My parents are huge recyclers of clothes as I find some of my neighbors wearing clothes I gave my mother! I went to see a neighbor and thought I had a cardigan like that and remembered I gave it to my mother who must have then given it to her! Anything they can sell, they take to the charity shop or goodwill though. I'm sure everyone uses old t-shirts for rags too, but underwear? I would just throw old underwear away, but my parents will still use them as rags!!! I draw the line at that, only socks and t-shirts as rags.
It's pretty cool that your parents don't waste anything. Being thrifty is an admirable quality. There are too many useful items that end up in landfills. I wish that I was one of those people who know how to crochet old rags into rag rugs and potholders. That seems like a good way to turn old rags into something useful.
It's sad but I have to admit I have cut up my son's underwear and used them as rags. I will tell you what I used them for and it might not sound so bad. I used them to clean the first coat of grease off of the oven. It just seemed perfect because I don't feel the need to wash them and reuse the rag as I do with some because they are good rags, absorbent. So, the old worn out underwear is then thrown away,done deal. Oh...I cut the elastic off and primarily use the leg area. Is that sad? lol
Yeah I always have a big plastic bag full of clothes ready to use for anything else besides wearing them. Mostly I use shirts and trousers for cleaning up wet spills of any type like water, juice, soda, milk, eggs, oil, etc., but 95% of the time I use cotton fabric clothes. I also keep unused clothes for Halloween, either for costumes or scare-crow mannequins. At times, I use unused cotton shirts to wash my dirty walls with a little bit of soap, but I do this only when it's looking very dirty or once a year. Sometimes, I make char clothes out of cotton shirts, which I place these pieces into a tin can to use as a quick fire starter when I'm outdoors.
I do recycle clothes. When I couldn't give them away, when they are no longer usable, I don't just throw them, I make them as rags. Why would I throw them if I know I could still use them with something else, right? After all, rags are items that still cost a little pricey. Recycling them is not just about saving money, it's also a out reducing the trash in the world.
I have never thought about using old underwear. The thought seems kind of very gross. I am not sure I am really interested to do such a thing at all.
I don't recycle clothes usually, pretty much like you said I only recycle some t-shirts for cleaning rags, but that's pretty much it. When the clothes are too old what can I do? They are simply not wearable and I throw them away. With kids it's different, I pass them from the older to the younger of course.
I only use shirts especially if I'm going to use it to wipe somewhere that will have contact with food like kitchen or dining tables. I'm sure just a wash would make underwear or socks as sanitary as any other clothing item but I just would never be able to get over the psychological aspect of it.
I agree. There's always that thought at the back of your mind . . . underwear? No sir. I also draw a line somewhere when it comes to recycling. Use old t-shirts as rags, make tank-tops, shorts from pants, mops, etc from old clothes that can't be re-purposed but that's how far I'd go. Recycle old briefs? Not likely.
Because of how the economy is nowadays, and the continuous rise in the prices of essentials like food, water, gas, and clothes, I believe that everyone should start recycling. That's why I admire your parents because they practice recycling and in some way, they also contribute to the decrease of wastes in our planet. Recycling has a lot of positive impacts to every people living in this world which is why everybody should start doing it. In my case, I use old shirts as room decorations and you can easily find do-it-yourself instructions online on how to turn your old shirts into works of art. I suggest that you give Pinterest a visit if you want to recycle old clothes and make an artwork out of them.
I think its great and saves money. It is less money that you would have to pay caring for them in a nursing home later on. (Though hopefully that won't ever happen) I also think its wonderful that they donate it to charity shops instead of selling it. Many charities rely tremendously on the proceeds to keep their agency going.
Yes, I'm a huge fan of this and so are my parents and other members of the family. We very rarely throw anything away. I usually give my sisters my clothes and vice versa, we're roughly the same size. We all give stuff we don't need to our house help as they can ALWAYS use things either for themselves or for their children. If some of the stuff is still in good condition, I'll also give some to charity. But Theo I agree with you, I draw the line at underwear, that has to stop with me. I usually burn it.
My grandparents used to use their old underwear as rags. Most of the time my grandpa had them out in the garage for when he was staining wood on one of his projects, but occasionally they'd make it into the household chore bucket too. I have to say, I was pretty uncomfortable when I was helping clean their house and I had to dust the furniture using a cut up pair of his tighty-whiteys! Mostly I just use old t-shirts as rags now.
I like recycling clothes into new items such as shopping bags, purses or another piece of clothing. You can also reuse old clothes and make blankets for the homeless or pets. I was brought up shopping at thrift stores and just love the idea of reusing a piece of clothing. Friends or family that are giving away bags of clothing are the best, you can keep what you like, recycle others into different items and then give away to someone else the rest. One mans trash is another mans treasure. As far as the recycling underwear is concerned, I agree with you and that would be where I would draw the line. Although I have seen some cute handbags made out of Tidy Whities. LOL
Yes, there is something uncomfortable about picking up your father's or grandfather's underwear and using it to clean something. It happened to me as I saw a pair my my father's underwear on a pot plant on the drive. I quickly asked what it was doing there and moved it and he said it was just to clean the pots.But I exclaimed,'Everyone can see this' as it was on the entrance to drive which all the neighbors pass! I kicked it behind the pot!
