Author Topic: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes  (Read 10325 times)

norabird

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Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« on: September 11, 2014, 09:14:25 AM »
I have donated/sold/swapped a bunch of clothes in the course of a few moves over the last year and a half, but I still have a lot of clothes left; realistically, I don't need all of them, and I still have credit card debt so extra money helps out obviously. I have a shipping label from the resale website Twice and am having trouble taking the clothes I've id'ed as possible giveaways out of the closet and putting them into the box! I think I need a nudge, or a facepunch, or a pep talk. Most of them are clothes I would wear over the course of the year, but not that frequently, and I have enough other options that they can easily leave my wardrobe without my suffering from it. Yet I have some weird emotional urge to hang on to them when that isn't strictly rational. I see lots of people giving thing away or selling things in the inspirational paring down threads, and I wish I could let go that easily, but somehow I can't! Halp.

Jellyfish

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #1 on: September 11, 2014, 09:37:31 AM »
I suffer from the same inability to give away/sell clothes if I think I *might* someday sear it again.  What I've found helpful is to ask myself if I've worn it in the past 1 or 2 years. If the answer is no, it goes.  Good luck!

OSUBearCub

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #2 on: September 11, 2014, 09:38:05 AM »
Nudge!  You can do it! {Facepunch}!

(That covers all three requests.) :-)

La Bibliotecaria Feroz

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #3 on: September 11, 2014, 10:07:55 AM »
You can do it!

Well-dressed French women have tiny wardrobes--maybe ten base pieces per season, plus camisoles and so on for layering--of excellent quality. If you need extra nudging, you could get Lessons from Madame Chic from the library and read just that chapter.

deedeezee

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #4 on: September 11, 2014, 10:12:05 AM »
I don't know if this will help you, but when I have a situation like this, I force myself to put the things in the box and set it aside. I don't seal it/mail it.  In a period of time (24 hours, a week, whatever), I open it and say affirmatively if I actually missed it, or needed it, or get value out of it. Basically, you are taking it out of the box and ADDING it to your closet. In 9+ times out of 10, I leave it in the box/bag and send it on its way.

FrugalFisherman10

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #5 on: September 11, 2014, 10:16:17 AM »
Clothes are dummmb! go nude! You're beautiful that way anyway! Think how it would be if we were all nude all the time...ahh..oh wait. That wouldn't be awesome, but look! We have all these clothes to cover up with! What a delight!


(hopefully that was a semi-accurate representation of what mustachi-stoicism would sound like, to help encourage that you don't need those extra clothes!)

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/10/02/what-is-stoicism-and-how-can-it-turn-your-life-to-solid-gold/

+1 to what deedeezee just said

rescuedog

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #6 on: September 11, 2014, 11:33:49 AM »
Being pretty clueless about clothing myself and always feeling like I have nothing to wear, I started learning about wardrobe capsules and mix and matching outfits to make more outfits.  Paring something you own with another item that you previously didn't wear before.  This might be common sense to some, but it is an art and science I am learning from scratch here!  Try to keep pieces that work for a couple seasons (not just summer, etc) or can be mixed with other items so you can stretch their limitations.  Using the rule "did I wear it in the last year?" also helps.

A very basic mix and match


This one is ingenious.  Just 10 items, and they look all different to me!


angelagrace

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #7 on: September 11, 2014, 11:35:34 AM »
Check out www.un-fancy.com! It totally motivated me!!!

epipenguin

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #8 on: September 11, 2014, 11:36:02 AM »
Put the clothes aside somewhere. I use my guest room closet. Give yourself permission to go get them back if you really need them. I find that I've done that once in like 3 years of purging my closet - the rest of the time I go to the closet once or twice a year and grab everything to donate. In your case, is there a time limit beyond which the retailer won't take the item back? Set yourself that as a deadline to make the decision.

Sister C

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #9 on: September 11, 2014, 11:47:40 AM »
Clothes are dummmb! go nude! You're beautiful that way anyway! Think how it would be if we were all nude all the time...ahh..oh wait. That wouldn't be awesome, but look! We have all these clothes to cover up with! What a delight!


(hopefully that was a semi-accurate representation of what mustachi-stoicism would sound like, to help encourage that you don't need those extra clothes!)

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/10/02/what-is-stoicism-and-how-can-it-turn-your-life-to-solid-gold/


Love it, FrugalFisherman.  Another +1 to deedeezee's suggestion. You already have the shipping label! You are so close! Remind yourself how good it will feel to pay down the credit card debt. Think about all the benefits of selling/donating/swapping clothes that you've experienced in the past.  When doubt creeps in, say to it "yes, but... [reason to let go]."  Also, in my experience, letting go of things gets easier with practice.  So you are helping your future self in that way as well.

For the future, here's another option to consider. In my family, we always have a donation box, and we put things in it as we notice we don't use/need them. It can be easier to let go of things one at a time, and I always know I have the option of retrieving it from the box before it gets donated. (I don't think I've ever done that though). Another benefit of this system is that the box is a nice visual reminder of my past excesses which helps me avoid buying something new I don't need. Look at all this stuff I already have that I don't use! 

P.S. The next step for me is selling things rather than always donating... I'll look into Twice. Any other suggestions for selling clothes?

rescuedog

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #10 on: September 11, 2014, 03:11:39 PM »
thredup.com also buys used clothing for their online consignment shop, but it all has to be in great shape. 

http://www.thredup.com/bags/info

I have not compared the payouts of Twice versus thredup, but each of them have certain brains they don't accept.  I use thredup to buy high end items for cheaper.  I'm trying to build a smaller solid classic wardrobe (like the Madame Chic lady) and ditch all my Old Navy, etc stuff.

Check out thredup's price payouts before sending it in.  Some people have been disappointed, but you're not going to get eBay values for doing no work at all.  You can get credit or cash for your payout.  I think I sent in 12 items (all lower end), they kept 7 and I got $24.01.  They were items that I was sick of hanging onto and trying to sell on eBay.

If you want your items back in case they reject them (like to try selling on eBay or donate) you pay a $12.99 return fee.  Otherwise the bag is free to order and free to ship to them.

misstache

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #11 on: September 11, 2014, 03:17:57 PM »
Norabird,

The book "Clearing Your Clutter With Feng Shui" is really good at motivating me to reduce my clutter in order to improve everything else about my life. :)

Everything I've taken to the free store lately has made me feel lighter and happier to be getting rid of it. In fact, I think I will go put something in the free store bag right now.

Happy unburdening yourself!

Astatine

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #12 on: September 11, 2014, 03:20:24 PM »
That's awesome you've already got rid of some clothes.

In the last couple of years I read all of Brookes Palmer's Clutter Busting blog and his books:
http://brooks-palmer.blogspot.com.au/

Essentially his idea is to take one piece (clothes, whatever) out and ask yourself, do I love and value this thing? If the answer is anything but a resounding yes, it goes. My wardrobe is currently *only* things that I love and are in high rotation. It's awesome! I got rid of things that I still occasionally wore and didn't dislike. The bonus is packing for a trip (work or holiday) is now super fast and easy. Minimal decisions required.

You could have this too *and* get money to pay down your credit card debt. Win win all round!

TrMama

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #13 on: September 11, 2014, 03:28:30 PM »
Devil's advocate here. If you don't want to get rid of the clothes, then don't. Just use them to replace your favorite pieces as they wear out.

I have a smaller wardrobe and while it's great for keeping the closet uncluttered, it means I have to consciously replace things as they wear out.

eostache

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #14 on: September 11, 2014, 03:50:21 PM »
Almost all of my clothes are from thrift stores and yard sales. They are mostly high end hiking type clothes: North Face, Patagonia, etc. A few months ago I went through my closets and took out all the ones I didn't love and put them in a big bag to get rid of. (My closet still looks just as full). The big bag is still sitting in the corner of my room. I can't really recall any of the pieces I put in it.

I just got laid off my job so I'm cutting back on my spending (not there was a lot of it going on when I was working) so I'm thinking I should keep the clothes as I'm not buying many now. I'm also thinking of just getting rid of the whole bag before I go looking in it again, since I forgot all the clothes I put in there.

Still pondering it.

norabird

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #15 on: September 11, 2014, 04:06:32 PM »
Lots to ponder here! I think I'm going to try a combination of putting it aside in a box and wearing the things I'm thinking of getting rid of to see if I even enjoy them enough. The book and blog recommendations are great! I just need to give my stoic mind a little space to come out...

purplepear

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #16 on: September 11, 2014, 10:01:54 PM »
I have the same problem. I give away bags of clothes every year... and I still have a closet full. And I don't feel like I shop that much!

Thanks everyone above for the blog suggestions! I'm trying to work on getting rid of clothes that I don't wear and figuring out how to rearrange outfits with the clothes I already own.

Good luck norabird!

Emilyngh

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #17 on: September 11, 2014, 10:14:32 PM »
I recommend trying this and putting anything you don't include in the first 3 months away in another closet or packed away  http://theproject333.com/getting-started/

I did it and have never gone back.   I do switch out my items every 3 months (as it describes), so I store more than 33 items in a second closet to keep things for other season and things that I can pull from.   But, once I realized how freeing it is to only have things I love in my main closet, and am forced to really choose what I love, it became super obvious to me that those extra "maybe I'll wear it" pieces don't help, but actually harm.   Which, makes them really easy to get rid of.

So, every 3 mos when I switch out my closet, I go through my storage closet, try on things, and either put them in the current "wear" closet until I've hit my 33, keep them in the storage closet if I really love them but just can't include them to wear now, or more often than not just decide to get rid of them.   

Jellyfish

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #18 on: September 12, 2014, 08:07:39 AM »
I recommend trying this and putting anything you don't include in the first 3 months away in another closet or packed away  http://theproject333.com/getting-started/

I did it and have never gone back.   I do switch out my items every 3 months (as it describes), so I store more than 33 items in a second closet to keep things for other season and things that I can pull from.   But, once I realized how freeing it is to only have things I love in my main closet, and am forced to really choose what I love, it became super obvious to me that those extra "maybe I'll wear it" pieces don't help, but actually harm.   Which, makes them really easy to get rid of.

So, every 3 mos when I switch out my closet, I go through my storage closet, try on things, and either put them in the current "wear" closet until I've hit my 33, keep them in the storage closet if I really love them but just can't include them to wear now, or more often than not just decide to get rid of them.   

I really like this.  Turns out that even with a closet absolutely packed with clothes, I reach for the same few things over and over again.  I think I could totally do this, and it would really help clarify what clothes to get rid of. 

Chranstronaut

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #19 on: September 12, 2014, 08:32:54 AM »
This is a great thread.  You got this, OP!

Is anyone here still trying to transition from college schlub to working professional?  I'm finding it hard to get rid of casual clothes that I used to wear all the time, but only get a chance to wear on the weekend now.

Jellyfish

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #20 on: September 12, 2014, 01:33:45 PM »
I made the transition to working professional and am now transitioning back to schlub.  After years in the very corporate world I now work from home almost every day.  It's wonderful wearing yoga pants to the office, the office being the desk located about 10 feet from my bed.  Now I need to focus on getting rid of the closet full of suits I never wear.

expectopatronum

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #21 on: September 12, 2014, 04:13:45 PM »
Like everyone has said: take them out of sight, and then if you don't miss them, let them go. De-cluttering is good for the soul.

My advice:
1. TRY ON EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF CLOTHING before you even try to keep it one more year. You might be holding onto stuff that doesn't even fit or that you now hate. I forced my boyfriend to try on each of the 40 pairs of pants he said he "might" wear and he found he hated about 1/4 of them, didn't fit in another 1/4 of them, and kept another 1/4 as "backup" (I begrudgingly allowed this). He wears the remaining 1/4 on a regular basis.

As you try the piece on, if you hate the way it looks, feels, fits - let it go. Clothing should cover you and make you feel confident. Personal style changes, your requirements change, trends change.

If you think, "It's not so bad....I might wear this for X....", then think of the last time you DID X. Would you reach for that piece? Would you next time? My example: I had some old college tank tops that I thought would look cute with vintage-y jeans and a straw hat. Except then I remembered if I were actually going for that look , I wouldn't choose those items. They got donated.

2. Turn around the hangars for all the remaining items. You have 12 months to wear it and turn around the hangar.
3. Alternatively, pack it all in a big bag or suitcase. If you don't retrieve something out of the bag, it's gone.
4. Work on building a timeless wardrobe with mostly quality staple pieces, mixing in a few trends. I'm rather anti-mustachian about clothing, but it works to a degree because I have a pretty classic style with some cheaper trendier clothing purchased seasonally.

Emilyngh

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #22 on: September 12, 2014, 05:48:01 PM »
I made the transition to working professional and am now transitioning back to schlub.  After years in the very corporate world I now work from home almost every day.  It's wonderful wearing yoga pants to the office, the office being the desk located about 10 feet from my bed.  Now I need to focus on getting rid of the closet full of suits I never wear.

Me too (well, kinda).   While in college and grad school I went full-on schlub (jeans, tees, and sneakers).   When I got my first job I thought I had to be an adult and "dress for the job I wanted" and went full-on heels, dress pants, and button downs only.   8 years later (wow, it's been that long!) and I'm at a different job and finally feel comfortable in my abilities and career, care less about working to  impress, and have been studying how one can be put together without trying too hard or going too "khakis and loafers".   I realized that my dressier work clothes really aren't "me," and am now backing off to what I hope is a pulled together, but true to myself look that I can wear anytime I leave the house, whether to work or not (dark jeans, flats or boots, and nicer knit tops or sweaters, often with one statement accessory).   

I'm finally getting comfortable enough with this that I'm getting rid of the majority of my "perfectly good" (except I don't feel comfortable in them, don't like them, and really don't want to wear them) dress pants and button down shirts.

Jellyfish

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #23 on: September 13, 2014, 11:50:07 AM »
Like everyone has said: take them out of sight, and then if you don't miss them, let them go. De-cluttering is good for the soul.

My advice:
1. TRY ON EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF CLOTHING before you even try to keep it one more year. You might be holding onto stuff that doesn't even fit or that you now hate. I forced my boyfriend to try on each of the 40 pairs of pants he said he "might" wear and he found he hated about 1/4 of them, didn't fit in another 1/4 of them, and kept another 1/4 as "backup" (I begrudgingly allowed this). He wears the remaining 1/4 on a regular basis.

As you try the piece on, if you hate the way it looks, feels, fits - let it go. Clothing should cover you and make you feel confident. Personal style changes, your requirements change, trends change.

If you think, "It's not so bad....I might wear this for X....", then think of the last time you DID X. Would you reach for that piece? Would you next time? My example: I had some old college tank tops that I thought would look cute with vintage-y jeans and a straw hat. Except then I remembered if I were actually going for that look , I wouldn't choose those items. They got donated.

2. Turn around the hangars for all the remaining items. You have 12 months to wear it and turn around the hangar.
3. Alternatively, pack it all in a big bag or suitcase. If you don't retrieve something out of the bag, it's gone.
4. Work on building a timeless wardrobe with mostly quality staple pieces, mixing in a few trends. I'm rather anti-mustachian about clothing, but it works to a degree because I have a pretty classic style with some cheaper trendier clothing purchased seasonally.

I have nothing particularly useful to say (though this does strike me as good advice).  I just needed to reply and say I love your user name!

FIRE Realtor

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #24 on: September 13, 2014, 08:32:12 PM »
What a lot of other people said - put some aside and notice how little you miss them.  I've been forced to do this being pregnant and am amazed how content I am with just wearing the same 10 comfortable things over and over.  (But, I am a stay at home mom and can totally get away with wearing the same thing for days in a row if I'm just out of the house for a few hours and won't be seeing the same people!) 

C. K.

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #25 on: September 15, 2014, 12:36:55 PM »
That's awesome you've already got rid of some clothes.

In the last couple of years I read all of Brookes Palmer's Clutter Busting blog and his books:
http://brooks-palmer.blogspot.com.au/

Thanks for that website. I have a collection of books that needs pairing down because they are starting to feel oppressive, even though they are neatly organized. I'm too attached to stuff.  He's helped me sort through the thought clutter so that I can rid myself of physical junk.

Astatine

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #26 on: September 16, 2014, 02:59:20 AM »
That's awesome you've already got rid of some clothes.

In the last couple of years I read all of Brookes Palmer's Clutter Busting blog and his books:
http://brooks-palmer.blogspot.com.au/

Thanks for that website. I have a collection of books that needs pairing down because they are starting to feel oppressive, even though they are neatly organized. I'm too attached to stuff.  He's helped me sort through the thought clutter so that I can rid myself of physical junk.

It's the only blog that I'll ever say was utterly life changing for me. I learnt a lot about myself in the process, including remembering that being kind to oneself is key. People are sacred, things are not.

norabird

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #27 on: September 16, 2014, 07:26:00 AM »
I ended up deciding to let go of the clothes I was wavering on--29 items! Some of the items were ones I liked...but I still didn't wear them that often. I truly have so many clothes that hanging onto them just because I wanted more options makes no sense. I haven't gotten on the 333 challenge, but it was inspiring to look at what other people did with their capsule wardrobes and how it made them feel! I also need to prod more about why I'm scared of having fewer clothes, and how I think it ties into my identity to have a particular type of wardrobe. Thanks for all the thoughtful input!

Sister C

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #28 on: September 16, 2014, 04:07:05 PM »
Congratulations!  Good for you.

socaso

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Re: Please nudge me to sell some more clothes
« Reply #29 on: September 16, 2014, 07:50:49 PM »
This thread inspired me to look at the unfancy website and I thought I might try the capsule wardrobe idea but I just couldn't get rid of enough items to create a capsule. However I did get rid of 30 or more pieces and I am in the process of arranging a clothing swap party with my friends! So thanks!

 

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