Cleanin’ Out My Closet
Well, I think the weather is *finally* going to hold here in NY and today I started switching out my winter clothes for spring and summer. I love pulling out all the big bulky sweaters and coats from the one narrow closet I have and having more SPACE. I keep my off-season clothes in a vintage metal clothing hamper and some in a tub in a storage unit. I stacked the spring/summer clothes from the hamper (sort of, ha) neatly on the bed…and now I don’t want to hang them up and lose the space (and empty hangers!) I just reclaimed by taking the cold-weather clothing out. Besides, Janey is napping on some linen slacks, so…PROCRASTINATION WINS.
The good news is I have two garbage bags-full of clothes to donate…and two garbage bags-full of clothes to post on Swap.com, an online clothing consignment site. I used to sell clothing on ebay and I am SO over all that…and with Swap.com I just send the clothes to them, they do all the annoying photographing, describing, listing and shipping, and I get a check when things sell. Easy-peasy! You can also buy clothes there, they have TONS of women’s plus-size items at thrift store prices. I’ll let you know how I make out with that.
I’m still editing down the amount of clothes I have and am focused on building a manageable capsule wardrobe. I don’t have room here for more than I need. For some reason the hardest things for me to let go of are the stretched out, holey, had-them-forever tops that I like to wear around the house or to take the dog on walks. Good “comfy but not precious” items are hard to come by. I can’t just *buy* something and relegate it to laying on the dog-hairy sofa and planting pansies in the outdoor pots duty. That’s a job for things that long ago re-couped their original investment so I no longer care if I ruin them. Am I crazy that way?
This closet is an ongoing project. Every work vacation I say “I WILL take charge of that closet this week.” I have some time off at the end of this week…maybe I’ll have an “after” shot to show you soon. Maybe. It’s the only closet I have in the whole apartment so it becomes a catch-all for Everything That Doesn’t Have Anywhere Else to Go. I *would* love for it to be easier to walk in so I can reach things – and put clothes away – more easily. Because I hate going in there so much, during the week most of my clothes get tossed on my bike after wearing…until the pile gets so heavy that the bike threatens to go over. Please tell me I’m not the only one who does this.
I might finally break down and read that Marie Kondo organizing book, take EVERYTHING out of the closet, and only put back the things that bring me joy. Yeah. I’ll let you know how THAT goes, too.
What system do you have for not letting your wardrobe and closet get out of hand?
withwonderandwhimsy
It seems like everyone is thinking spring cleaning right now! Thanks for the introduction to Swap.com. I’ve used Poshmark for over a year, but like you, I wanted some easy and convenient. I just shipped a bag of stuff to thredUP. It sounds similar to Swap. I’ll have to look at Swap’s website and compare the two. As for Marie Kondo? I haven’t read the book but I’ve certainly heard the mantra. I’ve used it to help get rid of some things, but I’m such a fanciful person that I inevitable want to keep frivolous things and get rid of the practical. I’m not so sure she had my personality type in mind as her target audience…haha
<3 Liz
http://www.withwonderandwhimsy.com
Bettye Rainwater
I’ve heard of Poshmark (actually think I created an account but have never done anything with it) and thredUp but haven’t used either of them – I’ll have to check them out. Thanks!
Maggie Mehr Donapel
I’ve gotten into selling clothes on eBay — had a fantastic sale of a vintage jacket and thought of you, Bettye! I’ll look into these other venues. I thought Poshmark was only for high-end clothing, though.