Old Clothes, New Tricks

Update on Clothing Overhaul:

I went through my dresses this past week.  This, I knew, was going to be the hardest part for me.  I love dresses.  They are easy, comfortably and preeeeety.  My goal was 6 dresses.  At the end of my first survey, I had 19 in my "keep" pile.  NINETEEN.  Y'all, that's more than THREE TIMES my goal.  (don't worry, my dad is a math teacher and my brother is a physicist.  I can totally do math...)  The point is, we're going to work on this more this coming week and maybe I'll have to re-organize my percentages and give myself a few more dresses and less of something else.

In the meantime, I've scoured the interwebs and found a few websites with great ideas for ways to recycle clothing that I can't (or, for sentimental reasons, don't want to) donate.  There are some wonderful ideas here, so check these out:

My friend Rachael (who lives and loves organically in South Africa and has an amazingly creative young daughter who could make these t-shirt bags in 2 minutes) shared this site with me.

If you're like me and can't do anything that takes skill, check out these ten no-sew t-shirt up-cycle projects.  My favorite part?  NO SEW.

Two words: Free Cardigan.  This is seriously so cool.  I looooovre cardigans.

Also, Free Vest.

Grocery Bags!  Grocery bags from t-shirts.  Brilliant.  My husband and I have such a difficult time remembering to bring our reusable fabric bags to the Grocery Store, so I figure the more I have, the more I can stash in my car so I'll just have them there when I need them.  And, guys, I have lots of t-shirts.  I lived inside a theatre for twelve years of my life and have a bazillion show t-shirts to prove it.  But I hardly wear them.  What a better way to remember those shows AND help the environment?!

I'm definitely going to teach my old clothes some of these new tricks.

Bangladesh

So it's been quite a while since I wrote for this blog.  The fire breathing dragon that is Graduate School has swallowed me whole and, while it is quite nice inside the belly of a fire breathing dragon, being so placed makes it difficult to write anything other than the papers that feed the fire breathing dragon.  So, I've been negligent regarding this blog.

But negligent I will be no more!  Well, at least I'm writing this one.

Seriously, though.  The people who died and were injured and lost loved ones in the collapse of the clothing factory in Bangladesh have not left my heart.  This blog is called ColorBind, and while I've mostly written about black and white relations in the United States, this tragedy has reminded me of the ways we (all U.S. citizens) are bound to others around the world. In addition to sending prayers, money, and help in any way that I can, I have been convicted about my clothing consumption.  So, Thursday, inspired by this site (which my sister-in-law shared with me) and this blog, I decided I am going to try -- and let me restate, TRY -- to get my clothing count down to 50 items of clothing.

Here are my guidelines for cleaning out my closet (and for buying ethically-made clothes when I need new clothes):

• Think comfortably dressy
• Wear neutral colors and add color to them with scarves, cardigans, and other accessories.
• Wear clothes that fit you well.

What am I going to do with the clothes that are stained or have holes in them and so I can't donate them?  All of my ideas begin with "cut them up": 

• Use the cloth as rags
• Use the cloth to decorate (put it behind a frame, or use it to cover an old frame, use the fabric to cover an old lamp shade, etc.) 
• Use the cloth as wrapping paper
• Use the cloth as heat and ice bags (sew a little bag, fill it with rice, (regular, not instant) stitch up the open end and heat it in the microwave if you need heat, or put it in the freezer if you need ice).
• Make accessories (headbands, belts, bracelets, scarves, mittens, a hat, etc.)

On Thursday night I went through all my shirts and sweaters.  I separated them into "definitely keep", "maybe keep", "definitely donate" and "time to cut up" piles.  My "definitely keep" pile had 15 pieces of clothing ABOVE my "Shirt and Sweater" goal.  Apparently, I'm going to have keep working on this.  Anybody want to join me?  I'll periodically write updates here (unless I don't keep the fire breathing dragon happy with papers, and he tries to digest me) and I would love it if you follow them.  If only because I'm going to need some serious accountability.  This is for our fellow human beings in Bangladesh.  This is for all those living in south Asia who work ungodly hours for unconscionably small amounts of money so that I can feed my desire to look cute.  

Finally, if any of you readers out there know of places that sell ethically-made clothing, please share! There are a lot of places that make art and jewelry, but I'm hoping to find places (especially that sell online) that sell clothing, too.  Thank you.  Thank you for joining me on this journey towards (hopefully) more ethically responsible living.