Hi my name is Esther and I am a hoarder. Sadly, kind of true. One good thing about my latest move is that I got a chance to go through my closet and clean out bags and bags full of things. It’s spring cleaning time so I wanted to share with you guys some of my tips of how to edit down that closet.
Okay, first things first: Create three piles – Donate, Sell and Toss
These are the items you should pull out of your closet to place in these piles.
1. Anything you haven’t worn in a year – If you haven’t worn something in the past year, chances are you probably won’t really wear it again. Be honest with yourself. If it’s in good condition put it in the sell or donate pile, if it’s not toss it.
2. Items with tags still on them – Unless you just bought something within the past month that you haven’t worn yet, if you still have the tags on chances are you won’t be wearing that item. I found a couple items that still had tags on them for YEARS. I was always saving it for that “special” moment to wear the item, but let’s be real…that moment will never come.
3. Old bras and underwear – You know what I’m talking about. We all have those bras with the underwire coming out, or underwear with holes in them. Get rid of them.
4. Anything with holes in them – TOSS. That old pair of jeans with the button missing that you’ve been saying for years you’ll fix…you won’t. Give it up and just toss it.
5. Freebie items – Those shirts you got from that random event you went to, or that ugly old t-shirt your ex-boyfriend gave you on his last trip. Get rid of it. There’s really no “sentimental” value in holding onto these things. They’re just taking up space and you’ll never wear them.
Okay, now that you’ve pulled out those items from your closet here is what you do with those piles of clothes.
Donate: There are many places you can donate your gently used clothes to such as Good Will, Salvation Army or local churches. If you drive around your town you might also see those red donation bins in parking lots that make it super easy to just drop your donation bag off. Some charities will even come and pick up your donations straight from your house. If you itemize your tax deductions, be sure to record what you are donating!
Sell: This is one of my favorite things to do because it’s fun, and you get some extra cash out of it.
For designer clothes I suggest you sell to TheRealReal. It’s super easy, they will send you a prepaid shipping label. You send them your items and if they accept it, they will then sell your clothes for you. You get to keep 55% of the sale price and TheRealReal keeps 45%.
ThredUp is another way to sell clothes online. These items don’t have to be designer, but not all items will be accepted. You can choose to donate the unaccepted items which will then be recycled. Win win.
Poshmark is an app that allows you to sell your items right from the comfort of your house. This requires the most work because you have to take the pictures and ship the items out yourself, but you also get to choose the selling price which you don’t get to do with the other services. I love using Poshmark for items such as jewelry because it’s easy and convenient.
Toss. Self explanatory. Throw it out.
There you guys have it! Happy cleaning!
