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!