all the other clothes they’re going to outgrow in the future.
Do you know of other ways to reuse and recycles old fall clothes? Tell us in the comments!
About Draven Jackson
Draven is an avid writer and reader who enjoys sharing her opinions on movies, books, and music with the rest of the world. She will soon be working as a teacher in Japan and hopes to use her experience to connect with other teachers and students around the globe. Draven spends most of her time at home with her family, her dogs, and her ferret.
To see more, view all posts by Draven Jackson here.
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