Spring is upon us. The sun is shining, flowers are growing, and trees are starting to blossom. For many of us, this is the season that ushers in Spring Cleaning. One of the many places that gathers clutter in our homes in our closets. Finding room can be a struggle amidst the mounds of clothes, shoes, and accessories. Add in different wardrobes to accommodate the hot and cold seasons, our closets can be a downright mess. Spring brings us the opportunity to not only declutter but also to make a little money as well. Below are some helpful tips to making a little money cleaning your closet:

Garage Sales

Spring is the perfect time to hold a garage sale. Gather clothes, jackets, scarves, purses, and other items that you haven’t worn in while. If your closet contains other items, such as cables, power strips, household items, picture frames, books, or techie gadgets that may be stored away on the shelves are your closet, put these out as well.

Make your garage sale a success by advertising. Putting up bright signs and taking out an ad in the local paper is a great way to grab attention. If you have a few neighbors looking to clean out their closets as well, consider having a block garage sale. Not only can this help to attract more attention, you may be able to split any costs associated with the garage sale.

Make your garage sale a success by advertising. Putting up bright signs and taking out an ad in the local paper are great ways to grab attention. If you have a few neighbors looking to clean out their closets as well, consider having a block garage sale. Not only can this help to attract more attention, but you may also be able to split any costs associated with the garage sale.

Sell Online

There are many sites that specialize in selling used clothing, purses, and accessories. Sites like thredUP give you the ability to send in used women’s or children’s clothing to sell. Send your clothing into them and they handle the rest. They accept over 35,000 brands on the site. Designer clothing and handbags can offer good payouts when sold. Clothing purchased from well-known stores, such as Old Navy, Express, and the Gap, offer modest payouts. Once you’ve ordered your kit and sent in your clothing, you have a choice to have unsold items returned to you or donated. Poshmark is another popular site where you upload a picture and description of the item and share it with your network. Ship the items that you sell and you’ll be paid when they are delivered. Ebay is also a popular option to sell clothing, accessories, household items, and just about anything that you have stored away in your closet. Other platforms, such as Facebook Marketplace and Instagram, offer a great way to sell your unwanted clothing or other items.

Consignment stores

If you have good quality clothing items, the local consignment store may be the perfect choice for you. Consignment stores will either pay you on the spot for the clothing that they want to sell in their store or they share the profit when the item sells. If the store pays you upfront, these amounts are typically set based on the item and are usually less than if you were to sell them in a profit-sharing arrangement. When bringing items to sell at a consignment store, making sure that they are clean and in good shape can raise your chances of the store accepting them. A consignment store will only take what they believe they can sell.

If you have a wide variety of items to sell in your closet, do you homework on the local consignment shops around you. Some shops specialize in designer clothing, sportswear, or vintage clothing. Consider taking your clothes to the different stores where you have the best chance of selling them.

For those items that you are willing to parts ways with, consider the condition they are in. To get the most money out of used clothing and other items, consider their price and quality. Designer apparel and accessories that have all of their buttons and zippers intact, and are free of stains or holes may be perfect items to sell through an online specialty site. People looking for these items may be more willing to pay a higher price than what you could get at a garage sale or a typical consignment shop. Lower cost items or lesser known brands that are in good shape may generate more sales when brought to a consignment shop or garage sale. Spring is the perfect time to declutter your closet and put a little cash in your wallet.