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Health & Fitness

Honest Guide to Organizing Your Closet Part 3: Donate, Sell, and Share Oh My!

A simple guide on what to do with your unwanted items after you purge and organize your closet.

 The reaction is always the same.  Whenever I mention to potential clients that anything we purge I take to donations for them...their eyes light up! It’s a great service, because after you have done all that hard work to purge and organize your closet the last thing you want to do is shlep bags of stuff to Good Will. 

P.S.- If you followed Parts 1 and 2 correctly you should have bags of stuff to get rid of!

But alas...the final step to your newly organized closet is getting rid of everything you aren’t keeping.  So I wanted to include a simple guide to help with this final and very important step:

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  • Donations:

Good Will and Salvation Army- Each website has a store locator so you can find the one nearest you.They ask for “gently used” items. This does not include your old gym shirt coming apart at the seams.  Set aside anything that is badly damaged, but the rest can go to a new owner! Both organizations offer receipts for tax deductions on your donation. Use this guide to help determine your donation value.

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Honest to goodness this is the easiest option to just be d-o-n-e with your project, just drop off and go!

 However, if you have a healthy conscious about really making a difference with your donations here are some other good options:

 The Downtown Women’s Center- They will take anything for women and give it free to the homeless women who come into their day center. 

Dress for Success- Outfits disadvantaged women for interviews and new carreers. Business attire suits, shoes,and accessories are accepted.  They request donations be cleaned prior to drop off.  A very worth cause for that blazer you only wore once!

National Counsil of Jewish Women- Voted one of the best charities to donate to in L.A.! They take all types of clothing and will give you an itemized receipt for your donation.

Vietnam Veterans of America- If you have several bags of clothes these are the guys to call! They will come pick it up for you, just schedule an appointment online. 

Donate My Dress- Do you still have all your daughter’s (or your) prom dresses collecting dust in the closet? What a shame because you can make a teenage girl's dream come true by donating them to this organization!

 And what about that pile of unwearable clothes all stained, and tattered? It’s called Textile Recycling my friends and I encourage you to make the effort to take these items to a location.  Here is a list of places in Los Angeles who take textile recycling.  Because those old baseball socks are not bio-degradable!

 

  • Selling:

 Before you haul all your stuff to a consignment store thinking you’ll walk out with a load of cash here are a few things to keep in mind:

-You only get around 30% of what the seller earns on your items.

-Most locations have a least a 5 item minimum. For example you need at least 3 designer bags and 2 pairs of shoes in excellent condition in order for the store to take on the inventory.

-Bring in items that are approprotae for the retail season. Call ahead before driving over to see if the store is looking for the things you have.

-Designer, designer, designer!! Don’t walk in with a bag full of last years Macys, you will be disappointed.

 A few good local locations are:

3020 Designer Resale

Haute Seconds

PJ London

Great Labels

Give + Take Swap Boutique

 

Crossroads Trading Co. and The Buffalo Exchange- These consignment stores operate a little differently. You get money for your items right off the bat and don’t have to wait for them to sell.  They also are a little more flexible on the labels, will take some vintage items, and are very strict on retail seasonal appropriate pieces.  But they can take in a larger inventory so your chances are better.  They will offer you a higher value of store credit or less value in cash for anything they take.  But before you take store credit, think about that freshly organized closet that you don’t want to fill up again!

 A little advice about selling your clothes...if you are attached to the value of your items this could be a hard process. A client of mine was traumatized when she recieved $30 for a bag of clothes worth hundreds.  As an organizer this is not the happy feeling you want your client to have at the end of this process. Especially if it keeps you from doing it again!

  • Giving clothes to family and friends:

 I usually think this is a great suggestion for getting rid of your unwanted things.  Unless...your sister’s closet is just as packed and unorganized as your’s was.  Don’t be a Clutter Contributor! 

 If you have multiple people you want to give to, set up a bag for each one and attach a post-it with their names on it.  Give yourself a deadline to have the bag dropped off or picked up, I suggest no more than a week.  I have done Follow-up Sessions with clients a month later and their give-away-bags are still sitting there!  Also, try to only give to local friends and family, making a trip to the post office is just another thing on your To Do list.  

Another great idea is to host a  Swap Party.  Organize an evening with a group of people to bring their unwanted clothes and swap with each other.  Crack open a bottle of wine and make that Pintrest recipe you’ve been wanting to try...just remember to do more giving than swaping so your closet doesn’t fill up again!  

Donate, sell, or share...however you want to get rid of those unworn, out dated, or over used clothes will bring you guaranteed satisfaction! Honestly, getting your closet organized can be life changing.  It is a space we begin and end our day with, why not feel good about it?  Following these 3 steps might not be easy, but it will be totally worth it. Good luck!

 

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