Slim Down Your Closet

How many sizes are hanging in your closet? Are you holding tight to all those larger items because they were expensive, because you still like them, or saving those pants with the elasticized waist just in case you need them?

Keeping those large sizes is dangerous, it gives you options on ‘fat days’, when not being able to fit into anything can be a great motivator to stop over-eating and hit the treadmill.

One of the greatest joys of losing weight is buying clothes in a smaller size, but what can you do with that closet full of great quality clothes you’ll hopefully never wear again?

Sell your old clothes online

If you’ve never sold on Ebay before, then you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how easy they make it for you to hawk your wares, visit www.ebay.com for online tutorials and to browse what other people are selling, that way you can see how much your stuff could fetch.

Many local websites offer on-line classified ads which are a great place to sell special garments such as wedding dresses or leather jackets, though you may also have luck in placing an ad that offers a whole wardrobe in a size 14 (or whatever size you’ve said a fond goodbye to). The astoundingly popular www.craigslist.com has many local portals offering clothing for sale so that may be worth checking out too.

Sell it the old-fashioned way

Consignment stores are great if you have high-quality items to sell. How it works is this: you take your items in to the store (make an appointment to see the manager), negotiate what percentage of the sale you’ll get (usually between 30-50%) and wait for the store to call you to come collect your money. Designer clothes are always a hot sell, but remember that people will only buy what’s in season so don’t expect to sell your winter coats in the height of summer.

If what you have for sale isn’t of a high-enough quality to consign or auction off then set up a clothes rack at your next yard sale. Present the clothes stylishly rather than in a messy bundle and you may still be able to earn enough cash to furnish your closet in more slim-line styles.

Alter them to fit the new you

If you have glad-rags you’d love to still wear if only they didn’t carry so much yardage, get them altered to fit you. Say you have a pair of gorgeous, expensive jeans that are two sizes too big, it might cost as little as $30 to get them make to fit you perfectly.

A good tailor will be able to alter anything, but if the garments are lined or need to be made much, much smaller, it will be more expensive. If you have a wardrobe full of expensive clothes you’d like to get altered try to haggle for a discount, it may work out costing you a whole lot less than a new wardrobe.

Throw a clothes swapping party

Just because your clothes no longer turn you on, doesn’t mean that one of your girlfriend’s wouldn’t appreciate your brilliant taste. Invite as many people as possible and tell them to bring a bottle of wine. Lay on a few snacks and encourage everyone to model the zaniest outfits they can muster et voila, the party starts. After the fun and games everyone gets a chance to score some cool new threads without spending a penny. There’s no need to limit it to clothes, purses, shoes, jewellery, anything goes!

Donate them to worthy causes

Can’t be bothered with any of the above? There are plenty of worthy charity organizations that would love to take your excess clothing off your hands. Most stores will take anything provided that it is in reasonable condition, that is without tears or major stains/ damage.
 
At first it may be hard to bag up your old stuff but consider it as a cleaning house mentally as well as physically.