Spring Cleaning
Pam Carlson
Clean Out
Those Closets
A thorough house cleaning should include purging drawers and closets. Pam Carlson, professional organizer and owner of READY, SET, ORGANIZE! suggests eliminating anything that is broken beyond repair, stained, too big or too small.“ People have a difficult time parting with things they are sentimentally attached to,” Carlson says.“ They can’ t part with an article of clothing because of what they paid for it even though they no longer wear it.” Ask yourself,‘ When is the last time I wore this shirt? If it isn’ t used or worn, let it go.’” Adds Carlson:“ Less stuff equals less stress. Having less to clean and put away will give you more free time to do things you enjoy. Having less stuff also changes the energy in a home.”( ready-set-organize. com)
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LESSSTUFF EQUALS LESS STRESS.” PAMCARLSON OWNER, READY, SET, ORGANIZE!
Marci Kessler and Jody Baker-Goodman
Consign Your Bags and Shoes
Now that you have purged your closets, what should you do with all the stuff you don’ t want? For high-end clothing and accessories, consider re-sale. If you have gently used designer handbags or expensive shoes you wore once and hurt your feet, these items can be sold on consignment, says Marci Kessler, owner of Doubletake Consignment shop in Short HiIls( edoubletake. com).“ Brands such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Hermes do very well for us,” says Marci. Consignors use the money they make to buy something they actually wear and love.” Jody Baker-Goodman, owner of JODY’ S CLOSET in Millburn adds:“ Re-sale is a great‘ green’ alternative. Instead of filling up a landfill and creating garbage, the item gets anew life with anew owner who really appreciates owning a designer item at a lower cost.”( welcometojodyscloset. com)
Consignment shops are best for highend merchandise inpristine condition. Many people think consignment shops are the place to sell barely-worn cocktail dresses and formal attire, but handbags and shoes are actually the biggest sellers.
Marci Kessler
Jody Baker-Goodman
At Kessler’ s store, items sell for roughly 60-75 % less than the original retail price, depending on the brand, season and condition of the merchandise.
For less high-end fashion items or household items that are in saleable condition, there are re-sale online sites including e-bay, Craigslist or Amazon. Consider selling your items locally through online sale or swap sites such as the Millburn / Short Hills / Summit NJ Garage Sale Forum on Facebook( facebook. com / groups / 317262618441725). And if you have the time and energy, you can always organize a yard sale.
Donation is another great way to rid yourself of items you don’ t need and help others in the process. Kessler says,“ If a client is agreeable, we can donate the items we cannot sell to a variety of worthwhile charities including Dress for Success( morriscounty. dressforsuccess. org), Market Street Mission( marketstreet. org / thrift-store) and Jeans for Teens
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RE-SALE IS A GREAT‘ GREEN’ ALTERNATIVE.”
JODYBAKER-GOODMAN OWNER, JODY’ SCLOSET
( getouttoday. com / jeansforteens). The Goodwill NY / NJ in Springfield also accepts donations of clothing as well as other household items( goodwillnynj. org). It is open seven days a week and will give you a tax donation receipt on the spot. Also consider donating children’ s clothing, books and / or household items to benefit the Millburn Middle School. Their Gently Used Sale is held annually in May and is the PTO’ sbiggest fundraiser of the year. ■
PAM BOLTON: COURTESY OFSUSIE SYNN ADAMSON; MARCI KESSLER: COURTESY OFLAURA SAN FILLIPO; JODY BAKER-GOODMAN: COURTESY OFSARI ZUCK
42 SPRING 2017 MILLBURN & SHORT HILLS MAGAZINE