Whether we like it or not, there are times in our life where we do not have much control over what's happening around us, such as a lockdown or social isolation.  When it happens, we have few options, like beating our head against wall or do something productive enough to give to a sense of achievement.

How about a few simple ideas (well known), which not only help you to be productive when you are confined to home or not, and at the same time cost effective, eco-friendly and also saves precious space in your wardrobe? Well, let's explore...

Minimalism and KonMari Method

Don’t worry. I am not here to tell you that you should limit the number of things in your wardrobe. It is about how you approach your belongings, in this case, your clothing and accessories. The core of this method is that you may approach your wardrobe with ‘mindfulness’, or certain intentions. The purpose could be like  keeping your wardrobe with high-quality pieces or making it eco-friendly or keeping the ones you love or serve you most.

If you have sufficient time and committed, you may try KonMari method, which created by Marie Kondo, an organising consultant based in Japan. It is one of the world-famous methods to simplify and organise home by getting rid of items that no longer serve us or in Marie’s words "items that do not bring joy into your life". KonMari method provides a structure and makes de-cluttering a less tedious. Learn more abour KonMari

If you are after a simple technique - The Reverse Hanger Trick is for you. All you have to do, go to your wardrobe, (assuming you hang clothes. This technique can be used for folded items as well) and turn all of your hangers to the opposite way you normally do.

Every time you wear clothes, put it back to the wardrobe, hanger facing usual way. In a three to six month time, (time frame can be changed depending on the weather in your area) you will see the magic!. You will notice that there are few hangers with clothing still intact since you arranged them - meaning they are not serving you anymore. By doing this, you may get few ‘unwanted’ items which can be used for the following projects

Repairing 

You all agree that repairing our clothing could save us money. We all have few favourite clothing or ‘lucky’ clothing which may need bit TLC and voilà! Your favourite cloth is back in action. Why wait, take out your sewing machine and repair kit now!

Upcycle or Recycle

You know there are times we have to acknowledge that there is nothing can be done with old cloths and we may have to farewell them to landfill...WAIT! Have you ever tried to upcycle (a creative process of rescuing by transforming useless objects into better quality or value product - financially or environmentally) or recycle (Convert a product into reusable material)? We would like to share some ideas you could try with old clothing!

• Make Tote
• Make a table runner
• Crocheted Rug
• A Puppy Shirt
• Chair Cushion
• Coin Purse
• Make a fancy pillowcase
• A baby clothing

Donate

If you have high-quality clothing hanging around and not serving you anymore, it may be the best time to give to someone in need. In Australia, there are plenty of shops you could drop this pre-loved clothing. I am sure there are people love them, especially given we are going through challenging time.

Where to donate your pre-loved clothing in Australia?

We are sharing this so we could encourage readers to process their pre-loved clothes in an eco-friendly manner thus we could serve our nature and community in a better way.

Thank you for reading

G Joseph from de Linum