Moving house has a funny way of forcing decisions you’ve been quietly avoiding.
I’ve been struggling to close the doors on my wardrobe for a good six months now and if I open a drawer then I always know it’s going to be a battle to close it again but I’ve been ignoring it because sorting through my clothes is a task I most definitely was not looking forward to.
It’s not that I buy a lot of clothes but when I moved out of my home, I didn’t take all of my clothes as I didn’t have space for them all. I took what I needed and the rest was stored away in the garage and I bought new (or pre-loved) if there was anything else that I needed.
I have way more storage here when I moved in (largely due to my partner condensing his things several times so I can have more space) and about six months ago, I brought over every last bit of clothing from my old house. I got rid of loads at that point but even then, I was still overflowing and I kept so many things that I knew really even then that I would never wear for one reason or another.
I don’t see the point in moving clothes that I will never wear when we move house so I decided to tackle my drawers and wardrobe properly this week and while I was at it, I thought I’d try and make a few extra pounds by selling what I didn’t need on Vinted.
I did it yesterday when my partner was at work so I knew I wouldn’t be tempted to go out and do something else to avoid it and I put The Good Doctor on Netflix to keep me company while I did it and I got started!
Everything came out. Every drawer, every shelf, the lot. And every single item had to justify going back in.
If it didn’t fit, didn’t make me feel good or I didn’t actually like it, it didn’t go back in the drawer. Simple.
No “this might come in handy”.
No “I’ll wear it if I lose weight”.
No emotional attachment to a £6 top I bought in 2013.
Anything that didn’t make the cut went straight into one of two places. Either a charity shop bag, or it went straight onto Vinted, listed there and then before I could change my mind.
By the end of it, I had two black sacks ready for the charity shop and had listed 27 items on Vinted.
And I won’t pretend it was life-changing. But opening drawers that actually shut properly is a win I’ll take 😂
How I stopped overthinking it
I didn’t try everything on. I didn’t stand there analysing outfits.
If I hesitated, that was the answer.
I asked myself whether I’d be annoyed to unpack it in the new house. Whether I ever actually reach for it. Whether I’d choose it over the clothes I do like.
If the answer wasn’t yes, it went.
A few Vinted tips from someone who just wanted it gone
I listed things as soon as I decided it was going as I know that if I put it in a pile to do at the end then it would likely just not get done. If I decided it wasn’t staying and was good enough to list on Vinted rather than be relegated to the charity shop pile then it was listed straight away.
Photos were quick and basic – just simple photos using natural light and a plain background. I didn’t want to spend ages taking photos as my main job was to declutter so I took one of the front, one of the back, one of the care labels and then one of any features that stood out or any less than perfect areas that I wanted to highlight.
I kept descriptions short and honest too, detailing any areas that I’d want to know about if I was buying something. I didn’t add any fluff so it was quick to write.
And when it came to pricing, I priced everything to sell as my goal was literally to get the clothes out of my house before moving. I didn’t think too much about how much I paid for the items and focused on how much I’d probably pay for something if I was buying it off Vinted. I feel like if you’re buying something on there then you are looking for a bargain and that means low prices for sellers if they want quick sales.
I know this isn’t recommended by successful Vinted resellers, but I’m giving myself two weeks and what doesn’t sell in that time will be unlisted (is that a technical term) and I’ll take it to the charity shop. At that point, I’ll share a post here about what has actually sold, what ends up being bagged up for the charity shops and how much I end up making.
For now though, I’m just glad I’m not going to be packing clothes I already don’t want when we move out. 😅
And I am 100% sure that future me will be very grateful when it does come to packing up.
I’d love you follow me on Twitter and it would be amazing to see you over on my Facebook page and on Instagram. If you’re interested, you can find out more about me here and while I’ve got your attention, if you’re wondering why some of my posts lately are a little bit less frugal then have a read of this post. 😉
Do your future self a favour – Pin this post for later.
Talk to me...