Throwing away old and never used clothes

Don't throw bras away!! There are charities crying out for them for girls & women who cannot get these things. Not in this country but they send them abroad.
We support a small Greek orphanage that need clothes for young women & girls (& the only 2 boys there too). It costs us very little bu makes a huge difference to them. We take it over when we go to save postage.

I keep a bag in the bedroom for tatty or no long worn clothes as our council do clothing/bags/shoe recycling weekly

Don't bin any clothes as our local hospice shop will take anything. The have ways of disposing of rags and old duvets, even old books can be pulped.

Oh goodness, I've been the world's worst for hanging on to things. Each time a charity bag comes through the door it's filled to the brim------of clothes that no longer fit. Lovely size 10 trousers which I've kidded myself that they'll still fit,, they go up my legs until the hip/bottom area and that's as far as they go.

I tried a lovely top on yesterday and the inner " vest " was tight around the bust so that's in a bag ready for collection along with other size 10's and 12's, so it's the sloppy-Joe look for me from now on and not things which " fit ".

I've hung on to a 60's/70's thick double nylon negligee set which I can't part with even though I don't wear it. You never see them now---only in old films and also a couple of feather bed-jackets. The family will probably take them to a museum after I've gone, hahahaha.Or the bin !

Take after my dad? On the lovely thread re Wedding Dress - my dad was wearing his suit he wore on his Wedding Day, at my request, to give me away. We had the headquarters of Moss Bross in the little town nearest us, and would normally wear Morning Dress, but when dad said he had his original going away suit I really wanted him to wear it.

OH! the spelling thingy! Three years IS probably ... not improbably. grrr sorry!

Saggi. Three years improbably more appropriate for me than one on the "not worn" criteria. I know, for example, that I need to keep a couple of jackets even though due to health reasons I haven't been out much for quite a while. Similarly with the "posh frock" situation! I have a big number birthday coming up. I am thinking of wearing the same I wore ten years ago at the last "big number" birthday!

As a thought - are there any Gnetters who have fashion/clothes as a bit of a hobby? I like altering clothes, adapting them, reusing them, and generally enjoying getting a lot out of them. As a result some end up in the sewing or fabric box.

I also have things in the wardrobe that are 20 years old and still get worn, but I still get tempted to buy new now and again. I always give anything unwanted to my local hospice as they cared for members of my family.

I have a system in the wardrobe, so that when I change seasons I put a marked hanger at one end and as I wear and wash things they get put the other side of this marker. Then each day I use something from the other side.
( sounds complicated) but at the end of the season I can see clearly what I've worn, and anything that hasn't been used I decide whether to keep or donate.

JanaNana. Thank you so much for supporting the Salvation Army. Your donations are not wasted. The Sally Army has even been the only charity admitted to some war-torn areas and the work extends across the world. It goes without saying that religious denomination is irrelevant when giving assistance. The workers in the Sally Army are all members and get paid very little. The rest of us support the work with our weekly giving and fund raising and in any way we can, doing a lot of voluntary work too. Recently the Salvation Army was asked by the Government to go to save girls taken to be modern day slaves and sex workers. Some of my group were involved. Any help you can give will directly help somebody in terrible need. Thank you.

Despite my recent mass clear out my wardrobe is still quite full of stuff that I know deep down, I will never wear again. They are either too small, too fancy or just too...…

I go by a simple guideline...if I haven’t worn it for three years I won’t ever again.So give it to charity. Now down to a three feet wide wardrobe and half empty.

HannahLoisLuke
I still wear stuff I've had for twenty years plus. Me too! ?
Weirdly, I don't feel as if they are particularly old! I remember buying them so it feels like yesterday...

Riverwalk. Yes! ?

Actually, they will be pleased with used underwear that is in good condition and clean.

MooM00. I am working very slowly through a lot of items including clothes many of which are those of people who have died. The clothes include some new items and labelled underwear. Getting to the Charity shop has become too difficult with my disabilities.

I actually really enjoy getting rid of things! It's the sheer physical lifting and lugging that I can't do and which stops me getting rid of it all, so I get very depressed about how much there is to do that I cannot do.

Yesterday I was at the tip recycling centre with cardboard boxes. I asked the man who helped me (they are so wonderful there - my best friends!) what happened to clothing that they received? He said they sort it and all that is usable goes on a lorry to Africa and is donated to poorer people there whose need obviously is great. I was so glad to hear this! It means nothing I take by the way of clothing will be wasted! Also underwear that is unused is very welcome especially larger bras! So please do not damage them!

I would recommend you ask your local tip recycling centre what they do with clothes. Probably it's the same as mine.

I know ladies in Africa want them but since watching a programme about donations ending up on market stalls and being sold instead of given away I'd rather give mine to the shelter.

More moral conundrums HannahLois - at least the bras are being re-cycled, the stall holder is making a few pennies, and the buyer is getting a cheap bra; so you could say a win win situation. However, I know that cheap/free clothes sent to poor countries is causing problems for local small manufacturers.

The rule of thumb is , if you haven't worn it in a year , then you don't need it . My friend and I have a clear out once year and do a boot fair with the things we have . Then what doesn't sell goes straight to the charity shop . What ever we make is a bonus because we didn't want the stuff in the first place .

Thank you JanaNana I will look that up. Our charity shops don't seem to take underwear and it seems such a shame to throw perfectly good bras simply because they no longer fit .

I have paired up about 20 pairs of shoes most of which have been hardly worn (a few never worn) simply because I no longer trust myself to walk in them.

Gillybob.
You can donate your bras to a charity called Smalls for All if you don't have any other outlets in your area to do it. This tells you about it and why they are needing the bras. Also I read your earlier post about having lots of shoes, lots of charity shops accept shoes with plenty of wear left in them in good condition, so some of the shops near you might be happy to have them. If not you could try selling them on ebay.

Speak for yourself merlot!

My bra cups are barely the size of a large orange

I've heard they're very good for supporting melons in a greenhouse, gilly

I am ow feeling really guilty for throwing bras away but still not sure what to do with them?

MawBroonsback Your SILs experience is always a possibility - especially in smaller towns. When my MIL died, I was asked to sort her clothes out, and I took them to the charity shops in the large city where I worked, rather than the ones in our local area, as I didn't want her surviving sisters to have exactly this experience..!

I had a charity bag come through the door the other day and just left it in the hall for a couple of days meaning to do something with it. It was due for collection today so yesterday I decided to have a look in my wardrobe and see if there was anything I could get rid of. 15 minutes later I had completely filled the bag with things I hadn't worn in a long time. I decided to go with the 'if you haven't worn it for a year you don't need it ' philosophy. I can't wait for the next charity bag to pop through the letterbox. I'm sure there's loads more I can get rid of.

I still wear stuff I've had for twenty years plus. I do put stuff out those charity bags if I really won't wear it again and it's in good condition.
Recently our local homeless night shelter asked for donations of bras in good condition. I remembered that I had a collection of unworn bras as I went through a stage of buying them, trying to find a comfortable one. No wires or padding etc. Finally found those stretchy pull over the head sort and have never gone back to traditional ones, so I've bagged them up and will deliver later.
I know ladies in Africa want them but since watching a programme about donations ending up on market stalls and being sold instead of given away I'd rather give mine to the shelter.