A couple of weeks ago I got a delivery.
All of my old race t-shirts.
Apparently my mom caught on to the fact that I had been secretly storing my old race shirts in my bedroom dresser at my parents’ house. Technically the room is “my” room, but since I went to college a couple of months after my family and I moved to Florida from Illinois, my bedroom has always been more or less a storage room for my mom’s family’s stuff.
When I got my first apartment after college, it was a small place in the back of a house. Since I didn’t have much room, I started to store some clothes that I wanted to keep but never really wore at my parent’s house in a spare dresser drawer in my bedroom. Now that they’re getting rid of the dresser and reorganizing some things in their house, my shirts were spotted and returned to their rightful owner.
I am thinking of just taking them to Goodwill, but part of me feels like I should do something with them since a lot of good memories are associated with the shirts. I thought about turning them into a t-shirt quilt like the one we gave to my friend Leah during her bachelorette party.
While I would normally go that route, I already have a t-shirt quilt made with all of my old sorority shirts from college, so I’m hesitant to have another one made, even though it’s such a neat way to remember so many great times. (If you’re interested in a t-shirt quilt and live in the Orlando area, email me and I’ll give you the contact information of a wonderful woman who made my quilt and the above quilt. She does a great job and she’s Jess’ mom!)
Here are two additional ideas that popped up as I started to search for things to do with my old race t-shirts:
- Tote Bag: Mile 22 and Races R My Bag will take your race t-shirts, bibs and other memorabilia and turn them into a tote bag, backpack, messenger bag, etc.
From Mile 22:
From Races R My Bag:
- Homemade Tote: Time Out Chicago has a neat DIY t-shirt tote bag.
There are also a ton of ideas out there for repurposing your old race bibs that I thought might interest the runners out there.
Check ‘em out:
- Jacket: ElevenGear will make a jacket from old race numbers.
- Coasters: MileStones’ Etsy shop transforms race numbers into coasters.
- Race Bib Displays: Etsy seller Running on the Wall makes handmade displays for race numbers and medals.
- Race Bib Wallpaper: According to the Brooks Running blog, runner Glenn Tachiyama decorated an entire room with his race bibs. Hardcore!
Question of the Afternoon
- Have you ever done anything unique with old medals, trophies, t-shirts or race bibs?
You can use the fabric to make a wreath, or several!
Amanda
What a cute idea to make a blanket!!! I have tons of race shirts, my dresser drawers are beginning to burst!
Kaylie
I keep all of my race numbers in a 3-ring binder. So I have race numbers from 2006 and on. It’s kind of fun to page through and look at all of the races I have done through the years and see how my times have fluctuated. However, I am really digging the wallpapered room. I need to convince my husband to do this in our exercise room! My problem, the medals. I have NO clue what to do with the 20 or so Disney race medals I have. They are SO pretty, but they just live in a plastic tub in my closet. Any suggestions?
Kerry @ Half Healthy, Half Nuts
I have seen a few people with the quilts and the bags and they are so CUTE! When I finally collect enough I can’t wait to have an awesome blanket of all my accomplishments.
Stephanie
Love the tote idea & the coasters!
Erica @ For the Sake of Cake
Ha! I store tons of stuff at my parents’ house–I wouldn’t be surprised if they found it all and shipped it down one of these days.
I like the coasters, but that would be a LOT of coasters. I think you have lots of options if you’re crafty!
Julie @ Better Life with Burgers
I have a bunch of stuff stored at my parents house still too. Before it was the same thing as you, I went away to college, and then my first apartment wasn’t very big. But now I own my own condo and the stuff that’s there is stuff I don’t really have a need for anymore.
I was just thinking the other day what I could do with my race bibs and shirts. I’ve only done two races so far but have another coming up in a couple weeks and definitely want to keep the memorabilia somehow.
I’m going to get a tshirt quilt made of band shirts I’ve collected from concerts over the years. I have an entire rubbermade tote full of them..
Becky @ TheBexFactor.com
Oh man, that tote bag. Must.have. I have enough bibs for like, 4 of those.
Paula @ Eat: Watch: Run
All of these ideas are so creative!
Gina @ Health, Love, and Chocolate
Oh man I absolutely one the coaster idea! That is pure brilliance. If my running bibs weren’t so boring and all alike, I’d probably do that. I’ll have to bookmark that site and register in races with creative running bibs
Allie
I LOVE the idea of making a bag out of race memorbilia!! I’m running my first half-marathon in 3 weeks.. I am definitely going to look into getting a bag made if/when I make it across the finish line
Laura
I have all my race bibs (almost 30 now) on a bulletin board in my classroom (I’m a high school history teacher). My kids are amazed by them and always ask me about them and it gets us talking about running and exercise and stuff. I ran my first marathon this past year and some colleague came to cheer me on and had posters made so I have the poster and my marathon bib hanging on my classroom wall as well.
Holly
I want to make a quilt out of all my old cheerleading tshirts but I have no sewing skills and I feel like I’d need a pro anyway. I should look into finding someone who I can pay. Too bad PA is a little far from Orlando… think I could ship my stuff down there anyway?
Amber @ Busy, Bold, Blessed
That wallpaper is intense! I only have 4 at this point, so I have mine displayed on a bulletin board in my room. But as I collect more, I have been trying to figure out what to do with them too! I think the coaster idea is really cool for old bibs. But I think tshirt quilts are really the way to go for old race shirts. Even if you don’t use it often, it’s always a nice way to remember it. If they were important enough to you to store at your parent’s house, they are probably important enough to keep.
Stephanie @ My Freckled Life
We are so on the same wavelength…my mom keeps hinting about my race t-shirts finding a new home since I think she has secret plans to turn my old room and closet into another guest bedroom or office. Which is totally fair since I haven’t lived there in years, but I still kind of like coming home to a shrine of my high school trophies, pictures, diplomas, etc.
Tori @ Get a Word in Veg Wise
My mom made me a t shirt blanket of y college sorority shirts, so I completely understand wanting to find a new way to repurpose your race shirts…I think making a bag is a cute option!
Tara
LOVE this post! I also have to figure out what to do with my race shirts and I adore the quilt idea, currently they are stuffed in my pajama drawer. And my bibs are the wall paper in my home office- not as prolific as the above but I’ve got one wall covered so far!
Laura
Woah, this is awesome! Love the Mile 22 bag, the coasters and the jacket. Good ideas because I needed something to do with my bibs. I used to just hang them on the wall, but now that I’m transitioning into a bit more of a “grown-up” look, they don’t really fit, ha.
Samantha
I don’t know how I missed this post on Monday, but this has got to be my favorite post of all time haha. I love all of those race bib ideas!! Right now I have all of mine on my corkboard with my medals hung up beneath them, but these are SUCH cool ideas!!
Bethany @ Accidental Intentions
Hi,
I just came across your blog today. Looking at the t-shirt quilt you made and gave to your friend, I notice the Fremd Vikettes…funny, small world because I was a Palatine Pirateer
Kevie
I hang on my race bibs on a ring in my closet with all my medals. I write all my stats on the back of them, like the date, who I ran it with, my time, my place overall/gender/age group and any other tid bits I want to include.
Last year my mom made me clean out my “room” at her house and all the stuff is still in boxes in my basement. Just can’t get rid of it
Love you blog!!!
Jeana