After the best of the baby clothes have been snatched up by the resale store or passed along to friends, what do you do with the rest? Here are a few ideas for donating, and for upcycling what might not be feasible to donate.

Donations

A lot of people think initially to drop a box of clothes off at the Salvation Army or Goodwill. Nothing wrong with that, but if you have the time, think about other types of nonprofits that could use the items for their clients:

• Homeless and domestic violence shelters see more children than we care to think about and will accept clothing and baby gear. In my experience, they frequently need car seats in clean and safe condition. Call the office of the shelter nearest you, they definitely have a wishlist handy you might be able to fulfill part of, and your donation is also a tax write-off.
• Your Humane Society will gladly take old towels and bed linens, no matter their condition. A great destination for an excess of receiving blankets!

Upcycling

Even after donating items, you may find you have some stragglers that no one is interested in taking off your hands. You still don’t have to hit the landfills!

• Sometimes, an item is not resale quality due to a hole or a stain. If you’re handy with a sewing needle, a cute applique can fix it right up. If you’re only handy with an iron, try Rikrak iron-on letters, hearts, or birds for a quick fix. I’ve saved all of our outgrown plain-colored onesies to personalize as baby gifts in the future.
• Sewers can also fashion T-shirts into grocery bags (how cute with onesies!).
• Re-nest posted a how-to and pattern for knitting dish scrubbers out of t-shirts. They would knit up so quickly and since it is plain knit stitch, it’s a practical project even for novice knitters.
• Crafting a Green World details how to unravel and recycle sweaters into yarn for new projects. (The photo above is my own recycled yarn project, a pair of slippers for my oldest son from an old cotton Gap sweater.)

Creative re-use ideas are popping up everywhere. What do you do with your cast off items around the house?