Spring Cleaning Can Be Very Green

This fall when I moved into my two closet, I mean one bedroom apartment, I brought with me my furniture, all my favorite framed photos, Ari, and 10 summer camp worthy duffle bags of clothing, shoes, and accessories. I crammed my accumulated threads into closets, hat boxes, drawers, and chests alike. But, the reality of my clothing extravaganza hit hard when Dave declared there was no room in my overstuffed coat closet for him to hang a single coat. Ouch. This would be the perfect opportunity to insert some reflective Sex and the City phrase about how I need to make room for him in my life. That's bs. Carrie would have kicked Aiden to the curb if he asked her to purge her closet instead of kicking the cancerstick habit.

So, I started to purge. First I was discretionary and then it became like an addiction. Oodles of those nifty ikea blue bags littered my bedroom filled with discarded clothing that never really got the attention it deserved. It was far too much to list on ebay. So, I set out for Greene Street Consignment. I threw down 80 items of clothing, walked out feeling a little lighter and can't wait to get the check in the mail - can you say cole haan bag...I mean savings account!

Anyways, if you face a similar overcrowding situation purge like there's no tomorrow.

Here are the golden rules:
If it doesn't fit - kick it.
If you haven't worn it in a year and it's not a special item - give it up.
If it's a faddy item that you dont' see coming back - toodles.
If you've never worn it, but bought it over a season ago - peace.

If you are unfamiliar with consignment here's how it works: You hand over you unwanted, but gently worn clothing. They weed through the first cut to produce a consignment worthy second cut which gets put on the racks. What doesn't make the cut is donated to charities. In about 60 days you will get a check for your sales less their consignement fee (typically 40%).

If you don't need the money bring your clothing to a local thirft store that supports a charity that shares common interests. I've always thought Dress for Success, a Philadelphia organization that supports underprivilegd women seeking employment with the proper digs to do so, is a great cause!