It’s National Old Stuff Day! Time to reflect on things we can move out of our homes that aren’t serving us and clean out our closets…but why does it always feel impossible to do so?

Clothes are a really personal thing. Ideally, it’s the external representation of our style personalities! So it’s hard not to take clothes personally, and we feel guilt when we get rid of them. Add to that, according to a study, Americans aren’t wearing about 50% of their clothing. Let’s just keep piling on that guilt.

I’m here to tell you that with years of fashion reporting for women’s magazines and as the author of a book dedicated to the topic Wear This, Toss That! by Simon & Schuster’s Atria Books, I have four simple steps to alleviate the guilt that I shared on Live! Kelly and Ryan, move things along and free up space for new and exciting pieces of clothing that you’ll love!

STEP ONE: Take out everything from your closet. Absolutely everything (then vacuum the dust bunnies!). Start sorting into 4 piles.

I just underwent a home renovation and moved along 2/3s of my closet! Only 1/3 of my clothes remain after going through all of these steps, and it’s truly freeing!

1. PILE ONE: WEAR. These are clothes in pristine condition that you love and are actively wearing: you ADORE these pieces and you’d honestly wear them every day, back-to-back if your bestie didn’t catch you on repeat! When you wear these clothes you feel amazing: remember this feeling. This is how, moving forward, you wish all the clothes in your closet to make you feel.

2. PILE TWO: TOSS. These clothes are in bad condition are damaged beyond repair and cannot be donated. this can include but is not limited to faded fabrics, irreparable holes, stubborn stains, moth-eaten fabrics, pilled fabrics, elastics that have lost their stretch, etc. This TOSS pile, like the WEAR pile is a fairly easy to sort.

What you can do without throwing away your TOSSES: Obviously, no one wants to throw clothes away. So here are some easy ideas to repurpurse and reuse where possible:

a. Braid slips of fabric into dog chew toys that your canines will LOVE! Easy video tutorial here. (I used cotton T-shirts but fleece and other fabrics work well too! Just avoid overly stretchy fabrics that aren’t thick enough.)

b. Use soft, cutup T-shirts, sweatshirts, etc. for dusting or cleaning cloths.

c. Large sweatshirts that can be cut up into soft “blankets” for rescue animals in shelters; always check in with local shelters to see what their needs are this time of year and what they will accept, but come end of winter, mine always has a shortage of blankets. My kitty loves one of these placed on the windowsill or atop his favorite chair cushion for added softness!

3. PILE THREE: MAYBE. This is typically the largest pile for most people. These are clothes you feel ambivalent about keeping and aren’t particularly inspired by. Perhaps you haven’t worn them in 1-2 years…or longer. Some may even have tags! The real problem with the MAYBEs? They are in perfectly good condition and you feel guilty for giving them away, but you just aren’t wearing them all that often (if at all) and they are holding your closet hostage. 

Here’s the thing. Chances are if you don’t LOVE the MAYBE clothing and haven’t worn it in a while, it’s time to move it along. (The goal is to get the ENTIRE MAYBE PILE outta the house!!) What you’re doing is creating new space for things you truly love and want to wear!

Tips to move along the MAYBE pile:

1. Try everything on before a mirror: check for fit, see how you feel. Enlist a discerning friend in person or via Zoom to help you. Have a glass of wine or a non-alcoholic cocktail, play some dancing music and make the process as fun as possible!

2. Place items you’re ready to let go of in a used bin or tote (that you’re ready to donate also). Move this bin out of sight for 1-2 weeks. Are you thinking about any of the pieces in the bag? Example: “Gosh, I really do love that brown moto jacket, I still have several outfits I can wear it with, I’m going to keep it!” Take that one item out and move it to the WEARs now hanging in your closet. But chances are after 2 weeks? You won’t remember what’s in there. It’s a sign! You’re free to donate the whole lot: bin, clothing and all!

PILE FOUR: CHARITY/CONSIGNMENT: clothes in good condition that can be donated. For consignment, I love supporting local first, followed by any number of apps or online marketplaces that help you keep your clothing moving out of your closet and into the hands of others where it’s being actively worn and used.…and you get paid! Feel fantastic that you are part of the up-cycle revolution, which according to a recent survey— the resale industry is valued at 35 billion (!), and that figure is expected to double in three years’ time!

After the 4 Piles are complete…Make notes of what you need: When you get to this stage, you’ve cleared out space in your closet for new items. Make note of what you might need: a new spring dress, a light cardigan, a new pair of jeans, a new button-down shirt to replace one that you got rid of that was stained, etc., and slowly purchase and restock thoughtfully: there is no rush! 

Places to sell used clothing & accessories:

Poshmark: On this site, you take the picture of unwanted items in your closet and post on their platform; you negotiate the price with buyers. Poshmark pays for the shipping and facilitates payment. They take a small commission on everything you sell. If your sale is under $15 there is a flat fee of $2.95; if your sale is above $15, they take a 20% commission.

Thredup: This is a used clothing and accessories consignment site: you request a prepaid Cleanout Kit (or fill a box up to 30 lbs and attach a prepaid shipping label) with things you want to sell; the site takes the pictures and posts and generally determines prices; you can choose how you wish to receive payouts.

The Real Real: Let’s say you have loads of designer pieces and want to get a fair value back for your sale. The Real Real is an online consignment destination for luxury and designer goods including handbags, shoes and clothing as well as home decor and art. They evaluate and authenticate your pieces. Then they'll photograph, price, and list your items on the site for you.  

Facebook Marketplace, Nextdoor, Craigslist: these platforms work well for selling directly and locally, and you keep 100% of profits. Checkout the websites for info on best practices for selling.

Ebay

Mercari

National Charities for Donation:

American Red Cross

Dress for Success gently used professional attire

Goodwill

Purple Heart

Salvation Army

3 quick Tips for Organizing Your Refreshed Closet:

1. Uniform hangers. These really help create a clean, organized look, and they don’t have to be expensive.

2. Group like categories of clothing together: all shirts, skirts, pants, short dresses, maxi dresses together etc.

3. Sort within each category by color

There are obviously many ways to organize your closet! Some people prefer to hang entire outfits together so they can reach in and pull out the complete outfit, dress and go!