Carrie Bradshaw's Closet
Like most Fashionistas I too tend to find myself having to clean out my closets every year. Whether you’re planning a move, planning on your mate moving in with you or you’re just plum out of space for another item, cleaning out your closet is always quite liberating. Regardless of your motivation, chances are you will absolutely be happier you did it. Granted, there will be some items you will have a difficult time parting with but here’s some great tips on how to start the process.
Before diving in set your mind that you will have 4 piles. Why 4 you ask? Well besides the keep pile, a donate pile and a toss pile also have a consign pile. Trust me, a consign pile is worth the effort. Last year I showed up at a consign boutique in Atlanta with an SUV full of items from work shoes, to designer dresses and purses as well as tons of jewelry. In less than a year I had made over $700 on the items that sold.
- Keepers: Items you’ve worn at least in the 6 months. We’ve had a mild winter so maybe not every sweater got worn this year. Well, hold it up and ask yourself if you’d wear it next year or will it be out of style by then. And then ask yourself, “does this still look as cute as when I bought it?” Our bodies and our styles change a little as we get older so it’s always worth trying on to help with the decision process.
- Donate: The donate pile are the items that aren’t quite consignment boutique worthy. Yeah, we all shop at Target or even Old Navy from time to time. But consignment boutiques are looking for items nicer than your usual casual Target shirt or skirt. So those fun and inexpensive items should be donated. But be sure to get your receipt. Those little donation really add up and help at tax time for a great write off.
- Tossers: Okay, let’s be serious, we all have a few items that have been worn to death. No one even at Good Will would want to pay money for these items. They might be comfy and worn in but honestly, ask yourself how often you wear them and are they worth the space in your closet. Chances are they probably aren’t. They are trash worthy.
- Consigners: As I mentioned, it’s so worth consigning. I started with a Google search for places in town that had the best reviews and were reasonable for their consigning rules. Some boutiques like to pay in store credit. I avoided those and made sure I was paid in cash (check, actually). I could also track how much I was owed since I had an online log-in on the boutiques website to track it. It was so convenient.
So good luck with you spring closet cleaning. Just remember, all that space you are making in there… well, that’s just more space for trending stylish new clothes.
