CLEVELAND — Spring cleaning mode is in full swing -- but maybe this year you are ready to get rid of a lot of stuff since you're spending more time at home. What do you keep, what do you pitch and what can you get money for? We asked a local consignment shop owner and a stylist about how to decide.
“Car loads of stuff coming into us from people that had been cleaning out,” says Judy Cully, owner of Chelsea’s Consignment Shop in Westlake.
She sells everything from handbags to crystal to furniture, but the standards for consigning are high.
“New or like new, we don't want anything that has any stains or sun fading because you wouldn't want to buy that kind of stuff,” Cully says.
Aside from "fairly new," what's hot right now?
“Even though sometimes items are older, it may still be a style that works like mid-century modern is really hot right now.”
And what's not? Judy says Queen Anne’s leg furniture is a tough sell. So is Oak.
Consignment shops vary in their split, but expect them to take around half the sale price.
“Do people have high expectations with price and payout many times? They do, yes, and we have to just say, 'You know you may be seeing that online for that price and on eBay or whatever, but in reality it's not going to sell for that price.'"
Now let's talk about your closet. Stylist Hallie Abrams says you should be cleaning out twice a year. What is the first thing to toss out?
“The first thing to toss out anything that is stained, torn or ruined because there's no fixing that," she says. "The next level is anything that's uncomfortable, shoes that you can't walk in."
Abrams says the same thing goes for anything that doesn’t fit. We all have fluctuations, but some clothes are just never going to fit. She says if you end up losing the weight, you deserve to buy yourself a new outfit anyway.
Finally, what does she think is the one trend we should toss in 2021?
“I was just with a client yesterday and we were going through her closet. One of the things we got rid of a lot are very wedged sandals, so the very heavy wedge sandal.”
If you decide to consign your clothes, Abrams suggests finding out what happens to clothes that don’t sell. Will they be recycled or donated? That might sway your decision on where to try and sell your gently worn fashions.