Today’s 40 Acts challenge for Lent is to Clear Out Your Wardrobe, which is something I’ve been doing these past 3 months. Fine, every month. Some would call me a shopaholic or Madame Deficit but contrary to what people think, I don’t mindlessly buy things. I invest. I might buy too many dresses but I always wear them for years. If I really like a dress and there it’s falling apart after 100000 washes, I hand-sew the tears. So why am I always removing clothes from my closet? Some clothes have shrunk. Some were no longer age-appropriate (made me look more like a child). Then there were the times when I simply wanted less.

One of the main reasons my room is currently a mess is that there are bags of things that I want to sell, trade, or donate. Unfortunately, I’ve postponed everything simply because it can be really time consuming, especially when you have to travel all over the city to get rid of your things. At the same time, my messy room has affected my mood and energy levels. The sooner I can get rid of the things, the happier I’ll be! So…

What to do with the Unwanted Items?

Donate

• Clothing bins – clothing
• Book bins – books mostly for children & adolescents
• Shelters – clothing, hygiene necessities, etc.
• Beauty Night Society – cosmetics, hygiene necessities. See full list.
• Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre – clothing, hygiene necessities, cosmetics, etc.  See full list.
• WISH – clothing, hygiene necessities, makeup & toiletries (new & partially used), etc. See full list.
• Third World Eye Care Society Canada – old prescription glasses.
• The Cinderella Project – cocktail dresses, evening wear, gloves, shawls, jewellery, handbags, etc.
• Dress For Success – business clothing, handbags, cosmetics
• Vancouver Public Library – books, magazines, DVDs, CDs
• 101 Things to do with all your old stuff guide

Recommended Article: Where to Donate Your Makeup (realbeauty.com)

Swap

• Freecycle: give away your things and look for items you need!
• Friends: gather a group of friends & acquaintances for your own clothing/book swap!
• Family/relatives: you can pass on your clothes to your younger siblings and cousins!
• The Hanging Rose: a shop on Granville St. (between Helmcken and Nelson) that takes in fashionable new to gently used clothing for points or cash.
• The Frock Swap – clothing, shoes, accessories (points based swapping)
• Swap-O-Rama-Rama: an annual clothing swap at the Museum of Vancouver. Personally, I’m not a fan of this as it’s a free-for-all as opposed to points-based and many of the items/clothing donated were not in good condition (clothes were stained and linty, shoes looked like they’re from the Holocaust). Whatever’s not taken home is donated to charity.
• Vancouver Clothing Swaps: a meetup group that coordinates clothing swaps.

There are many sites out there that organises swaps, though mostly in the States!

Sell

• Craigslist
• Kijiji
• eBay
• Garage sale: this didn’t work so well for me but my neighbourhood is pretty anti-social. 😛
• ReFashion Vancouver: sell your clothes.
• Vancouver Shoe Swap: sell & buy new to gently worn shoes.
• Pulpfiction Books: sell or trade your books.

Check back later for another post on some items I’m getting rid of! If there’s something you’re interested in, leave me a comment and we’ll discuss swapping/selling.

Update: Shop My Closet is now available!