Spring clean your closet by sorting between what you wear and what you don’t. Keep the former, get rid of the latter.
Unsplash/Sarah Brown
I had plenty of items, but nothing to wear. I was in my 20s, coming out of college with debt and a new job when I realized that most of my clothes didn’t fit very well and didn’t last very long. Shopping became a chore, full of buyer’s regret. Around this same time, I learned about the impacts of the fashion industry, and was floored: I had no idea it was responsible for so much exploitation of vulnerable workers, pollution and fossil fuel consumption.
Cassandra Bogdan Slemmer
Every second, the equivalent of a garbage truck load of clothes is burnt or buried in a landfill according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Less than 14% is recycled, and only 1% actually becomes new clothing, per the EPA. Of the millions of workers (mostly women and girls) employed by the fashion industry, only 2% make a living wage, according to The True Cost, many working 16-hour days, seven days a week.
I realized, unwittingly or not, that I was part of the problem. I had been consuming in a way that supported this system, and the deals my friends and I boasted of to each other were actually downstream results of toxic business practices. I was spending less on clothing than generations before me ever did, but it came at the cost of so much that was not visible in the store.
Convicted, I started a “clothing fast”: I wasn’t going to buy any more clothing. I thought I’d be fashion-destitute, but I was surprised to feel the opposite. I learned what I liked and discarded what I didn’t. Gone were the clothes I didn’t actually enjoy or that didn’t fit well, and the remaining pieces were fun and enjoyable to wear.
I’m no longer on a strict clothing-fast, but I’m much more deliberate in my choices than I used to be, and I credit that period of pausing and purging for giving me space to hone in my style and desires. Whatever your wardrobe looks like, doing a spring clean can be the first step to a more thoughtful, functional closet.
Tips for a Spring Clean
Sort between what you wear and what you don’t. Keep the former, get rid of the latter. Anything that falls in between should get stored somewhere out of sight, and if you don’t use it after a while, you can be more confident that it’s time to say goodbye.
Once you have your discard pile:
Host a clothing swap; invite your friends to bring over their unwanted items and trade; one person’s unwanted sweater may be another’s treasure!
Donate. We have a great selection of organizations in the valley, whether it’s YWCA or another thrift store.
Take or send garments to a consignment business. Whether Colchuck Consignment for outdoor gear, On the Ave Consignment Boutique for designer women’s apparel — both in Cashmere — or ThredUp for regular clothing, this may give the garment a second chance and make you a buck or two.
Sell your things on online platforms like Poshmark.
Up-cycle: turn T-shirts into cleaning rags, see if our local animal shelter could use some old sweaters as comfort items, or try some DIY projects.
For more information about how to obtain clothing in an ethical, sustainable way, see the full blog post at Sustainable NCW.com/blog.
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