# A question of underwear **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 22, 2003, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-of-underwear/214754 "2003-11-22T23:51:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2003, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-of-underwear/214754/1 "2003-11-22T23:51:13Z")
I have no idea if this is the right forum for this, but I have to ask. Simply put, I have an excess of underwear I can’t wear. I got some a while back to replace my worn out undies, but have since lost a fair bit of weight and as such, had to get smaller underwear. It was bad enough that I would run and my undies would start to fall off(and almost did one time). So now I have underwear that fits me nicely, but what do I do with the big underwear. Nobody in my family is that big and I’m not sure if clothing drives really want my underwear. It is clean and fairly free of holes and tears and stains, etc. Any ideas what to do rather then dumping it? ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-of-underwear/214754/2 "2003-11-23T00:29:03Z")
Goodwill? Purple Heart? If you’re not easily embarrassed, a garage sale? ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-of-underwear/214754/3 "2003-11-23T01:41:16Z")
My mother used to cut the elastic off and use them for dustcloths, thus mortifying my brother and me so badly that we would refuse to dust. Most, if not all, charities will only accept unused underwear. ---
**Author:** ![LorieSmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a587f6/32.png) [@LorieSmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LorieSmurf)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-of-underwear/214754/4 "2003-11-23T02:31:07Z")
weird, man. weird. ---
**Author:** ![etgaw1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ed655f/32.png) [@etgaw1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etgaw1)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-of-underwear/214754/5 "2003-11-23T02:38:12Z")
My brother had his undies sewn onto a quilt and made into throw pillows. If you knew my brother you would understand. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-of-underwear/214754/6 "2003-11-23T04:30:34Z")
They also make real good quality shoe polish rags. And if you’re a kid, and polishing brown shoes, you can reall gross out your sister! ---
**Author:** ![Thylacinewas\_taken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@Thylacinewas\_taken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacinewas_taken)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-of-underwear/214754/7 "2003-11-23T04:53:01Z")
My first time at Value Villiage I saw used, streaked underwear. And it was 99 cents. This was the early 90s! I didn’t go to another Value Villiage until earlier this year. But that story doesn’t really have a point. Cleaning cloths are good if the people that will use them don’t mind. More fun ideas: - My mom uses stretchy cloth to tie her tomatoes to sticks so they grow upright. - Car rags - Quilting, if it’s made of nice cloth… who will know??😉 - You could wear it on your head next Halloween - give the kiddies a scare!😉 - Just throw it out!! It’s not such a crime. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-of-underwear/214754/8 "2003-11-23T06:01:28Z")
I third the idea of ‘cleaning rags’. Also, they _do_ make great polish rags. Why spend money on rags when you have a supply of “expendable clothing”? Tripler And trust me, underwear is most definitely considered “expendable”. ---
**Author:** ![SeekingTruth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@SeekingTruth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeekingTruth)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-of-underwear/214754/9 "2003-11-23T09:21:41Z")
How much did you pay for the underwear? Was it really so much that you can’t write off the loss? Save them and you have a reason to gain weight, toss 'em and you can be confident you won’t need the size again. Congrats on the weight loss, now clear out the oversized stuff! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-of-underwear/214754/10 "2003-11-23T15:30:58Z")
If you give it to Goodwill or some such charity, they can’t resell it directly. BUT, they’ll end up selling it (along with any other unusable cloth items they have) to a rag-making company. So the stuff will live on in shop towels or stuffing or ??? and the charity will derive some tiny income from them. And your local landfill is spared another couple of cubic feet of stuff. I always found t-shirts had enough nap to make decent dusting rags, but cotton undershorts were too slick. ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_B.Phart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Capt\_B.Phart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_B.Phart)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-of-underwear/214754/11 "2003-11-23T16:43:02Z")
[If you find yourself besieged by the Turks you could fashion a hot air balloon from them - and so float to safety (or possibly the moon - where you find Robin Williams is king, in a disembodied floating head kind of way…)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096764/) ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-of-underwear/214754/12 "2003-11-23T17:37:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Capt B. Phart \* > \*\*[If you find yourself besieged by the Turks you could fashion a hot air balloon from them - and so float to safety (or possibly the moon - where you find Robin Williams is king, in a disembodied floating head kind of way…)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096764/) \*\* Strangely enough, that did come to mind. Though somehow I don’t see myself facing an army of turks with just some underwear. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Doris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Sir\_Doris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Doris)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-of-underwear/214754/13 "2003-11-23T18:52:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by HPL \* > \*\* It is clean and fairly free of holes and tears and stains, etc. > > Any ideas what to do rather then dumping it? \*\* There appears to be a market for used underwear, but being clean and free from stains probably reduces the market value 😉 This thread has reawakened long suppressed memories of a tv show where a guy sent off for a pair or “heavily soiled” undies. Ick. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-of-underwear/214754/14 "2003-11-24T13:59:01Z")
Go from door to door in your neighborhood, at 3AM, & decorate peoples’ doorknobs with your castoff tighty-whities! This will make you pop-pop-popular! 🙂 Many policemen will go out of their way to try and meet you! You’ll be taken care of! _Good_ care! By many nice doctors and male nurses. Won’t this be _fun_?!? 🙂 Try it _today_!! 🙂 🙂 🙂