Spring Cleaning Your Closet: 4 Simple Tips

As credential clothing buyers in Maryland, this is a particularly busy time of the year for us. When spring arrives and people start cleaning out their closets, and their homes, they often find plenty of clothes that no longer fit. Many people search for places that buy used clothes, and end up donating used clothing to help others.

If you’ve been planning to spring clean your closet, here are some tips for you:

Planning and Preparing

As with most things in life, planning well is the key to successful spring cleaning. Set aside a day for cleaning out your closet, and hold yourself accountable for starting and finishing the whole process on that day.

You’ll also want to buy three large cardboard boxes and label them as:

• Clothes to Donate

• Clothes to Repair

• Old Shoes

Get Cleaning

Conventional wisdom says that you should start by emptying your closet completely, and then sort the big pile of clothes on the floor.

A better way, however, is to start by pulling out pieces from your closet, one after the other, and checking them as you go.

This way, you won’t have to deal with an intimidating mountain of clothes in your room. Additionally, it makes donating used clothes easier.

Sorting Your Clothes

Clothes with missing buttons, broken zippers, frayed hems, or seams that are coming apart need to go in the ‘Clothes to Repair’ box.

Clothes that no longer fit you belong in the ‘Clothes to Donate’ box.

In every closet, there are clothing items that look fine but haven’t been worn in a while. When you come across such items in your closet, try them on. If they fit well, keep them. If not, into the ‘Donate’ box they go.

Lastly, you’d be surprised at how much minor repairs contribute to the useful life of clothes. When you fix the clothes in the ‘Clothes to Repair’ box, you’ll instantly have more pieces to add to your wardrobe.

Sorting Your Shoes

Old shoes can prove to be trickier to organize than clothes.

With a bit of TLC, however, most shoes can be cleaned and made to appear as good as new.

The cleaning technique depends on the material of the shoe. For instance, sneakers and canvas shoes can often be machine washed. Whereas suede shoes, heels, and leather shoes need to be cleaned and polished by hand.

When you’re done with organizing your clothes, take the time to clean your shoes. Who knows, their freshly cleaned look might convince you to continue using them.

If not, put them in the ‘Old Shoes’ box and donate them, as your used shoes will be bought quickly by people looking for secondhand shoes.

At Whitehouse & Schapiro, we accept used clothes donations, and our services include old shoe recycling in Baltimore. If you’ve been searching for the best place to donate clothes in your area or wish to donate your used shoes in Baltimore, contact us today.