One day my husband strolled in the house after work, and turned his back to me to put something in the sink.

Me: Did you wear those pants all day at work?

Him: (slowly turning) Why?

Me: (coming up behind him and wiggling my cold fingers through the giant tear in his rear end.) Just wondering.

Him: (turning in circles, and reaching around) Oh man. Can you fix it?

He stripped right there in the kitchen and I made the obvious assessment.

Me: No. That tear is shredded, the fibers throughout are worn, and those pants should be thrown out.

Him: I really like these. Can’t you…(waves hands) make something else out of them?

Of course I can. And now I’m looking at my whole closet differently.

The pic above is the original tear. And you can plainly see that the seven inch tear down his backside was not going to be an easy fix. And look at those beltloops…worn past recognition.

He brings a bag to work every day for his lunch, so he needs a few of them. That’s where I started. A simple bag made from his pants.

I used the pant leg hems for the finish at the top. Some simple coordinating straps and I handed him a new bag the next day.

A few days later he was helping me hang a mirror in our son’s room and he strolled past a pillow and stopped in his tracks.

Him: Is that made from my pants?

Of course it was. I ran out of fabric for the back, so I used some coordinating fabric from my stash. A little serged trim and voila! New pillow. That button was salvaged years ago from the flea market where I am inclined to purchase containers of old buttons.

This is all that remains, but I’m saving it. Sometime when I’m watching TV, I’m going to harvest that zipper, and possibly those hooks. All that will be left will be a few shreds.

I’m starting to think about all our old clothes the same way. Fast fashion, as you know, is one of the hugest polluters on the planet. We purchase clothes for a season and off they go to the donation box or just the trash. They’re not constructed to last.

Now, I can’t really say that about my husband’s pants. He’s been known to wear his clothes until they literally turn to dust.

He’s way ahead of his time.

But now I’m re-examining everything in our closets. Doesn’t fit? Hmmm. It matches this thing over here. Polyester? Oooh, that will last 200 years before it breaks down. What can I do with that? Scarlet O’Hara and her drape-y dress have nothing on me. I’ve been giving my old drapes the side eye. (And of course, all I can think of is Carol Burnett coming down those stairs…)

You might be surprised at the inspiration you get from things already in your home. Have a little fun with it.