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At my last carboot sale, Battersea |
Actually, I heard someone refer to this as “Managing Your Wardrobe”, which I think has a far better ring to it. I’ve also been introduced to Marie Kondo’s ‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying’ (thank you, Susie So So Blog) which I am now currently reading – teaching you to banish clutter forever and live a superior, clutter-free life (we’ll see how it goes).
After the success of my last post on reselling clothes (which, coincidentally, led me to speak on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour on the subject – a career highlight), I have since discovered a wealth of other websites (some new, some not) that I thought I’d share. Websites such as these are the reason I can afford most of my wardrobe (and holidays), so thank you internet!
I love the sustainable idea of this store. They collect the clothing from you if you live in London (and offer bags with postage already paid for those that don’t) and in return, you get credit to spend in the shop. Eco-shopping = guilt-free shopping in my opinion.
3. Set up an Instagram Selling Account
…a la Laura Fantacci in her #WITRefurbSale – in a bid to clear out her house with her refurbishment, she listed loads of old clothes on a separate instagram account over a couple of weeks and people emailed when they wanted to buy. Simple!
4. Shonamac.com
The sellers here know their stuff. Items are on the website for 30 days, after which they are eBayed (the sellers have been ebaying since 2002 and are one of the Top Sellers), so your product is sold swiftly and your are paid quickly. They can organise cleaning and repairs, and can collect if you have a large amount of items. They charge 50% of selling price, but this includes all fees etc.
5. Jumble Trail
This is a genius website set up to help communities set up stalls and sales etc via their local community. A ‘champion’ decides to set up a stall, gets their community involved and this site helps promote it and help with google rankings and through social media to raise awareness. People hear about it through word of mouth, and can sign up with a stall or just come along to join. You can also search your nearest Jumble trail on the site…
6. Take your clothes to H&M
It’s not exactly top dollar, but for every bag of unwanted clothes you drop to H&M, they’ll give you a £5 voucher when you spend over £30. Not bad for when you just need to get rid of stuff.
So think of it as not only decluttering and making money, you’re helping the environment and upcycling, too. Well done you.
Just listened to Woman's Hour, very interesting! Well done!
Aah thanks so much – I was so nervous x
I'm still psyching myself to tackle my clothes. I don't think it's possible for me to do the whole shebang as she suggests but I think I'm going to take a category at a time instead – that way, I can break off and the hubs doesn't have a heart attack when he thinks the bedroom had had a bomb go off in it. There are some good messages in it though and I have definitely slowed down on the old buying front. I've got nothing to blog about now ;p
Thanks for the lovely mention – I hope you do a review to see how you get on with it. Or not.
Reading it on the train, all I wanted to do was go home and sort my jar of old biros!!! I'm pretty good at throwing out but still, there's work to be done – but I can't stop buying, it's my job, isn't it? Well, that's my excuse…
The Battersea Car Boot is my local one. Did you negotiate much on the price of your clothes? I want to do another one but can't bear all the haggling!
To be honest, I start low as I like to go home empty-handed – all clothes are £2 each (and i have some good stuff!) – so I don't really haggle but they know they're getting a good deal, compared to other stalls so they tend to give in!
I was inspired by your car boot sale and decided to do my own at Battersea, it wasn't what I had hoped! It was raining and was overwhelmed by so many people surrounding me before I even opened the boot! However I wasn't put off, so will be doing it again but setting up before customers arrive this time 🙂
Tee
http://www.teeclutter.blogspot.co.uk/
So I was just discussing with some people about doing a tips for a carboot sale post!! I should've warned you…I pay the £30 premium to go in early, it gives us an hour to set up first so we're ready. NEVER leave your boot open or let people know you have more stuff to come out! But all of these lessons were learnt after my first one which was terrifying – but worth it in the end! x
Oh I am inspired to go through my wardrobe !
It will feel so good!
Perfect tips as always Alex, I think 80% of the things in our house could be recycled/thrown out, my life would be made simpler if I did, I love the theory of Marie Kondo's book, time to put the theory into action!! Editsecondhand is fab, they have some amazing pieces..xxxx
It's funny, I love 'stuff' (trinket shopping in Japan was my favourite part) but I also hate it at the same time. And yes Editsecondhand is great, I've sold quite a few items recently that I didnt even realise I had! x
Oh really think I need to read this too.. Was just saying to Jamie the other day we need to de-clutter.. Esp in a small London flat ? Will hunt it down x
The book is really interesting and easy to read…changes the way I look at everything in my house…just the time to go through it!
A little warning though with edit secondhand they are only buying autumn/winter clothes at the moment. Slightly annoying!
As I am moving in two weeks time I decided today to have a look in my closet and make a good cleaning.
All these unwanted dresses and never worn shoes could be of good use to someone else I'm thinking and at the same time can save me some money (to buy even more-I can never/will never change…).
I never heard of most of the sites you mention but even setting up an Instagram account sounds like a very clever idea that I never had!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
xo
http://natbeesfashion.blogspot.co.uk
We're glad you like us! Tackling the wardrobe is always a Herculean task! Clotho XXX