After rallies across the country, Joe-the-Plumber-filled debates and the sudden ubiquity of the words “maverick” and “change,” the election is over. So, what happens to all of those campaign T-shirts you’ve collected. Here are eight creative and practical ideas:

1. Turn it into art. Whether your candidate won, chances are you spent much of 2008 watching the race and campaigning for a candidate or cause. That shirt can represent a year of your life. Urban Outfitters sells T-shirt frames that turn shirts into works of art. It’s a simple do-it-yourself project at $20 per frame, or two for $32. The frames can be found at urbanoutfitters.com.

2. Donate it. Rather than send the shirt to the trash can, try a more practical alternative and give it to the needy. There are clothing donation bins near the recycling center on Sycamore Drive and at The Salvation Army on 13910 N. Nebraska Ave.

3. Get crafty. If you have a lot of campaign shirts, try making a quilt with them. If you lack the crafty gene, or don’t have time, there are a variety of online companies that will make the quilt for you, such as campusquilt.com. Instructions for creating a T-shirt quilt can be found at straw.com/quilting/articles/teequilts.html. If you don’t have enough shirts for a quilt, T-shirts can be turned into pillowcases with the help of scissors and a sewing machine.

4. Work out your post-election anger. Old T-shirts make great gym clothes, and campaign shirts are no exception. Unless, of course, the embarrassment of wearing the losing candidate’s shirt is too much to bear. If that is the case, you may want to skip to option five.

5. Spring cleaning. Sick of buying paper towels to clean the kitchen? Cut up the campaign shirts and use them as environment friendly rags. They’re machine-washable and therefore reusable.

6. Pack it up. There’s no need to raid newspaper boxes or spend money on packing peanuts — old T-shirts make great packing material when moving time comes.

7. Vintage. Store the T-shirt at the top of your closet for at least six years. When you take it out again — Voila! — you can pass it off as “vintage.” Wear it in all its vintage glory or try selling it online. Sure, Barack Obama shirts are all over the place now, but 10 years from now they may be a rare find.

8. Freeze time. Create a time capsule with all of the campaign materials you have. After all, the 2008 election may end up being one of the greatest elections of the 21st century.