Recycle, your clothes.

Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose....it's all the rage now. There is a whole movement of recycling in our nation and the world.

I was doing a bit of spring cleaning (still 2' of snow on the ground, but a girl can dream) and got into the closest. I have a wide range of sizes in there...but that's another story. It was time to buckle down and move out the old, not worn anymore, out of style (at least my style) and (how embarrassing) pieces of clothing with tags still on them that haven't been worn. I filled a whole trash bag with perfectly good clothing. My objectives were clear. Clean out my closet and donate to the local thrift store.

Dropping off my items felt great! I have a small confession though. I drop off a bag of stuff and then I go to the thrift store and buy something. But, I have removed about 30 things from my home, and only brought back two.

So, remember the old saying, "One man's trash is another man's treasure"? Well how true it is. Vintage is in. Worn or repurposed, your old items are truly treasure. Perhaps you clean out your grandparents closet and donate to the local thrift store an old petticoat, wool sweater or suit coat. Maybe these items will be snatched up just the way they are for everyday clothing or a Halloween costume but they just may be made into something else.

Have you heard of Etsy.com? It is a fantastic site featuring all sorts of great artsy, fantastically creative, hand crafted items. Their slogan is : Your Place To Buy And Sell All Things Homemade. I typed "recycled" into the search bar and yielded more than 75,000 results. Tote bags made from men's suits, cute flower pins made from felted pieces of sweaters, ballgown made of old neckties (they are gorgeous!), necklaces made from Scrabble game pieces, a dress sewn from piece of quilt! Take a look for yourself at ETSY

If you're thinking of Spring cleaning and not sure what to do about those stuffed closest, consider donating to your local thrift store or maybe tackle a super crafty project of your own.