We’re sharing strategies for consignment success in our Consignment Best Practices Series. These are general guidelines - please always check our Consignment Page for current information.
- Post guest written by Fae
Cutting out clothing clutter is one of the top reasons our customers bring in consignment. As a consignment store, we fill a crucial role in the local marketplace where people can have a space to let their clothing have a new life in someone else’s wardrobe. As wonderful as this option is, many are often faced with learning the art of letting go.
There can be many emotions we experience as we let go of clothing. The clothes we wear represent our personal identities that we hold near and dear. Whether it is memories of events you wore a particular garment or feelings about clothing that you have outgrown either physically or stylistically, going through and choosing the wardrobe that best suits you now is no small feat.
In the spirit of this, here is a list of ideas and methods that we have seen and heard around that may come in handy while you are curating a closet that suits you best.
Kondo’ed
By far the most popular method to come out in the last couple of years about removing clutter is the KonMarie Method developed by Marie Kondo. The main focus is on keeping items around that “spark joy”.
When applied to clothing clutter, this would mean going through your entire closet and keeping only the items that bring a sense of purpose and joy into your life and getting rid of the rest. This method tends to work best for people who have a clear sense of their style and have the time to dedicate to a major clothing overhaul, as the method specifies the effectiveness of doing everything in one sitting.
Reverse Hangin’
Take all the hangers in your closet and flip them so they are facing backwards. After you wear an item, flip the hanger and keep it in this position. Over time it will be easy to see which clothing you do and don’t wear by which hangers are still backwards.
Fold Master
A variation of reversing the hangers for people who store their clothing by folding them into drawers. Start by rolling all your clothing as you would when packing a suitcase. After wearing the items, fold it flat. Over time you will be able to tell what you still wear by what is still rolled up.
Bag It Up
This method involves going through your entire closet and bagging things that you think you don’t wear enough to justify keeping. After going through your closet, set the bags somewhere outside of where you usually get dressed. Only bring back the items from the bags that you specifically think about over a period of time. Donate and consign the rest!
Dirty Laundry
This method is a little funny, but it has been found to be very effective to find out what you really wear in a laundry cycle. Go as long as you can without washing your clothes until you get to a point where you’d rather wash clothes and wear them again over wearing what you have clean and ready in your closet. The rest can be donated or consigned as you see fit.
Other Considerations
If there are any garments that hold a lot of memories, it can be helpful to take a nice picture of yourself in the garment before consigning or donating. This way you get to hold onto memories without keeping the clutter.
Always remember seasonality in the process you take for tackling clothing clutter. Getting rid of sweaters in the summer when you are hot and sticky may be easier, but to prevent any regret when winter comes around, wait until you get into that time of year to sort through warmer garments. You may have to repeat processes every season to get a better sense of what you actually need during those times.