It’s time to clean the closet. Sorting though what to keep, what to trash and what to relegate to the Good Will bag can be a time consuming challenge. Surely those paint stained jeans and too small sweaters aren’t worth anything. Think again. The old adage one man’s trash is another man’s treasure just might apply in this case. There is money to be made.
Use Old Clothes for Crafts
One way to make money from old clothes is to turn them into something else and sell it at craft shows, rummage sales, garage sales, even boutiques. Here are a few ideas for crafting used clothing:
- Shrink wool sweaters and make them into felted purses. These one of a kind handbags can bring a pretty penny.
- Cut clothes into squares and strips and recycle them into quilts, blankets and rag rugs.
- Create doll clothes.
- Hot pads
- Baby clothes
- Decorative patches
Sell Old Clothes
There are many outlets for selling gently worn clothes or those that have never been worn but have taken up residence in the bedroom armoire. Here are a few:
- Consignment shops. Separate clothes by season and style. Not to be confused with thrift shops, consignment shops split the profit from sales with the person bringing the clothes to sell.
- Vintage clothing stores. Have a retro Hawaiian shirt or sixties era fringed leather vest? Maybe a collection of extra wide ties or a veiled Sunday hat are collecting dust on the closet shelf. Consider selling them to a vintage clothing store.
- Garage sales, tag sales, rummage sales and the like. Be sure the clothes you want to sell are clean, sorted by season, style, size and type. Display them so they are eye catching but easy for people to look through. Be sure the prices are easy to see. Negotiate – remember that a sale is a sale and money in your pocket.
- Internet outlets like ebay and craigslist
- Fashion Halloween costumes and sell them at a fair price in the neighborhood. Busy parents will be glad to purchase one of a kind outfits for the children to wear trick or treating.
Donate Used Clothing
Folks may be under the misconception that when they donate their clothes to charitable organizations they receive no compensation but that isn’t entirely true. With a receipt from the charitable organization of their choice, Americans can deduct the value of their donation. This isn’t ready cash but it can save money on tax day. There are many worthy organizations that accept clothing donations. Here are a few:
- Goodwill Industries
- The Salvation Army
- Vietnam Veterans of America
- Soles for Souls
- The Society of St. Vincent de Paul
A list of local charities accepting clothing donations for those in need can be found by checking the yellow pages.
Cleaning out closets and drawers and recycling old clothing probably won’t make a person rich, but in today's economy every little bit helps.
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