My spring cleaning experience

As spring is approaching, our closets need to be decluttered in order to make way for new purchases. During the pandemic, we all have this extra time at home and it is the perfect opportunity to delve into our closets and see what we need to keep, what we need to discard, and what can be donated or consigned.

Spring Cleaning Experience:
I like to start these projects by grabbing three trash bags, one each for the three categories listed above. This makes sorting super easy and fun.

During the pandemic, Marie Kondo came up with a new series “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” which is about decluttering our homes and is called the KonMari Method. This method is about eliminating items from our homes by keeping only things that speak to our hearts and discard items that no longer spark joy as mentioned in the show. For me, I like to begin the process with my three trash bags in hand and open my closet doors and evaluate each clothing piece to see if it is still my style, still fits, or is still something that brings me joy.

As I begin digging through my closet, I pull out some of my shorts from last summer and find a
few pairs that are outdated or do not fit that I can easily toss into the donation bag. Next, I find new with tags T-shirts that I have never even put on to resale since I cannot see myself wearing that this season. I would then upload pictures of these items to Poshmark, Depop, Etc. In the past, I have had good success selling my old clothes and shipping it out to customers. This helps me by earning some money for my future purchases.

Next stop, I try to fill the third bag with items that are not in good enough condition for consignment or donation. For me, this means items that have been heavily used, torn, and or stained. When I’m evaluating items to keep, I try to ask myself… Can I see myself wearing this again? Is this still my style? Is there something I could get by selling this? Marie Kondo says, “The important thing in tidying is not deciding what to discard but rather what you want to keep.” Do not forget all those bags heading to donation can be donated right here in our community to help local charities.

I recently did a Takeover on Eastside’s Instagram showing my donation bag and drop it off at the local Goodwill donation center in Woodcrest Shopping Center. However, there are also many other local charities in need of clothes. Don’t forget the local animal shelters are always in need of sheets, towels, and blankets for the animals. I hope you find this to be helpful in your own spring cleaning challenges and this type of upcycling definitely minimizes waste.