Project #7: Clean Out the Clothes

During our last move, we didn't have a lot of time to go through our closets before we packed or after we unpacked. Needless to say, we had accumulated a great deal of clothes that had either gone out of style, seen their better days, or no longer fit. For some time, we kept two giant moving boxes in our room and just tossed stuff in them (eventually on top of them) when it met one of these qualifications. We had been putting off taking them to Goodwill because we wanted to itemize them for tax purposes.

Well, I had just about had it with the two boxes of clothes. I had decided to forget about the writeoff in favor of less clutter. Except the boxes had gotten so big that me and my pregnant self couldn't lift the boxes any longer. So something had to be done.

I started to consider my options, and I decided to take a couple of routes. Here's what I did:

1. Dump out all the clothes on the floor. I had to see what I had in order to make any progress.
2. Pick out items that could be consigned. I have never done this before, but the process was fairly painless and carefree. My clothes were already clean and folded; I just gave them a quick press and a hanger before running them to my consignment appointment. I placed 20 items in the store for the fall; we'll see in January how they did. The drop-off process took all of five minutes! I've got another stack going to drop off for the spring sale. (Consignors usually limit how many items you can drop off during each season.)
3. Grab the worn-out items and throw them in a trash bin! If I wouldn't wear it in its current condition, why would anyone else? No need to donate junk that someone else is going to have to weed through.
4. Donate everything else! Fold and pack items in small, easily manageable boxes or bags that can be easily lifted in and out of your car.
5. Drop everything off at its final destination!

In calling local consignment shops, I was disappointed to find that men's clothes aren't accepted by any of my stores. Most specialized in children's clothing, and with one little girl and another one on the way, I can't see getting rid of any of that yet. But one day, I'll have plenty to consign! And bonus: the local consignment shops donate all items that don't sell at the end of your sale period, so there's no need to go pick up leftovers and drive them over to Goodwill. Just stop by and pick up your check!

I think I waited a little too long to get to this project. I'm going to try to be more devoted to this moving forward. For this reason, I placed two large, labeled bins in the floor of my closet: (1) Donate and (2) Sell. Now when I (or anyone else) comes across something that needs to go, we'll put the item directly in the appropriate box, folded and ready to go. When a box is full, I'll deal with it individually instead of having to repeat steps 1-5 above. And now, clothing that's just had it goes straight to the trash can.

Whew! I already feel better. And my room looks better. At least that corner of it.

How often do you go through your clothes? Do you have any way to turn the unwanted items into a bit of extra cash? Ever had any luck selling at yard sales? Do share!

Jennifer