During a recent edit of my tiny NYC closet, I was having a hard time deciding which of the more than a dozen t-shirts I hadn’t worn in ages, to get rid of. That’s because they all seemed to have some meaning — like the one I got at my favorite concert, and the one I had since college. Sound familiar?
Why Are We So Attached to Our Stuff?
Detaching from an item of clothing feels like we are losing a part of our self. This can be traumatic because so many of our possessions are meaningful to us. As I’ve written in more detail here, letting go of old clothes — including even the silliest t-shirts — requires one to move away from “the person you are” or “the person you were” towards “the person you want to be”. While it may seem difficult, it can be quite cathartic.
A Case for Fewer but Better Clothes
Store the item for a period. Did you miss it? Yes, keep. No, donate it, and feel good knowing that someone else can use it.
Feeling creative? Consider making a quilt from old t-shirts, or upcycle your clothes in any of the 100+ ways pictured here. If you’re still having trouble culling the closet, link here for another article that I wrote, “The Case for Fewer But Better Clothes”.
While it may be quite difficult to let go of your old clothes, a purged closet makes one feel lighter. Now there is room for other positive things to enter our lives. Agree? What are your own ideas for making it easier to parting with old clothes?
I volunteer at an animal shelter and donations of clean old t-shirts (along with clean old sheets, blankets and towels) are greatly appreciated.
Shelter pets really benefit from something soft and warm to cuddle up with. Very old t-shirts might also be used as rags. Shelters use rags/washcloths/etc to clean the animals cages at least once a day, and they go through a lot of them.
So if you are looking for a place to donate some of your old t-shirts, you might consider contacting your local (hopefully, no-kill) animal shelter. Often, these are small local groups, operating on a shoestring budget and depending on donations and the kindness of strangers. One’s old t-shirts will definitely get a new life there.
That’s a great recommendation Debra! Thank you for sharing this valuable tip!
Hey Debra,
Thank you so much for sharing that with us. It is really perfect since most people have too many clothes and many towns or regions have an animal shelter located right nearby. It is a beautiful partnership!
If you would like to help spread the news, we would love for you or a team member to write more about the topic. Any subject tied to a good cause, with cute pets, and helps the town is sure to be popular.
Please visit the contact page if you are interested.
Debra, really GREAT idea to donate used t-shirts to animal shelters! Love that. I had a stack of t-shirts mostly from my college days. I donated them to the college’s archives. And they were very happy to have them. I wonder if our childhood camps might like some for archival purposes, too.
When I was growing up, my father insisted on wearing an embarrassingly ratty old shirt that had his alma mater, Ohio State University, emblazoned on the front. I think he wore that thing until the holes took over. Finally my mom made rags out of it. So I have witnessed firsthand the inability of a loved one to let go of an article of clothing that they are sentimentally attached to. It could very well be the reason why I am a pack rat today. I’m trying really hard to fight it! When I am weeding out my closet, I donate the wearable stuff to the local thrift store. Unwearable textiles, I gather for the next time I visit New York City to drop off at the local GreenMarket. For those with babies and lots of old t-shirts, look at what this mom is doing: http://thismamamakesstuff.com/tutorial-rockin-baby-gown-t-shirt-refashion/
When I’m going through my closet I always have that moment where I look at something I haven’t worn in years, but I start to think – what if there is that one time when I want to wear it? That day rarely comes, but for some reason I always get stuck at that point and end up keeping clothing that continues to never be worn.
One thing that has helped me get rid of clothes I never wear are clothing swaps with friends. For some reason it seems easier to get rid of something when you watch your friend pick it up and absolutely love it. One downside is that you could end up taking home more than you brought. In light of this, my friends and I decided to time our last clothing swap. We all had 20 minutes to look through things, and after time was up, anything not in our hands was going straight to Goodwill – leaving us with no time to have that “what if” moment.
Keila,
I love the idea of a t-shirt quilt! My parents are selling my family home and my NYC apartment can’t fit the amount of old t-shirt I have. I’ve been able to donate the ones without sentimental value but the ones from big college events or concerts I haven’t been able to get rid of and have been wondering what to do with them that wouldn’t be putting them in storage. A t-shirt quilt will allow me to save space and have my old t-shirts and memories be able to be put to better use. Looking forward to trying this out.