In the world we live in of fast fashion and social media, there are a few outfits or articles of clothing in our closet we’ve worn and will probably not wear again. With the importance of sustainability and with the help of the Internet, we can clean out our closets, leaving only what we love and truly wear, and do good with unwanted clothes, shoes and accessories.
Preparation
Depending on the state of your closet, you might need a few hours to go through everything and decide on what you want to keep, donate or sell. Mark your clean out day on your calendar or start when you get that boost of clean out energy. Create a playlist with uplifting songs that help remove some of the hassle of taking everything out of your closet and going through it. Grab snacks and water and begin removing everything from your closet. Don’t worry about categorizing anything yet. Once your closet has been emptied, take a breather. When you’re ready, get back to it.
Organization
With all your clothing, shoes, accessories and anything else in your closet laid out in front of you, create different piles for what you want to keep, what you don’t want to keep and what you’re indecisive about. With your clothes organized, begin putting back in your closet what you are for sure keeping. You can organize it by color, style or any way that’s most convenient for you. With the two remaining piles, place all the items you don’t want in a bag or box and review your maybe pile. Remember, if there’s something in your maybe pile you’re not so sure you’ll wear anymore, think about donating, gifting or selling it to someone who will not only wear it, but love it more. For items that are in poor condition, try seeing if they can be repurposed before throwing them away.
Donation, gifting or selling
With only the items you don’t want left, think about whether you want to donate, sell or gift them to someone else. If you’ve got some extra time on your hands and want to make some extra income, consider modeling the items and putting them up for sale on apps like Mercari, Depop and Poshmark. (From personal experience, I’ve had the best luck and experience selling items on Mercari.) If you don’t want to go through the extra steps, place your unwanted goods in a bag and donate it to GoodWill or the Salvation Army. You can also create a ThredUp account, and once you receive your shipping bag, send it to the company and they will sort through it and give you some money back depending on your items.
Photo: A.Leona
