You don’t need a whole day for this one. Promise!
Tap into your inner Marie Kondo once again, and set up work stations. Bring over that pile of clothes you carefully vetted let’s get started.
Assess Condition - Are there any rips/tears? Any discoloration? Any stains? Odor that might be off-putting? Now is the time to note all this down. While this might also be a great time to remind yourself not to use that deodrant again, forgive yourself. Divide clothes into six categories:
- New with Tags (Pristine) - The pieces that went from bag to closet and never saw the light of day again. We’re all guilty of this one.
- New without Tags (Excellent) - The pieces you ambitiously untagged, almost wore, but the party got cancelled.
- Like New - You’ve worn this piece maybe once or twice, but there are no signs of any wear. (No loose beading or buttons, no stretching of the fabric nothing)
- Very Good - The pieces you wore a few times but has minimum signs of wear. (Some loose beads, some stretching, minor imperfections that are unoticeable or are easy fixes)
- Good - These pieces were worn, but still have a lot of life left. They need some last bit of love from you. Mend the minor rips/tears. Get rid of any stains or odors that might have set in.
While it is tempting to simply list items as is, remember they will give you a much higher return if they are in good condition. Chances are, if you don’t like looking at those pit stains, no one else does either. Let’s stay classy shall we Ladies?
- Fair - The pieces you loved reaching for on repeat, to the point you killed them. Fear not, now you won’t need to buy rags for cleaning. Everything has a purpose! These don’t belong in your sales pile, not unless they are true vintage or heirloom pieces that someone could salvage and renew.
Anything in the Very Good, Good, or Fair pile needs to be set aside and dealt with as needed before proceeding to the next step.
Send your dirty/stained clothes to the dry cleaners or carefully launder casuals at home.
Send your ripped or pulled fabrics to the local seamstress, or if you're handy, put them aside to mend as needed.
Now that you have piles of beautifully sorted clothes, it’s time to move on to some photography.
Go to Step 3!