On a scale of one to ten, how much do you love clothes? If your closet is overflowing and you have containers of clothes under your bed, downstairs, in the attic, and packed in the trunk of your car, it’s safe to say you’re at least at a ten. As great as clothes can be, when you have so many, it can be hard to wear them all, making them impractical and causing them to take up space. It might be difficult, but if you’re finding yourself surrounded by clothes but feel like you have nothing to wear, or will never be able to wear all your clothes in this lifetime, it may be time to let some of them go.
Before you start packing up bags and sending everything off to Goodwill, though, think about alternatives. While donating clothing is a charitable act and you may have some clothes that are better off donated, if you have a lot of new, gently used, or high-end pieces, you may be able to turn your clothing into a business and earn money off of what’s in your closet.
Here are some ways that you can earn money with your extra clothes:
You Can Sell Them Online
With eBay, Poshmark, Instagram, Facebook’s Marketplace, Etsy, etc. there are tons of platforms on which you can sell your clothes. Selling them on Instagram or eBay can help you bring in some extra cash, or could even become a source of full-time income. Once you’ve sold everything that’s in your closet, you can ask friends and family members to clean out theirs and give you what they would otherwise donate to charity. You can even start combing your local thrift stores to find killer deals and treasures that you can then resell online and turn a profit.
You Can Rent Them Out
There are a lot of expensive clothing items that people can’t afford to spend hundreds of dollars on for one-time use. If you were lucky enough to purchase a prom dress every year in high school or to be able to purchase a wedding dress outright, you can list your gowns online and rent them out to others who are looking for a great deal on a beautiful dress for a special occasion. You can even rent out your regular clothes if you’re up for the challenge—some people would love a look for a date night or may need a certain outfit for a photo shoot, and they would be more than happy to rent it from you than pay full-price for the ensemble.
You Can Use Them to Start Your Own Clothing Line
If you have a hard time finding pieces that you love, or find pieces that are almost perfect and pair them with something else to make the look complete, then you’ve probably thought about how much easier it would be if you could start your own clothing line and design clothes. If you have an eye for fashion and knack for putting pieces together in a way that people love, you may want to consider starting your own clothing line and launching it online. You can use the pieces that are already in your closet and work them together or add to them to make them unique, then sell them in your online store and see where the road takes you from there.
You Can Blog About Them
Fashion and beauty blogs do incredibly well. People love to read about other’s ideas, get suggestions for hair, makeup, and clothing, and follow along in bloggers’ lives. If you have a passion and eye for fashion, and your closet is full, then starting a fashion blog could be a great option for you. Instead of getting rid of your clothes, you can feature them on your blog and offer them in giveaways which will boost your traffic and help you get enough visitors that you can start earning money.
Did you know that bloggers can make more than $30,000 a month in some cases? That’s not too shabby!
You Can Put Together Outfits and Sell Them as Sets
There are a lot of subscription services popping up that sell entire outfit ensembles, accessories, etc. that are handpicked for each client. Why are they so popular? Some people love fashion, but can’t get the hang of it, or want someone else to handle the logistics for them. If you love putting outfits together, you can create sets of your own and sell them online as individual ensembles, or you could even try signing up a few clients as subscription customers.
Final Thoughts
If you have a lot of clothes in your closet, you have a lot of earning potential waiting to be tapped. Rather than donating all of your clothes to Goodwill, consider cleaning out your closet and selling your clothes online or even starting a fashion line. It’s a great way to earn extra money and turn your clothes into your business. What kind of clothing business would you start?
