Spring in the air

[abendgules]

Today is the sunniest of a run of mild and springlike days we've had this week. That, and the time change, mean my days have felt noticeably birghter and more pleasant.

After 2 months of relative inactivity, I'm hoping for a bit of spring cleaning. Thanks to my tricksy and stubborn chest pain from the cough, I still have to lift and carry and pull things carefully, so vacuuming is pursued only with care.

Inspired by purple_peril, I'm also hoping for some pre-emptive strike decluttering: sorting books, clothes and maybe even Piles of Important Paper - though that last bit might just be crazy talk. 

Clearing the kitchen table so I can use the sewing machine is always a useful incentive. I have hopes of assembling the back panel of the patchwork quilt from linen scraps, to push along that project. It's been stalled while I've been sick, so I thought I'd tackle it from another angle.

Does anyone have suggestions for useful, responsible disposal of clothes that are beyond charity use? 

I'm thinking of undies, and SCA t-shirts that I'm not happy passing on. They're collecting faster than I realized. I just don't need that many dusters and rags. 

Besides, keeping dusters would suggest that I dust, and that's just plain misleading :-).

Comments

[thorngrove.livejournal.com]

Haha! I'm not the only one bitten with the spring cleaning bug! My goal is to set up a craft desk in my lounge so I don't have to use the foldout table for that any longer. And destash. The former will be easier methinks...

Cut them into strips and use them for stuffing? Or rag rugs? Or donate them to the local animal refuge for bedding?
LOL! Ditto on the dusting thing.

Have a good weekend. :-)

[ethnowoman.livejournal.com]

I use mine for pet bedding... But I was going to suggest rag rugs also. I love rag rugs but don't know how to make them.

[white-dandelion.livejournal.com]

SCA T-shirts... you can cut out the graphics and make a T-shirt Quilt. There are plenty of instructions online. I'm doing one for my mother-in-law out of her sports t-shirts.

[sismith42.livejournal.com]

similar to the quilt-thing: you could use the tshirts to make bags.

the other thoughts are: stuffing things (quilt batting, perhaps?) and, how do you feel about reusable menstral pads...?

[bend-gules.livejournal.com]

I've thought of the quilt batting, but don't really want a cotton-stuffed quilt - at least, not cotton that's been sweated into for years already. I'm pretty hard on my t-shirts before I part with them!
Hadn't thought of pads. I've used a menstrual cup for 15+ years, so I don't use many, thankfully. But it's a thought - there must be instructions somewhere.

[tyghra.livejournal.com]

In Australia, when clothing is thrown into the charity bins, they will automatically do a cull for you. The good stuff gets resold, the 'beyond resale' stash gets divided into type of material and resold to manufacturers by the sackful. At least I felt I was putting money towards a good cause when buying our rags for the sign shop I used to co-own.

You could probably just ring up the charities and find out which one does this if you're seeking instant banishment rather than holding on for making rag rugs (which I also love).