Disposing of Leftover Supplies

 There will always be some sort of clean up involved in making gifts. Whether it's tossing the wrapping a craft kit came in, straightening up the kitchen after baking, or figuring out what to do with the rest of the yarn, there will be something. What can you do with the leftovers?

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE

Having less mess in the first place is a good start. When possible, look for supplies with less packaging material. Make a half-recipe instead of a whole if it will make too much. Buy a smaller skein of yarn or a smaller cut of fabric (but do make sure you have enough to finish the project!). The twelve-pack of paint might be cheaper per tube than the six-pack, but if you're not going to use the other colors, you haven't really saved money. 

But you will usually have something left over. Maybe you made a birthday cake that only called for egg whites--but you can add the yolks to your breakfast eggs, or freeze them to use in future recipes. Lots of food leftovers like this can be frozen: diced vegetables for soups or roasts, berries for pies, cookies that are already baked or the dough itself until you're ready to bake it. Small amount of yarn left over from a bigger project are great for making smaller ones like hats, gloves, and scarves. They can also be combined to make something larger, like a multi-colored blanket. 

A variety of hats made from remnants of larger products

The random and varied colors make beautiful stripes.

The same goes for fabric scraps. I keep my partially-used fabric in a basket, using bits at a time for things like purse pockets or strip-quilted pot holders until there's just a bit left. Then I either cut it down into a charm square or into a strip three inches wide and add it to my coil of strips...

My current collection

...And the charm squares can be used for various projects, while the strip coil eventually becomes a jelly roll quilt.

I almost have enough for a second quilt!

A block of wood you used half of can probably be used again. A used piece of embroidery stabilizer can be torn in half, flipped around, and sewn together to make a big enough piece for a second embroidery piece. When you finish a project, take a look at the pieces left over. Can they be used again--and how annoying will it be to store them? If there are good useable pieces but you don't want to store them, you might be able to donate them--more on that in a moment. 

And when you do get down to just scraps, it's time to dispose of them. Some can be recycled in curbside recycling, like paper, plastic, and metal items. Check with your waste disposal because there might be restrictions about the specific types of material. For example, shiny papers might not be accepted. Flimsier plastic like the kind plastic bags are made from shouldn't go in most curbside recycling, but grocery stores often have collection bins for it. Fabric, yarn, and similar items can be bagged, labeled as "scraps," and given to Goodwill and other places to be sold to fabric recyclers.

There, it will be shredded for use as rags or furniture stuffing.

Or you can make your own stuffing.

Leftover pieces of wood from woodcrafting that are too small to be used can be used for kindling or might be suitable for yard waste, provided the wood is free of dangerous chemicals. Yard waste or composting is also excellent for food scraps like egg shells, used coffee grounds (they attract worms and repel slugs and snails), and food-soiled paper like the paper towel you used to smear butter on the side of a baking dish. Check with your local waste management as the rules vary.

DONATE

Maybe you have half a yard of fabric, a stack of craft paper, a few spools of ribbon, or a large jar of beads left after a project, maybe you were given craft supplies that aren't useful to you, or maybe you just changed your mind about pursuing a particular craft. Either way, you find yourself with supplies you don't have a use for and don't want gathering dust. You can donate those. Lots of secondhand stores take craft supplies, and so do crafting guilds. For example, a crochet guild near me takes donated yarn to make items for charity. Schools, especially for younger grades, often like art supplies; as do daycares, Sunday schools, after-school clubs, summer camps, and Scout groups. Some will even be willing to come to you to pick up the items. Groups like BuyNothing are a great way to offload your wares: you can list what you want to give away and people will come pick it up from your door.

If you don't want to donate the raw materials, you can make items to donate. My knitting guild donates cold-weather items to various groups every December, often made from yarn that was donated to us. Some guilds will work together on a big project like a giant quilt, and raffle it off for a charity event. I like to knit, but I already have blankets, and don't really like to use hats or scarves, but I can knit things to give others. I've also made toys for my church's Angel Tree--groups like are a good place to donate decorative or useful handmade items, for that extra special touch to a gift for someone in need. 

One surprising place that often accepts handmade gifts is food banks. Not all will, but many like to have items for their clients to "shop" from so their clients can give birthday or holiday gifts. Along the same lines, some food banks are able to accept homemade and homegrown food. Always check before you bring the food, because the rules vary.

...OR SELL

There's nothing wrong with making some money. If you have a large amount of craft supplies and want to see if they'll fetch a nice price online or at a yard sale, go for it. I find that eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and Craigslist have about equal success for selling craft supplies. I give any item I list a time limit of a month or two, and if it hasn't sold in that time, I donate it. I personally wouldn't do a yard sale just for craft supplies, but if I happened to be about to have a yard sale, I'd check my supply stash to see if I wanted to try to get rid of some of it. 

My knitting guild has a fun strategy: anyone who wants to can bring leftover craft supplies to show, and anyone who wants to buy it pays what she feels is a fair price, and the money goes to our charity fund. We've been able to give quite a bit local charities this way.

MAKE SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Very small bits of craft material can be made into something completely different. A bit of yarn or strip of fabric makes a nice string to wrap a present. Scraps from various types of projects, especially if they're in fun colors, look nice in a vase, jar, or ornament. The last bit of paper from making cards could be used for origami, or to make a gift tag. 

Don't keep leftovers forever and certainly don't horde them. Just give them a bit of thought before you get rid of them. Some things will be destined for the landfill, but more than you might expect can be used for something else, or recycled.

In-Kind Charitable Gifts

I've mentioned before that money is a great thing to donate to charities, as they can use economy of scale and other resources to stretch their dollars further. But plenty of charities accept in-kind donations, and many people prefer to give something tangible.

HOW TO PICK A CHARITY OR CAUSE

There are so many important charitable causes. Which ones you want to donate are up to you: different people have different priorities and different interests close to their hearts. Start with thinking of what group you want to support: the homeless, veterans, nursing home or memory care residents, people with special needs, hospital patients, marginalized or minority groups, abuse survivors, refugees, animals? What sorts of causes are important to you: conservation, disease research, literacy, youth development? 

 

Some of these groups have well-known, established groups. Others might be harder to find charities for. If you can't find a local, national, or global group, you'll need to investigate further. I find that asking schools, craft guilds, shelters, and the government offices that arrange social services are good places to start. For example, the McKinney-Vento Act provides certain guarantees for US public school students in unstable living situations, and a school district's McKinney-Vento liaison may be able to advise you what donations are needed or what organizations support the district's students. 

NEW OR USED?

Some charities are able to accept gently-used donations, especially ones that sell items in second-hand stores. If you're going through your home and find you don't need some of the clothing, household goods, tools, furniture, or other things, there is probably a charity that can accept them if they're in good condition and clean. Donating worn-out items just means the charity needs to spend its time and resources disposing of them. If you're not sure if your item is too used, think about why you're getting rid of it. Is it the wrong size, a duplicate item, a book or sports equipment you've barely touched, something you changed your mind about? Is it something you don't want to be pack for a move simply because it takes up too much room and you can buy another later? Probably fine. Is it torn, frayed, stained, missing parts, or not working right? Probably not (although Goodwill and other places can take worn out clothing to sell to textile recyclers, and pet shelters can often take old blankets or towels to use as animal bedding). Popular charities that accept donations include Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul, Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and the Salvation Army. Some will even pick up at your home! Charity shops sell items to support their specific causes; look into what you might be supporting to see what causes are close to your heart.

Other groups must insist on new items. For example, some children's hospital maintain a wishlist of items that can be donated, and due to the fragile health of many patients, it's simply safer to pass on used items. And for reasons I hope are clear, donated underwear should always be brand-new.

Food drives are another example of in-kind donations. Often, you can request a list of greatest needs, which helps the food banks not be overloaded on certain items and low on others: it could be frustrating to have a glut of pasta but no sauces to put on it. Food banks usually are also able to accept diapers, toiletries, pads and tampons, and first aid items. Some can also take kitchen items like plates, cups, cutlery, can openers, and cooking pans and utensils; and some accept toys and cold weather accessories like hats. Expired food and food with damaged packaging (e.g.; dented cans or opened bags) cannot be accepted, and while some food banks can take fresh or frozen fruits, vegetables, and meats or even home-grown food, call first and ask about the food bank's capacity for these non-shelf-stable items.

HANDMADE OR STORE BOUGHT?

If you like to make things, there are many charities happy to accept your creations. Like to knit or crochet? Extreme weather shelters and groups like Joy of Sox and Stand up for Kids are often happy to accept knitted socks, hats, scarves, mittens, and other cold weather gear (store bought items are also welcome). Want to make something bigger? Project Linus collects crocheted, knitted, woven, tied fleece, and sewn blankets to give children in hospitals. There are likely to be many local charities as well. Quilting, knitting, crochet, and other craft guilds are great places to ask for ideas, as are local churches and food banks. You can also look into donating handmade crafts to charity auctions.

Don't have the time, material, skill, or inclination to make something, but still want to give? That's fine too! Around the holiday season, it's common for churches, schools, and other charities to set up Angel Trees or Advent Trees. These allow you to pick the (anonymous) profile of someone in need to buy presents for, which can range from a special toy to new clothing to household appliances, so you can choose what fits your budget and what's on your heart to give. The profiles have information to guide you, like favorite colors, clothing and shoe sizes, and biggest needs and wants. When I was growing up, my parents would have my siblings and me pick profiles for children our age, which made for a fun family tradition. Other groups like Toys for Tots show up around the same time, collecting new items that will be given to those in need. You can also contact schools, churches, community resource centers, homeless shelters, pet shelters, and charities to ask if there's a person or family in need of anything, and purchase from that wishlist.

There are lots of way to help those in need, and lots of items to make or buy. Decide what causes are important to you, and see how you can help.