Category Archives: Tips

I am obsessed with purging.

No, I don’t mean I’m bulimic, but thank you for your concern.

Actually, I love purging stuff. I have since I was a five years old, when my mom discovered if she casually said, “Wow, that cabinet is so disorganized!” within earshot, I would chirp, “I’ll clean it!” and immediately start emptying its contents so I could put it back together in neat little rows.

When I’m feeling unhappy or bored or out of control, a good clean-out always lifts my spirits. Doesn’t matter what: jewelry box, clothing closet, box of ribbons, seeing everything neatly folded and knowing that I’ve banished some meaningless clutter from my life makes me feel good. I don’t mind, this must be the most productive addiction ever, without tipping into full-blown OCD land.

I’ve even considered, out loud, signing up for Task Rabbit just for the pleasure of getting to clean out other people’s stuff. I don’t really need the money. OK, my addiction to designer green clothing can get expensive. But really, I just like purging!

So believe me when I say I’ve got getting rid of stuff down to an art. And when you combine fifteen practice rounds of purging in the last three years alone, with an obsession with all things sustainable, you know that nothing is going in the dumpster.

Oh, how I wish there was a fourth recycling bin called, “Shit other people could use.” But there is not. So behold: Where to take every single thing you could possible get rid of, and avoid the dumpster completely:

(Oh, and a note: I don’t sell on eBay. Yeah, I know, you can make so much money. But I find the whole process of communicating with buyers and taking stuff to the post office annoying. Therefore I’m not an expert and can’t speak to that, and will stick to NYC-centric solutions here.)

1. Preppy and Designer Clothing

I remember clearly the day I first went shopping in SoHo, and I chose to wear a lavender Milly sundress. It quickly became clear that I was I was wearing the wrong exact thing. I was so mortified that I marched into an edgy boutique and chose the nuclear option: “I’m completely lost. What should I wear?” I walked away with a lot of stuff, including my favorite leather jacket that I still wear. And I realized then that I needed to purge my closet of fifteen sundresses, three pastel polos, two khakis, one quilted jacket, three sunhats and one Ralph Lauren braid knit sweater. Bye bye Virginia, hello, Manhattan.

The solution? Upper East Side consignment shops, like A Second Chance or Michael’s.

What to know: Call and make an appointment ahead of time. Bring as many items as possible at once. They don’t want hangers, so iron/steam everything and then carefully fold it into a bag right before you leave the apartment. Once you’re there, a haughty shop keeper will look through everything. She will give you the option of coming back later, but I’ve found it’s best to be there so you can call out helpful tidbits like, “That’s real rabbit fur!” and “I got that one from a designer boutique in Paris. It’s one of a kind.”

Once she decides what she wants, she’ll write it all down and give you a date when you should come back and pick up whatever didn’t sell and the payment for what did. If you have a higher-end item that doesn’t start with Lily and end with Pulitzer, you can also consider some of the high-end consignment shops downtown, like INA or What Goes Around Comes Around.

The payoff: Cash, one to three months later. And you’ll get good money for nice items.

The drawback: You have to make an appointment ahead of time, you have to remember to go back to collect your cash, and they take a hefty commission–up to 50% of the selling price.

2. Wearable but Un-Fancy Clothing

Take whatever the designer boutique didn’t take, add it to your ironic t-shirts and jeans, and take it to Beacon’s Closet in Williamsburg and Park Slope, or Buffalo Exchange in the East Village.

What to know: You don’t need an appointment, just an hour or two free. The clerks will rummage through your items, decide how much everything is worth, and then give you cash or store credit on the spot. If you take cash, you’ll get a lower value than store credit.  If you don’t feel like dealing with whatever they don’t take, they will kindly donate it for you.

The payoff: Immediate cash.

The drawback: Lower prices, especially for designer or more uptown-girl items ($20 for a Brooks Brothers Coat? Yes, that happened.), and the sinking feeling of realizing the clothing they don’t take isn’t even cool enough to sell for $5.

3. Wearable but Worthless Clothing and Accessories

If you’re not going to one of the above consignment stores and have clothing that you can’t imagine anyone paying more than $3 for, take it to Salvation Army or Goodwill.

What to know: It takes only two minutes to fling a bag of what-was-I-thinking clothing and accessories into a pile in the back.

The payoff: Good karma and jobs for the those who need them.

The drawback: They are usually not open before or after work or on Sundays and discourage you from leaving stuff at the front door. I’ve done it anyway, because I have better things to do then wait around for the privilege of giving my stuff away. (Are you listening Goodwill and Salvation Army? Get a drop off bin.)

4. Unwearable Clothing

Paint and sweat-stained wife beaters, shredded sweaters, unmatched socks and anything else made of cloth that no one would even take for free will find a home at the textile collections held by Greenmarket, where it is sent to textile recycling programs. You can also drop off wearable clothing–it will be donated.

What to know: Just stuff your bag of grody old clothing in the hamper in front of the textile table while you’re picking up organic apples. Find a list of Greenmarkets that collect textiles here.

The payoff: Good karma and the knowledge that you’re doing your part to reduce the 5.7% of NYC’s waste stream that is clothing.

The drawback: As you might know, farmer’s markets don’t keep the most convenient hours or locations ever.

5. Home Goods That Still Have Value

Got a printer that still prints or an IKEA table that can still support dancing on top? Sell it on Craigslist.

What to know: Bring all your writing skillz, because you need to be a salesman. Put your item’s condition in the title, along with how much you would like for it (You can choose to add OBO, which means “Or Best Offer.”) Include a cute story of why you’re getting rid of said item, to inspire confidence that you’re not purging because of bedbugs. Include pictures of the item, preferably taken with natural light coming through the window with a real digital camera–Instagram is not cute when it comes to the condition of your couch.

The payoff: Cash.

The drawbacks: People will haggle with you no matter what price you set, and you will feel dumb that you ever paid full price. (Next time you are totally using Craigslist to buy your furniture, right?) People will flake out at the last second when you actually blocked out a perfectly beautiful Saturday afternoon for them to come get the stupid IKEA shelf.

6. Random Stuff That No One Would Pay For

Half a roll of carpet tape? Plastic cups from old Broadway shows? Broken computer tower? I’ve not only gotten rid of these things, but had people show up to take them off my hands. It’s called Freecycle.

What to know: You’ll need a Yahoo account so you can join the Freecycle group. When you are offering, make the subject line, “OFFER: Item, neighborhood.” So for example, “OFFER: Zebra print shower curtain, Lower East Side.” It helps to ask them to prove they are not spammers by requesting a haiku on the merits of shower curtains, or asking their favorite flavor of cupcake. If not, you might get emails like, “I’ll take it. Thanks.” That is most likely spam. Plus, people love composing haikus. I’ve gotten haikus from people who don’t even want my stuff.

If you have a whole lot of random crap, tell people you’re more likely to give it to them if they take the whole lot. Let them figure out what to do with the carpet tape, it is no longer your problem.

The payoff: Warm fuzzies from knowing the hot Norwegian dude is enjoying your ex-boyfriend’s artwork more than you ever would, and an apartment free of random crap.

The drawback: Again, people will flake out at the last minute, though I find this happens more rarely than with Craigslist. Also, some people are a little bit crazy. I suggest avoiding anyone with bad spelling or who likes to format their emails in pink, cursive font.

PS. In case you’re wondering, that is a CD rack in the picture. Seriously, people will take anything.

6. Broken Electronics

So you can’t sell your printer on Craiglist because it doesn’t work. No big deal. That’s what e-waste events are for.

No before you get lazy and decide to just chuck your stuff in the trashcan, I would like to take this moment to point out how ridiculously bad for our water supply that is. I’ll let the NRDC do the talking:

Some of the materials in personal electronics, such as lead, mercury and cadmium, are hazardous and can release dangerous toxins into our air and water when burned or deposited in landfills improperly. And throwing away metal components, like the copper, gold, silver and palladium in cell phones and other electronics, leads to needless mining for new metals.

What to know: The Lower East Side Ecology Center, bless their hearts, holds a couple e-waste events every weekend. Chances are there will be one convenient to you in the next month or so. See a schedule on their website.

The payoff: Knowing you haven’t poisoned some 7-year-old in a developing country with your old smart phone.

The drawback: You’ll have to plan a couple weeks in advance, and it’s not fun schlepping a printer or other heavy electronics across town.