How Your Old Closet Can Find New Life

In the past, we all lived largely in a disposable society, where any materials which had outlived their usefulness to us were simply disposed of, rather than kept and re-purposed. At some point, it was recognized that this simply could not go on forever, because landfills were quickly filling up all over the globe, making it increasingly difficult to find available landfill space for discarding materials.

It is now recognized how wasteful that practice was, given the fact that so much energy, water and source materials were used in the manufacture of those goods. It’s a simple matter to set used goods aside for repurposing and reuse by others, and that simple act can save tremendously on the resources of the world. Virtually everything in your home can be recycled, including clothing, toys, purses, hats, and even stuffed animals.

All these items will find willing recipients locally and even internationally.

1. Goodwill will take any household items and clothes that even might need to be repaired or cleaned up. There is very little restriction on the items they will take.
2. Local churches may be excellent resources for local and international outreach programs. Many collect gently used children’s clothing and toys for shipping to their sister cities in third world countries.
3. NGO’s can be contacted because they are in touch worldwide with people who are in desperate need of clothes and other items. Oxfam would be a good place to start.
4. Community centers for low-income folks are always asking for donations as well as hot meals, especially now during the pandemic when people are unemployed and in dire straits. We can donate our clothing and household items to another wonderful cause.
5. Charity and resale shops are excellent places to drop off your good quality clothing. The clothes must be washed or dry cleaned and very current or fashionable. Don’t be offended if your cherished clothes are rejected. The owners know what will sell and they tend to be very selective.

This stimulates real savings and economy in a number of different ways, for instance by reducing landfill waste, lowering the overall carbon footprint, contributing to sustainability, and even promoting economic development around the world.

Which Clothing Items are Best for Making Into New Outfits?

Almost anything in your closet can be reused so that it’s part of a fresh, new look, and so you don’t have to discard it as some old, used-up piece of clothing. This may require a little re-thinking, since most of us tend to see things in just one or two ways, and don’t take the trouble to be more creative. If you actually invest some time in the process, you’ll find that you can mix-and-match many elements of your wardrobe with other pieces that you’ve never tried before, to come up with an entirely new ensemble.

For instance, you should be able to match a favorite sweater with several other leggings or trousers which you haven’t combined them with before. T-shirts are very easy to match with shorts or trousers, to come up with a new outfit. Even dresses can be combined with other shoes, scarves, jackets, cardigans, and coats to create a brand-new look.

Of course, not everything in your closet or your wardrobe can be salvaged or combined with other pieces to create new outfits. If you have items that you simply don’t like at all for some reason, or which have become worn with usage, they should be set aside for recycling. Keep in mind that someone somewhere will have an urgent need for these articles of clothing, even though you personally can’t stand the sight of them anymore.

When you’re doing your mixing and matching, it goes without saying that you should start with items that are seasonally appropriate, because that will limit the scope of your recombination efforts. In summer for instance, you should only be working with summer clothes, and not with heavy garments that you simply won’t be wearing for the next few months.

That will make your task much easier, so you won’t be frustrated by the size of the effort. Still, it’s likely to take you a couple hours to go through all the possible combinations of your wardrobe, and those items which are suitable for combining into new outfits. An image consultant can also help you with this process as she is trained to see the versatility and possibilities in all clothes.

Apps you Can Download to Help

Closetspace is a mobile app which can be used to create your own electronic wardrobe, composed of all the clothes you currently have in your closet. Once you’ve uploaded images of your clothes into the app, you’ll be able to group them by type of garment, color, and frequency of wear. That will make it simple to create various outfit combinations and lists.

Another really good app for this purpose is called Stylicious, which is very helpful for organizing your entire wardrobe by bottoms, tops, accessories, and shoes. This will make it easy for you to experiment with different combinations, and you’ll probably have a lot of fun doing so. Many people enjoy using an app called Stylebook, which allows you to create a virtual closet containing your actual clothes. Each item can be included in an appropriate category, and then you can create all kinds of different combinations, so that you have far more outfits than you ever thought of before.

You can present yourself in many different ways to the world, and by repurposing clothes from your wardrobe, you can come up with many different outfits and many different looks which are attractive and flattering.

Personal image is something which is taken very seriously by London Image Institute, where formal training is offered for those who recognize the importance of personal appearance, behavior, and communications. Contact us today if you’re interested in upgrading your own skills in these areas, or if you’re thinking about a career in image consulting.

Read more (not an affiliated link): Go Green and Downsize Your Life with a Capsule Wardrobe