Let me bring you back to a fun, carefree moment you had a year ago: you were spending an afternoon out with your BFF, browsing stores downtown. While walking through a boutique, you saw a dress on a mannequin. You and your friend simultaneously said, “That’s SO cute!” You tried on the dress, loved it, and bought it without too much thought about when you would actually wear it. You just figured there would be plenty of parties, cookouts, or dates where you could fashion this dress and get flushed with compliments. Now flash forward to reality: the dress is still hanging in your closet, with the tags attached. You haven’t worn it at all, not even once.
Maybe it doesn’t fit anymore. Maybe you decided it looked better on the mannequin in the store. Maybe you just don’t like it as much as you did when you were shopping with your friend a year ago. Whatever the reason, this dress that you thought you absolutely HAD to own is just hanging in your closet, collecting dust. Yet, you haven’t brought yourself to give it away; I’m telling you, here and now, it’s time to let it go.
Right now, you may be hesitant to take my advice. You could be thinking that there must be a reason you’ve kept the dress all this time, right? Most likely, you’ve kept it for one of two reasons – one is you feel bad about the money you spent on it and feel that you should keep it; the other is that you think a time to wear it will eventually present itself. Time for some truth bombs: the money is already spent and you’re not getting it back; and if you haven’t worn it in the last year after buying it, nothing is going to change in the next 3 months. Why do you think this dress will suddenly become your go-to outfit for your days and nights out? It hasn’t in the past year, so it won’t now.
So now is the time to make room in your closet. This dress is taking up the space that you can use for the clothes you really love and wear all the time. Just because you never wore the dress (or the other clothes in the closet that still have tags attached) it doesn’t mean that someone else won’t love it and wear it regularly.
If you want to avoid this situation in the future, here are a few ideas to make your wardrobe perfect for you:
Make a plan when going shopping. Know what you need, and don’t stray from it. It’s so easy to get distracted by cute clothes, and get talked into buying a whole new wardrobe by a saleswoman or your friends. If you don’t buy any new clothes for one whole year, it not only keeps your closet decluttered, but you can save hundreds, maybe even thousands fo dollars. Do you realize what you can do with all that extra money? You can put that toward a vacation, your kids’ education fund, or a down payment on a home.
There’s an App for that. If you’re really committed to making some of that money back, you can sell your gently used clothes on sites like Poshmark or ThredUp; I used to be very active on Poshmark and was able to sell some items I no longer wore. However, know this before you start – if you are not very active and you don’t keep sharing your items, they can easily get lost among all the new posts. Think of it like social media; if you only post once, it will easily get overlooked. It can take a lot of effort to successfully sell items on there, so if you don’t have the time or energy to put into it, donate your clothes. There is always someone who can use what you don’t!
Threads of Hope! Looking for someone to take away your gently used clothes? As part of my in-person closet revamp service, I take any clothes you no longer want and resell them on Threads of Hope. 20% of the clothing proceeds always go back to a worthy cause, so you not only help your own personal mental health and wellness by clearing out your unwanted clothes, but the sales of your clothes are giving back to those in need!
So what are you waiting for? Contact me and let me help you go through your closet and make your space a peaceful haven where you can start your day off on the right foot!
