Clothes may be one of the easiest household items to pack and relocate to another house, if not the easiest one. Even though they are easy to pack, the amount of them can be overwhelming. Before you go off to search Queens movers, make sure you organize your belongings. One of the harder tasks is decluttering, so read on to find out what to do with unwanted clothes when moving.
Why are clothes the easiest belongings to pack?
First of all, they are not fragile like porcelain figurines. Therefore you don’t really have to worry about how your clothes will get to the new place. Yes, they might wrinkle during the move. But in most cases, that’s not an issue at all since some ironing will resolve the problem. Secondly, clothes will usually fit any size of the box– small or large box, or best of all – wardrobe boxes. Your clothes can fit into the packing boxes without much fuss. Moreover, they will be perfectly safe there too. And best of all, clothes are usually not heavy. Some clothes can be rather bulky (winter clothes, for example), but even they are not too heavy to cause any difficulties.
So, if clothes are relatively easy to pack and relocate to another home, then why is it that most people don’t like packing them. The chances are most of them don’t know what to do with unwanted clothes when moving.
What to do with unwanted clothes that are in good condition when moving
For sure you have some of your clothes that are in good or even excellent condition, but worn only a few times or maybe even never worn. You bought them on a sale or received them as a gift. Nevertheless, you have decided not to relocate them to the new home, and now don’t know what to do with them when you move. Before you go off searching residential movers NYC, it is important to downsize your belongings. What exactly should you do with unwanted clothes that are almost as good as new when relocating?
Gift your unwanted clothes to your friends
Take a closer look at the unwanted, good as new clothes you’re not moving with you. Try and think about for a moment whether a friend of yours might like something. You probably know your friends well, you know how they dress and what types of clothes they wear. Therefore, look for that peculiar feeling that they will love a particular piece of clothing you have. Moreover, maybe some of your friends have already mentioned that they liked some of your clothes previously.
Another way is to take photos of the clothes you don’t plan to pack and move. Show those pictures to your closest friends and let them pick whatever they want. However, it is important to remember not to offer a piece of clothing to a friend who gave it to you in the first place!
Donate your unwanted clothes when moving
Without a doubt, the most honorable thing you can do with the unwanted clothes you’re not moving is to donate them to variable charitable organizations. It’s a win-win scenario for you – you’ll be helping strangers and you’ll be decluttering your closet for a smoother and cheaper move.
By giving your clothes away, you’re also getting the sense of satisfaction of doing a worthy cause. Find a list of charities in your area that will accept unused or moderately used clothes. Some charitable organizations to donate unwanted clothes when relocating are:
- American Red Cross
- Dress for Success
- Goodwill
- One Warm Coat
- The Salvation Army
Sell your clothes
If you’re up to it, you can try to sell some of the more expensive unwanted clothes that you’ve decided not to move. After all, it will be good to add any money you get from the sale to your moving budget. Also, when we mention moving budget, you can already start looking at movers Woodside NY to provide you with some estimates. Selling designer clothes online is the easiest way of getting rid of your unwanted clothes. But you can also organize a garage sale just before moving out, so you can try your luck there as well.
What to do with unwanted baby or children’s clothes when moving
If you have children, you know just how quickly they can outgrow their clothes. This usually means that you have tons of children’s clothes to sort through. You are wondering what to do with those unwanted clothes before the upcoming move.
Luckily, you’ve got some options.
- Save the most special pieces of baby clothes. No doubt, some children’s clothes will be more special than others. You can create a keepsake box with the dearest pieces of clothes of your children. Those would be the ones that hold special memories and you’d love to keep forever. Pack those unique baby or children’s clothes in a durable plastic bin that should keep them safe for years to come.
- Hand down the unwanted children’s clothes when moving. If you are planing more children, you can save clothes that are in good shape. However, if you don’t plan on having more kids, then check with friends or family members who are expecting and may need those clothes.
- Donate them. Search for a local charity that will accept donations of gently-used children’s clothes. These include local churches or women’s shelters. If you can’t find such charities, then leaving your childrens’ clothes at thrift stores is also a good choice.
What to do with old worn-out clothes when moving
If the clothes are worn out or damaged beyond repair, then there’s little you can do with them but recycle the unwanted clothes properly before moving.
But before you throw away the damaged clothes, consider giving them to Planet Aid. Most charities will only accept clothing that’s in a pretty good condition, but Planet Aid works a little bit differently. Planet Aid will accept all clothing, except the ones that are really dirty, wet, or moldy. They will also accept other cloth materials and textiles such as towels, curtains, etc.
The mission of Planet Aid is to keep textiles from landfills and they help protect the environment this way. The clothes that the non-profit organization gathers are sold and reused in developing countries. The gathered funds go to development projects to fight poverty in poverty struck areas. All you have to do is pack all your unwanted clothes before moving, and drop them off at one of Planet Aid’s drop-off bins across the country.