Turn Old T-Shirts Into Something New

I am always looking for ways to repurpose the things in our house that we no longer want or need. For example, I have several stud earrings that I no longer wear—so I use them as pushpins.

But one item that everyone in the house seems to have in excess are T-shirts. I have no idea how many we have, but I know we have more than we could ever need or use.

We all have our favorites, so I wouldn’t suggest repurposing anything you wear regularly. If you have some that are in great shape, you may want to consider donating those.

Sometimes it's tough to part with some of the oldies but goodies—but do you really still want the T-shirt your grandparents brought you from Florida, where the "O" is an orange? What about the T-shirts you have accumulated from all of the concerts you have gone to?

Here are two ideas you can use to repurpose them and put your T-shirts to good use:

• Check out this YouTube video of Jodi Khan, author of Simply Sublime Bags. She uses a T-shirt, duct tape and staples to create a cute no-sew bag. My daughter and I made one together out of a T-shirt that I no longer wear.

• This article from Martha Stewart Whole Living shows how easy it is to make a necklace out of your plain T-shirts. You can make several with any color T-shirts you have.

If you have a bunch of old T-shirts that are too stained to donate or use in a project, consider using them as rags for cleaning. You can wash and use them over and over.