It’s been years since I had a yard sale and afterwards I swore NEVER AGAIN. It wasn’t worth the effort and there is a subculture of garage sale stalkers who will stake out your house at 5 a.m. on sale day and haggle you down until you pay them to get off your lawn.
Although I am long past the stepping on Legos and Polly Pocket stilettos days, decluttering our home is still ongoing process, especially our closets. Since the holidays I’ve been making an effort to purge our closets and drawers of all the extra stuff we accumulate. Seriously how can one family own so many t-shirts?
Because I have two girls 33 months apart I save EVERYTHING from their wardrobes but at least every 6 weeks I go through their closets and we purge items, making a donate and consign pile. I also have been diligently “pruning my wardrobe.” I have cleared out some nicer high-end items, however, that I considered resale worthy (like an Elaine Turner leather bag).
Want to clean out your closet, make a little cash, or make someone’s day? Here are 7 ideas for consigning:
Consign Online – Consigning used to be index cards, wire hangers (Mommy Dearest would flip out), and PITA rules that involved a lot of steps that weren’t, frankly, worth it.. There are more and more online options these days, however, and I love ThredUp. They’ll send you a bag to fill with your nicer designer and label clothing items and you can earn cash, credit, or donate your sales to charity. I sent in some nicer items from my donate to charity pile and made a little under $30. Not that that’s earth shattering, but considering that ThredUp sent me a bag with a pre-paid shipping label and all I had to do was fill it and schedule a pick up at my office it was an easy way to earn credit for their store. For very upscale designer items, I’ve heard great things about The RealReal.
Donate – Ask around your community and you’ll get a ton of suggestions for local charities that need gently used clothing, toys, and household goods. I typically drop off a bag of “stuff” once a month to Goodwill and here in Nashville I’ve heard great things about GraceWorks Ministries. Here in Nashville ARC will also come pick up your clothing and household items if you schedule a pickup. As a busy working mom I don’t always have time to drop off items, so this is a great option!
Share – For several years my next door neighbor would bring me her daughter’s gently used play clothes. I also will pass on some items to a friend’s daughter. Pay it forward with the play clothes mamas! Nobody wants to really spend a lot of money on shorts and t-shirts that will get muddy, grass stained, or paint splattered, right? Once your kids hit middle school, the appeal of this will wane but it’s great for toddlers and younger school-age kids.
Facebook Groups – I don’t know if private buy/sell/trade Facebook pages are popular in your community, but OH MY WORD in the Nashville area there are several. I just discovered these last summer. We’re talking great deals on designer bags like Kate Spade and Coach, Hunter boots, etc. I’d advise only meeting people in public places, however, if you sell or purchase something. I like to meet at Walgreens or Target. (Wait maybe the Target locale is by design..HA!) Just be smart about the private information you give to strangers.
Swap Parties – I’ve never hosted a swap party but they sound like a great excuse for getting together with girlfriends, drinking wine, and shopping someone else’s closet. Here’s an entire Pinterest board filled with ideas!
Instagram – I’ve seen a lot of fashion bloggers host #shopmycloset sales. It’s worth a look and a great way to snag higher-end or unusual items that some of your favorite online fashionistas are selling.
Poshmark – A friend at work told me about the Poshmark app and she is hooked. It’s a very visual heavy app that lets you easily sell items. The search capability is great. You can also shop parties.
Do you have any favorite charities or online consignment stores or helpful apps? Let me know in the comments!
