I have a rule of thumb for when I buy new clothes: for every new item that’s bought, something from inside my closet has to go. As a result, I seem to always have a pile of stuff ready to go to the Goodwill donation center down the street.

In perusing the Green Guide this morning, I found this interesting article about where your donated clothes tend to go, and I was surprised to find that they don’t always go on the rack at the local Goodwill store.

Donating to Goodwill, while a noble cause, isn’t the only thing you can do with your old duds. I’m a frequenter on the Freecycle.org site, a tool that I’ve used to get rid of some unwanted (cheap) furniture and computer stuff. Freecycle is a community-based Yahoo group where you can post notes about items you want to get rid of or requests for items you’d like. The caveat is it all must be given for free. I’ve never actually given away clothes on Freecycle, though I’ve seen some people do it, especially when it comes to baby clothes, maternity wear, shoes, etc.

Another option for shoes is Soles4Souls.org, based out of my very own hometown of Nashville. You can ship a collection of your used shoes to Soles4Souls’ closest distribution center (they have three: Alabama, Virginia and Nevada). They sort the shoes and get them to relief organizations that desperately need shoes. If the shipping is too much, they take monetary donations too.

Dress for Success accepts used businesswear, which it in turn gives to women who are trying to build their own careers but can’t afford the costly attire that’s required for the ladder. Dress for Success has lots of local affiliates, so chances are there’s one in your city.

There’s also the option of simply trading clothes with your own friends, something popularized by Clothing Swap. This is a party where those in attendance must bring a gently used item of clothing to be added to the swap pile. And then (duh) everyone gets to pick an item to take home.

You could also just go Tim Gunn on your clothing and repurpose it by either making a new garment, repairing it or using the material for throw pillows!