A RDR Guide: How to Responsibly Clean Out Your Closet!

So you’ve decided to clean out your closet! This task is daunting, maybe anxiety inducing, exciting, and invigorating all at the same time. Cleaning out your closet is a great step forward to creating a curated closet that speaks to you and reflects your personal style. 

In this post I’m going to share some tips to help you better decide what to keep and what to get rid of, as well as how to responsibly get rid of the clothes you no longer vibe with. 

If you struggle with figuring out which clothes to part ways with, try to follow this flow chart! 

Getting rid of clothes that no longer serve you should feel relieving. If tackling your closet is a huge project maybe split it into a few days and invite a friend to help you! The task should be fun and not too exhausting. Feel good about the things you're getting rid of, not extremely anxious. 

Now that you've gone through all your clothes you probably have a decent amount of items you don't want. 

Sell:

Resell your clothing that is still in good shape, and possibly a brand name. If it's a piece you paid a lot for then try out some resell platforms! Poshmark, Depop, Tradesy, and Mercari some great ones to consider. If it's a luxury piece try out the following luxury resellers: 

    The Real Real

    Vestiaire Collective

    Fashionphile

    Rebag

    Luxury Garage Sale

    Collector Square

    StockX

    The Luxury Closet

    Material World

   

     Here is a link to an article about reselling luxury items and short synopsis's of each of these platforms. 

   

 Posting on selling platforms does require a bit of effort, so you want to make sure that the clothes you're posting are actually worth the post. If you're not sure that anyone would actually want to buy them or you're not really interested in going through the hassle of reselling clothes on your own consider ThredUp and Material World (designer/high quality brands) or take your clothes to your local consignment stores. These companies will add a lot of ease if you just want these clothes out of your life!  ThredUp will also recycle anything that can't actually be resold.

Here is a small list of consignment chains! But, also find out if you have any local consignment shops that you can support!

    Uptown Cheapskate

    Buffalo Exchange 

    Plato’s Closet

    Style Encore

    Once Upon A Child (Children's wear)

    Clothes Mentor

    Local Consignments - check what’s available in your area that may not be part of a chain. 

For years it's been everyone’s first instinct to donate everything they don’t want to charities and shops like Goodwill and Salvation Army, but that doesn’t work anymore. Often times there is an excess of items donated that end up getting sent off to third world countries. These country's markets end up getting oversaturated with unwanted western products and it ruins their opportunity to create their own markets and industries. By being more thoughtful with how you get rid of your unwanted clothes you can help solve this problem! There are plenty of companies out there that will reward consumers for bringing in old clothes, no matter the condition, and they will either recycle or resell the items. A win-win for you, the environment, third world countries and the companies who are involved in these initiatives. 

Recycle: 

    If your item happens to be beyond repair DON'T throw it away. I repeat!! Don't just throw it away (this includes old underwear)! Clothing in landfills is a huge problem and now it's easier than ever to recycle textiles. Check out the list below for retailers/companies that will give you rewards for donating your clothes at their stores to be recycled. 

Knickey

    Knickey accepts your old underwear, no matter what condition they're in) and will recycle the fibers into insulation, rug pads and rags. Also, for every box of undies that you send to them they will give you a complimentary pair in your next order. 

ThredUp

    I've already mentioned ThredUp in this post but I think they're worth mentioning again! ThredUp gives you the option to sell or donate your old clothes to them. If you decide to sell they will pay you once your items sell from their website. If you decide to donate then 5$ per every kit you send will be given to a charity of your choice. All you have to do is order a "clean out kit" from their site, fill it up with what you don't want, mail it back, and let them handle the rest! If the items you send in don't meet their quality standards then they will be recycled. 

North Face - Clothes the Loop Program

    Unwanted clothing and footwear can be dropped off in stores or outlets. The condition and brand doesn't matter. North Face will reward your drop off by giving you a 10$ reward off your next 100$ or more purchase!

Levi's

    Basically the same deal as the North Face Program. Bring any unwanted clothing or shoes from any brand to the collection boxes in their stores and receive 20% off any single item. 

H&M - Let's Close the Loop

    They will accept any clothes or textiles from any brand and give you 15% off coupon towards your next purchase. They have bins in all their stores. 

Madewell - Do Well

    They accept old jeans which will be recycled into housing insulation. To reward your recycling efforts you'll get 20$ off a new pair of jeans!

Eileen Fisher - Renew

    Eileen Fisher will accept any old Eileen Fisher products regardless of the condition. Their collection Renew uses these brought back items as the raw material. Consumers who bring back items receive 5$ in renew rewards for each piece. 

Happy closet cleaning! 

Aleksandra