Dilemma: you’ve got a growing pile of baby clothes that are too stained to give away (thank you, green peas, squash, spit up and everything else that comes your baby’s way) — so, what to do?! In order to be as environmentally conscious as possible, we’ve gathered some options that will keep this clothing as usable as possible and most importantly, out of a landfill. Let us know your ideas, too, as we’re happy to keep growing this list!

A Little Elbow Grease

If your baby can still wear the outfit, try and get the stain out first. Parents Magazine has a great video on this topic. According to their experts, stains should be treated and cleaned differently depending on what TYPE of stain it is. We also like Thriving Home Blog’s ideas on getting out yellow stains from clothes that have been stored away.

Donation

If the clothing is truly unwearable, you can cut it up yourself to use as cleaning rags or donate to the Council for Textile Recycling. Their address locator will help you find a donation center near you (there’s lots of helpful information on the website, too). Additionally, Goodwill will accept stained clothing for their own recycling programs.

Re-purpose and Re-create

Can’t bear to get rid of the outfit, even though it’s stained? We’ve got some really precious DIY ideas for you, starting with this Memory Quilt project from Martha Stewart. Using swatches from your baby’s clothes, you can create a beautiful keepsake blanket for baby (and you, let’s face it, it’s really for you)!

We also love this idea from Chasing Cotton – you can create adorable wall art using cut out pieces from scraps of baby clothes!

Lastly, Born Imaginative has made an adorable ribbon block for her baby to play with from his old clothes – genius! See her blog for all the DIY details.