wedding Wednesday: in with the new, donate the old

So you've received your new towels and sheets off of your wedding registry, and now your linen closet is stuffed. Before you throw out your used items, think about donating them. A lot of people don't know that your local animal shelter will accept these used items so that their animals have something soft to sleep on. Towels, blankets, sheets (even placemats) - they can use them all!

Not sure where to donate? Call your local animal shelter or try the Humane Society.

I met this little guy on a visit last winter to the Northeast Animal Shelter just outside of Boston. See that blanket he had at the shelter (before he went to his forever home)? Donated by someone!

closet clean out: where to sell your clothes & accessories

So you're cleaning out your closet using the tips I talked about back in January, and then you stand back and stare at the huge pile of stuff you don't need or want anymore:  Now, what do you do with it? In order to do some research on how to get the most for your time and effort (while cleaning out my own closet), I used a few different platforms for getting rid of gently used items.

The contenders

 Probably the most familiar to you is ebay, where you can post items for a "buy it now" price or at an auction for a set number of days (usually 7).

 Poshmark is an online community, similar to Pinterest in view-style, where you can list items for sale. You can take part in "parties", which highlight specific types of items, and others can "share" or "like" your items.

 With Klury you upload photos of your items and they send you a quote, at which point you can decide to sell it to them or decline. It is free to ship the item to them.

At Twice you let them know what items you will be sending and then ship it to them for free. They inspect everything and send you a check.





My thoughts

If you are looking for ease of use, Twice is what you want. Making sure that your items are within their approved brands, with a few clicks of your mouse you can print out a packing slip and send those items on their way.
Cons: They price the items for you, and you won't get top dollar. For example, a pair of Express shorts will get you around $2.

If you have a vintage item or something unique, or something that does not fall into the approved brands of other sellers, head over to ebay. You can list any item, start it at any price you desire, and if it doesn't sell, you only pay a small listing fee.
Cons: You pay a listing fee, though it is small. Your item has the best chance of selling if you start it at less than $1 with no "reserve price" (that is, a price you will not sell below); however, if you do this you are not guaranteed to get as much as you want for the item.



Klury allows you to get a quote on designer items prior to sending them anywhere.
Cons: You have to take time to take photos of each item and upload them, along with a description. They are very selective about items accepted.





Poshmark is an interesting platform. It is definitely time-consuming to follow up on questions from other users regarding each item in your "closet". Depending on how many users you follow, your newsfeed will rapidly change, so items disappear from view quickly:  It is best to join the "parties" and share your items there so that they get enough exposure to sell. On the plus side, you get to price your items, and buyers will negotiate with you within the platform.
Cons: Items disappear from users' view quickly based on how many items are uploaded. It is time consuming to use this platform.


Did I miss any major online hubs for buying and selling gently used clothing and accessories? Have you used any of these? I would love to hear your thoughts!

clean out Saturday

photo via

I spent a good chunk of Saturday cleaning out, and while I don't have "before" photos and won't show you "after" photos (well, yet), it was crazy how much stuff came out of the guest room and my office. We're talking 6 trash bags of clothes, curtains, bedding, and a few other things that we had totally forgotten we even had.

For some reason we decided a while ago that the guest bedroom closet would serve as our storage closet for out-of-season clothes, extra bedding, and a variety of other items that probably should have never made their way in there. I'm a bit of a pack rat by nature, but T is amazing at reminding me what I can part with:  And once I get going, I have a hard time stopping!

If you're in the market to part with some tangibles, here are some closet clean out tips:

1. If you haven't worn it in a year, you're not going to. I've heard some people turn their hangers around at the beginning of the season and anything that isn't worn (visibly, because the hanger is still turned the wrong way) is donated or thrown out.

2. If you don't love it now, you never will. Why are you keeping that shirt you bought that is kind of an okay color but was a really great deal? I have had my share of "just in case" items- what if you need it for a Halloween costume? That, my friends, is why there is a goodwill and why it is so busy the week of Halloween. You're never going to love it, so just get rid of it.

3. If it hasn't fit you in 6 months or more, it probably won't fit you again. I have hung onto quite a few pairs of jeans because they used to look great on me. Key words: used to. Probably won't ever again, because my body has just changed. Unless you have recently gone through an illness or a pregnancy or are on track to lose (or gain) weight to get back to your previous self, forget that you might someday possibly fit into those clothes again.

4. Remember- there probably is someone who needs it more than you do. So you haven't worn it in over a year, you don't really love it, and it doesn't really fit you anyway. Good news, there's someone out there who would probably love it, would fit in it, and would wear it. Donate it! Trust me, you'll feel so much better after you do.

Not sure where to send all of the stuff you don't need? There are quite a few organizations that will pick up your donation, including the Vietnam Veterans of America and Epilepsy Foundation (New England area). You can also do a Google search to find local donation boxes for Planet Aid, or drop off at your local Salvation Army.

cleaning out for a new season

Out with the old, and in with the new! While you're cleaning out your closet and getting ready for another Fall season of fabulous fashion, check out these two new sites which allow you to sell your clothing. They both make it super easy - tell them what it is you have, get a quote, and send it to them (and they pay the shipping). Klury accepts mostly luxury brands, and you can find items on there like this vintage beaded top and BCBG fringe top for around $50 each. They allow you to get a quote before you send them your items. Twice, on the other hand, accepts other brands, like Gap, Ann Taylor Loft, and The Limited (just to name a few), and you send them your items before they tell you what they're going to pay you. There, you can find dresses by laundry for around $30 (a steal!). I've sold to Klury, and I'm planning to also sell to Twice. So far, so good!