Expand Your Closet Purge: There Can Be More Than 3 Categories
This time of year (fall chill settling in the air; winter hibernation just around the corner) I typically find myself knee-deep in piles of clothing in an attempt to perform a purge on my closet that tends to resemble a tornado wreckage before any real progress is made. The routine rarely changes: designate areas of the room for Toss/Donate/Keep piles, pull every piece of clothing out of every nook and cranny in the house, and sort accordingly until A) everything is in its correct pile, or B) I work myself into an anxiety-ridden mess and fall headfirst into the nearest pile, bemoaning the ridiculous amount of clothing I own and the cutthroat decisions that have to be made when faced with 3 categories to organize everything into. Well, guess which of these is the desired outcome and which is the more likely outcome. UGH!
Cue the lightbulb moment I had when I started to get organized for last year's cleanup and stood facing an empty room with 3 imaginary zones picked out for my piles: "Who says I can only have 3 categories?!? What is this -- amateur hour??". A-HA! Lightning struck and the idea of expanding my closet purge categories was ignited!
In today's culture of "fast fashion" there is a serious concentrated effort amongst a small (but constantly growing) group of fashionistas who are adopting a "slow fashion" lifestyle that appeals to me much more than accumulating and rotating trends that seem to fade faster than my root job. With the mission to be more mindful and creative with the contents of your closet, it opens up a ton of new possibilities for old duds!
REPURPOSE
Sometimes I come across an item in my closet that I truly love because of the color or the fabric (or both) but the piece as a whole no longer works due to size, damage or style. For example, I had a sleeveless peach chiffon dress that was super cute to wear during summer 2013 when I was pregnant but now? The size is wrong, the style isn't flattering, BUT it has this incredible peach satin slip attached underneath so I had that removed and refashioned into a satin pillowcase - huzzah! Furthermore, the woman who did the alteration asked to keep the chiffon layer to repurpose herself, so it was a major win all around! We each got to create something new out of one old dress and both the cost & waste were very minimal.
And don't get caught up in the idea that a repurpose needs to be fancy. Old tee shirts and single socks that have lost their mate make the best reusable rags for dusting! I also use old tees as hair towels or slip them over my pillowcase if I'm going to bed with wet hair.
NOTE TO THE MOMS IN THE CROWD: You know those baby blankets and onesies you keep that are too special to get rid of but will only collect dust if you keep them tucked away? There are a ton of crafty services out there now that will take those old pieces and turn them into something even more special, such as a memory quilt or pillow or stuffed animal that you can display!
SELL WITHOUT CONSIGNING
There's been a major influx of "closet cleanout" accounts popping up on Instagram lately (almost to the point of inundation - and I say this without judgement as I now have my own IG account for exactly this purpose), which definitely requires some time and effort to set up and manage, but can pay off quite well in the long run as you essentially cut out the middle man of a consignment shop. This is the perfect market for higher-end pieces that have been kept in excellent condition and trendy pieces that are still current. You can make a great return on your investment, granted that the items are in excellent condition, well-photographed, with enough information included in the description to allow potential buyers to feel comfortable about the sale and quality of the piece. This is NOT the perfect market for a virtual garage sale - as in, donate your low-end pieces that wouldn’t rake in more than $10 or take them to Plato's Closet; same goes for your workout gear and stinky sneakers. I find a lot of accounts are really tossing in a little bit of E.VER.Y.THING. so keeping a more streamlined, fashion-focused IG feed will help you stand out from the rest.
Alternately, there are some IG accounts already created by other fashionistas who have opened up their page to allow others to "take over" and sell their items, so the framework and following is already established. You as the seller just have to provide the pics and item descriptions and manage the sales with prospective buyers. @closetcleanoutyxe is a personal fave that is local to Saskatoon and run by a truly wonderful gal.
Another avenue available to Canadian fashionistas is reselling on popular secondhand sites like Depop and Poshmark. Similar to setting up an IG account but with a wider audience to view your things, these platforms allow you to list your items and link your payment options so people can be shopping your closet in the middle of the night while you snooze! You receive an alert if something from your closet sells and the rest is super easy - ship those babies off to their new home and wish them well on their next life! HOWEVER, please keep in mind, Depop and Poshmark will both take a percentage of your sale (including shipping fees) so this option isn’t technically “consignor free”.
DRESS FOR SUCCESS
A wonderful non-profit created to help disadvantaged women move toward a self-sufficient future, Dress for Success (DFS) is the place to take all of your business attire that is still in excellent condition. This wonderful organization supports women in the community who are working to gain their own financial freedom following personal hardships by providing them with the apparel they need to walk into prospective job interviews already looking the part. They take the mantra "Clothes make the woman" to a deeper level by taking the anxiety out of what to wear to that first interview and allowing their clients to feel confident and professional. They also accept the accoutrements that turn a business suit into a "full lewk" so be sure to include those practical heels, handbags and accessories in your DFS haul! Check out the main DFS website for the location nearest you.
CLOTHES SWAP
The first rule of the clothes swap is accepting that this method is NOT about the purge because you'll more than likely end up going home with just as many pieces as you parted with. No, the name of the game here is VARIETY: swapping old pieces out for ones that feel "new to you". And the rules of the game are kinda tricky AF to nail successfully. If it's too small a group, there can't be widely varying size ranges or no one finds anything new. If it's too saturated, the anxiety to parse through & pick out the gems before someone else does becomes too much. You simply can't shop well in a messy environment. Thus, the clothes swap is kind of a tough one to execute BUT, when executed properly -- with the right group of ladies, fun bevvies, and a final fashion show of everyone's favorite new looks -- the swap is a seriously fun time and one of my fave options in this list.
“Swap - don’t shop!”
SO CLOSE, BUT...
This pile is for the pieces you love but haven't worn in a while (or ever) because something either needs to be fixed or altered. Well, the time has come, sweet cheeks! Give yourself a generous grace period on this pile -- at first! -- and make notes on Post-Its as to what each piece requires (new button, new zipper, fix hole, etc.) and where you can take them for the work they need. Pin each note to its respective piece, place them all together in a clear Rubbermaid bin, and give yourself 6 months to deal with everything. Keep the bin out, don't pile things on it or let it get lost at sea, and make serious efforts to tackle the list. There is some major joy to be found in replacing old buttons on a piece and having it perfectly tailored - suddenly, your entire wardrobe feels bespoke! Give this bin a revisit after the 6-month mark and be cutthroat about what remains -- for anything that didn't get fixed: into the donation bin it goes, sister!
ARCHIVE
Ah, my favourite of all the new categories in my purging arsenal: archiving. I used to spend a lot of time archiving files and creating archival systems in my professional days but never did I think to apply this to my own closet cleaning strategies. Honestly, I hope I spare a lot of readers future heartbreak by sharing this one because TRUST ME when I say it is A-OK to save something for no functional reason other than how much you truly love it. Had I adopted this mentality at an earlier age I could have saved my entire Tommy Hilfiger wardrobe circa 1997-98 that would have rendered me the coolest cat in town in 2016 when 90's street style came back into the fold full-force. It pained me to instead have to purchase a cropped tee from Urban Outfitters, knowing full well that my 13 year old self had a much cooler version and was way ahead of her time. Don't even get me started on the amazing pair of navy wedges I purchased on a grade 7 school trip, that I used all of my shopping and even some of my food money for (hello, fries and gravy for 3 meals straight!), NEVER WORE, and now can't find for the life of me. Those shoes and how utterly perfect they would be on “2019 Mandy”, as well as the thought that they may be gone forever, still keeps me up at night. So, now that I know better, I allow myself the absolute pleasure of keeping certain things that I know a future knock-off could never replace: t-shirts from actual metal concerts instead of Zara, my first pair of Prada heels, custom pieces I've had made for photo shoots, the dress I lived in when pregnant with Henrik. These pieces tend to mark not only your personal style evolution but major life moments as well. Even if you have no intention of passing anything on to a future daughter or generation, do it for yourself and the preservation of beautiful memories.
ORGANIZE THE MESS
Okay, now I KNOW the addition of extra categories could ultimately lead to twice as much mess to deal with, so I encourage you to clear piles as you make them. If your wardrobe is anything like mine, the entire purge from start to finish is going to take more than one day (or one week - aye yi yi!) which can easily get out-of-hand and become an eyesore to look at. Keeping the mess neatly organized and contained to one room is key to keeping your sanity throughout the purging process!
The pile I tend to create the fastest is my "Donate - Every Day Wear" pile so I try to bag these items up and drop them off as I run daily errands. There are a variety of options for this category of clothing to go to such as your local Community Living bin, the Food Bank, and the YWCA Opportunity Shop. Plus there are a ton of donation bins around the city set up by the Diabetes Association - I guarantee you have one or two right in your neighborhood! With so many local spots to take these kinds of items, it's pretty easy to find one on the same route as your errands to make those frequent drop-offs super simple.
Invest in storage solutions for your long-term items like your archives, items that require altering, and seasonal switch-outs to keep them neatly stored together. I’m a big fan of the Rubbermaid clear underbed boxes with wheels for archives and off-season items as they stack so neatly on top of each other.
Find a garment bag(s) to zip up all your DFS donations (include shoes and accessories in shoe bags/Ziplocs in the bottom of each bag) and hang them near your front door to make sure they aren't forgotten.
Prep items for resell by steaming, washing, dry cleaning as needed and hanging them up (except for sweaters - please do not hang your sweaters!). Designate a clear Rubbermaid container to these items. If you’re doing the work of selling your own clothes, photograph each item before neatly folding and storing away. If you are going through a consignor, set up an appointment and be sure to ask what items they are currently accepting in case you have to weed anything out of your pile before taking it in.
Even if you’re using clear storage containers for your items (which I highly recommend), you can take the organization a step further by attaching a label or itemized list to the outside of the container that easily describes its contents. When the moment comes that you must find that one particular item you’ve packed away, a label or list will help you accomplish that task with incredible ease.
Okay, I know I’ve given you a lot of info to consider here, but I’m a firm believer that when you know better you DO better - so go forth with that closet purge, look those piles of clothes straight in the eye with a menacing glare and tackle them like you wish you could tackle a Hemsworth!!
xo,
M.
