Last week you saw in my Closet Cleanse post that Megan LaRussa with Southern Femme spent three hours helping me do a closet cleanse. As we touched every article of clothing in my closet, we separated my clothes into several piles. Two of which were “clothes to consign now for spring” and clothes that need to be donated. All others were placed in a consign-for-a-different-season-pile.
Bag Lady for Donations
Consigning or Donating?
Many people don’t consign, but I have had great luck with it. Over the last few years, I’ve sold about $2-400 dollars worth of clothing per year. Every little bit helps, right?
I have a few favorite consigning shops that I’m happy to share with my local readers. In Fairhope, there’s only one that I have used and I’ve always gotten great results. As a writer, Hertha’s Second Edition is not only a great name, but they have a huge clientele.
Birmingham has several, but the two that I’ve gotten the best results with are Collage Designer Consignment in Homewood, AL and Renaissance Consignment in Birmingham.
So how did we decide what went in what pile? I’m going to share that with you today. Look for the following for consigning:
- Current style: be sure the item has been popular in the last year. Labels are important, too. High fashion or mid-range such as Chico’s, White House Black Market, Ann Taylor, Loft, Banana Republic, Talbots, etc.
- Current season: Shops only take items that are in season.
- Good condition: no tears, no fading, zippers work, no stains, hem in place.
- Clean: Pressed and on hangers, no underarm or collar stains, buttons secure.
- Needed in the store you want to consign in.
To donate, if you can’t answer yes to all of the above, then contribute those items to an organization like Dress for Success through the YWCA. It will help someone who needs an interview wardrobe. If the clothing has multiple problems, then put them in the trash pile.
And while you’re cleaning out those closets, keep the little fashionistas in mind. They might put on their own fashion show in your backyard.
