Closet Cleaning = Cash!
I mentioned in an earlier post that cleaning out your closet can be a great way to make some extra cash. Every 2-3 months is a great time to delve into your closet/drawers and purge. Best of all, this creates both space and money for new purchases! I find closet-cleaning most easily broken down into three steps.
1) Purge:
On “Tim Gunn’s Guide To Style”, he and Veronica Webb recommend making 4 piles as you turn your closet upside-down: Keep, Mend, Giveaway, and Throwaway. This system enables you to easily categorize each item and forces you to make a decision immediately on each piece. Similarly, here’s some advice beyond these simple 4 piles, in this Mahalo post “How to Clean Out Your Closet”. In addition to offering purging guidance, this post discusses closet organization — my next topic.
2) Organize:
For those of us living in metropolitan areas, closet space is often at a premium…and creative solutions are a must! While you’re cleaning out your closet..now’s your chance to win! I recently saw an ad for a contest — if you submit photos of your current closet situation, you could win a closet upgrade from California Closets! “Show us the size you might have to work with (or lack there of), creative ways you can squeeze everything in, or other inventive ways you’ve started to store your belongs. Just email the photos to closets@7×7.com.”
3) Sell:
Here’s where the fun part comes in! Today’s New York Times article by Ruth La Ferla discussed how re-sale and consignment stores are thriving, as people want to achieve fashionable looks without breaking the bank. Personally, I am a seller and not a buyer at these stores. I prefer to purchase brand-new items (on sale, yes — but unworn!) – but I nonetheless rely upon these same re-sale stores as a great way to make some extra cash. My final stop in the closet-cleanout adventure is one of the local resale stores. The Times article took a similar angle: “As Judy Yun, a customer and consignor at Ina, acknowledged, there are no savings in getting back $350 for a Balenciaga bag that cost $1,600, then spending the money on a $400 pair of Manolo Blahnik sandals. She buys and consigns nonetheless because, she said: “I like seeing that little bit of extra cash. Actually, it’s not so little when you’re talking about a Balenciaga handbag.”
Well maybe not all of us are turning in Balenciaga bags…but recouping some cash from past purchases definitely makes future shopping more fun!
8 comments
Thanks for reminding your viewers that closet-cleaning should be every couple of months…you wouldn’t believe the folks who do it every couple of decades! (Although I did find 3 pairs of FANTASTIC vintage earrings made of rick-rack the other day in my favorite consignment shop!
A gentle head’s-up, however, on a common misconception: that of buying “never-worn” vs. “gently-worn” clothing. Just because an item’s in a new-merchandise store does NOT mean it’s any “cleaner” than in a resale shop. In fact, it can be much more soiled. Visualize this (very common) voyage of a “new” garment:
Fabric created. Shipped to a factory. Garment created. Garment hung and tagged for wholesale. Garment shipped. Unpacked and re-hung and re-tagged for your favorite boutique or store.
Garment touched maybe 45 times. Garment tried on a few, or a few dozen times. Then someone buys it, “because I want NEW stuff.” Notice the number of (not necessarily clean) points of contact on that item, whether made in Bangladesh or Brooklyn. Garment has NEVER been washed.
Now, watch the “gently-used” item. Previous owner washes/ has dry-cleaned. Resale shopkeeper checks it in, rehangs, tags, puts on rack.
Because the shop is a busy one, with great prices, that garment may be touched by 10 people, tried on by 3 or 4, and bought. Garment was washed 3 days or 3 weeks earlier.
Which garment, do you think, is cleaner?
Of course, this only applies if the consignment shop is scrupulous about cleanliness of incoming items, and has merchandise you (and others!) want to buy… but I’m guessing that’s the only type of shop we like!
Thanks for all of the great tips! Great points for me to reitterate with my clients.
I’ve discovered that when you buy some thing a bit pricy it’s a good idea to keep the all the tags except for price that come with the garment. Hang them on the hangar along with the item, so that when you decide to sell your item, it will have more value with all the original tags describing care and company name.
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Thanks, this is one of the better posts I’ve read today. I share your vision about that. Thanks man!
Hi Tamra, Thanks for sharing your views on closet cleaning and reminding me of organizing mine. Cleaning = Cash can be given a thought, which I never tried. Thanks for the idea.
-Mini
Needed the info.
If you want to see a reader’s feedback
, I rate this post for 4/5. Detailed info, but I just have to go to that damn msn to find the missed pieces. Thank you, anyway!
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