Mindful of the need to cut costs in today's economic climate, the Queen was reluctant to splash out on an expensive new evening gown for her Slovenian State Visit.

Instead, she dug out some fabric she was given over 20 years ago and had someone on the sewing machine style into a dress for a white tie state banquet hosted in her honour…

…where is this going you wonder? No, I’m not about to be tell you to dress like the Queen or copy her style but this grabbed my attention as surely we’ve all got clothes and accessories in the closet that we don’t go near for whatever reasons.

Maybe you bought something and a week later you still haven’t worn it thinking “why did I buy this? Or maybe it’s the woolly jumper you got as a youngster with your initials or a choo-choo train stitched on the front?

Well, unlike the Queen your stuff is unlikely to be 20 years old so surely something can be done with it if its no longer in use. Transform some old joggers into shorts or even an old t-shirt into a cleaning cloth (Ok maybe not creative enough but you get the point) - whatever it is it doesn’t need to be thrown away. Also if this story I checked up on is really true maybe we certainly need to do more at our end with our old stuff?

I know for sure I’m going to have a look in my closet and see what can be re-styled. Winter is coming up so I could experiment on maybe adding an extra layer in my jeans with some old tracksuit bottoms… (That idea’s a bit better)

If all else fails and you can’t make something new out of your old stuff then check out Just Give to see what you can do with your old gear!