Boys will be boys, and in my house, there are a lot of boys. With boys come stained clothing, holey jeans and missing socks. It’s just a fact of life.
When my little guys would ruin their sweatshirts or wear holes in their jeans, I used to discard them. I hate throwing things away, especially given how expensive clothes are, so I started thinking up ways to use them around the house to get a little more bang for my buck. I found there are lots of ways to reuse these items, so I’m not adding to the landfills and wasting resources any longer.
Missing Socks: No one knows where they go, but sooner or later, I have a pile of mismatched socks sitting on my dryer. Instead of letting them sit there, waiting for their mates to spontaneously reappear, I’ve started using them around the house. I use them for dusting, puppet play and Christmas ornament storage for when I’m packing them away.
Stained Sweatshirts and Sweatpants: If they’re soft and comfy, just not pretty, then I slip them into my kids’ pajama drawer. I’ve saved a lot of money on jammies by letting my boys wear their imperfect sweats to bed. If there are holes in them, then I cut the front panel off, including the neck hole, and I use them as “big boy” bibs when we have a meal that’s especially messy, like soup or spaghetti. I also use old sweatshirts for paint smocks. Just throw them over your kids’ clothes and they’re all covered up, but comfortable. With worn-out sweatpants, I cut them up into cleaning rags, or cut squares to put between my china plates.
Old Jeans: I use old blue jeans to patch up other pairs of play jeans, cleaning rags (they’re good for scrubbing) and pouches for ice packs to protect boo-booed skin from the ice. If I was better at sewing, I could use them to make purses, organizers or quilts. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the sewing gene.
With a little creativity, there are lots of ways to reuse my kids’ “unwearables.” Why let those expensive clothes go to waste? They may not be fit for wearing to school or to grandma’s house, but they’re still handy around my house.
Image Source: flickr.com/photos/barkbud/4371216605
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