National Clean Out Your Closet Week

I’m wondering if there is such a thing as “national clean out your closet week” — if there isn’t my next question is how do I go about starting one????  I’ve been working for a couple of months on cleaning out all my closets —- not the “junk” closets, just the ones that I have clothing in.

I’ve read over and over again about how it is so much less expensive to alter and refurbish older garments than to simply go out and buy all new clothes for your wardrobe.  With the economy as it is, we’re all looking for ways to save money and ways to make extra money, and I believe I’ve come up with a great idea for saving money AND making extra money —- clean out your closets.  Here’s how it works:

** Dig all the way to the back of the closet and get out those clothes you haven’t worn for years!  Check them out closely.

** Start TWO piles of clothes — those that will never be used again (stuff you didn’t like or didn’t fit right when you purchased it or got as a gift and simply stuck it as far back in the closet as you could reach) and the second pile are those that COULD be worn again if some small alterations were done, or a little refurbishing (new trim work, lengthen or shorten the sleeves or garment itself, etc)

** If you’re like me and have gained and lost a lot of pounds over the years, some of those clothes that were hidden away fit perfectly now, and some just need small alterations in order to be worn.

** You’ll find that many or most of those “older” clothes are better quality than ones you could get today, and the colors are usually the ones you look good in, so will be excellent to use for a “new” wardrobe.

Now for the good part:

SAVE MONEY —

** Dust off the shoulders of those clothes that have been in the back of the closet.  

** Make any minor alterations to the clothes you’ve selected that can become your “new” wardrobe.

** Do some refurbishing to those garments that need to look a little more modern – maybe some extra trim, maybe shorten the sleeves, maybe make the bell bottoms into straighter legs, etc.

PRESTO!  You have a whole new wardrobe without spending a fortune and have saved mega bucks in the process.

MAKE MONEY —

** Take the second pile of “never to return to the closet” clothes and get them ready for making other items.  Remove all buttons, zippers, hooks and eyes and anything that can be reused – place them into a separate container for use in other projects.

** Depending on the fabrics that are in the rejected garments, you can make book covers, toddler clothing, children’s toys, placemats, fabric flowers for future projects, quilts, etc.

** Check out the “How To Make Cash From Your Crafts” book, the “Nursery Room Projects” book, and various patterns from Patterns2Go and get tons of ideas on what you can do with all the fabric from those discarded clothes!

I have already made up a BUNCH of craft items from some of my old clothes – have them in my customer waiting area, AND have started selling them.  In addition, I’ve started my Christmas gift list and am using fabrics from those old clothes to “repurpose” into gift items for family and friends.  (That should have been listed under “save” money because I can already see that my Christmas spending will be tons less than it normally would have been!)

Take the challenge – clean out your closets!  And let us know about your “new” wardrobe and the crafty items you’ll be making from that pile of “discard” clothes.