Closet Clean-Out With Curtsy

I've got a closet full of clothes, and let's be honest--I don't wear all of them. Sometimes I'll even come across something I forgot I had​. In the spirit of the new year and hoping to "simplify my life," I thought I'd write a post sharing my process of cleaning out my closet, and what I do with the pieces I don't keep (which includes making some extra $$$).

Ever since high school I've been going through a yearly "closet purge." I take everything in my closet, pile it onto my bed, and begin separating (although I'm sure there's a much easier way to go about this, in true Kaci fashion I have to make a huge mess out of it). I have 4 piles: Keep, Get Rid Of, Need to Keep but Don't Wear, and Maybe's. The "Keep" pile is obviously all of the must haves (classic jeans, neutral sweaters, solid tees, LBD). The "Get Rid Of" pile is the things that I either don't like, don't EVER wear, or things that don't fit. The "Need to Keep but Don't Wear" pile is pieces that are good to have but not day-to-day basics (khaki pants, white button up, professional blazers). And the "Maybe's" are things I'm on the fence about.

When it comes to the "Maybe" pile I mentally ask myself some questions to help me decide what I'm going to do with them.
- "Have I worn this in the past year?"
- "Do I have any upcoming events I might wear this to?"
- "Will I wish I had this later on?"
If I answer yes to any of these, I go ahead and keep it. If it never gets worn I can always get rid of it next time around! Better safe than sorry!

Making huge piles may not be beneficial in organizational terms, however it helps me visualize how much I'm keeping/getting rid of. Also, it's great for when I want to reorganize my closet. The empty closet acts as a "fresh palette" (if that even makes any sense).

After sorting through everything (and finally making a decision on those "Maybe's"), it's time to find a new home for these previously-loved pieces. And let me tell you, I've tried everything in the books.

The first thing I tried was giving my clothes to friends. I would load up trash bags full of clothes in my trunk, take it to my high school, and after school all my girlfriends would sift through my trunk and take what they wanted (they LOVED this and had so much fun with it). Whatever they didn't take, I would donate to a local shelter.

A couple years went by before I decided to go through my closet again. At this point I had finished my freshman year of college and was home for the summer. I figured selling my clothes would be a great way to make some extra cash. So I started selling on the only site I had heard of, Poshmark. Lots of bloggers I follow sold their stuff on Poshmark, so I assumed it would be pretty easy to sell on. I also tend to stay in style and up to date with fashion, so I figured my stuff would sell pretty quickly.

I posted a bunch of pieces with great photos and I sat... and waited... and waited some more... and finally made my first sale. I shipped it and everything worked out great. A few weeks went by and I had made probably 5 sales. Not as much as I was hoping, considering I posted so many clothes.

The more time I spent on Poshmark the more I got frustrated. I ran into several problems such as:
- People rudely demanding I ship the garment IMMEDIATELY. Poshmark requests shipping within two days but gives you a week to do so before the sale in cancelled. That's fair asking! Customers were just very picky and wanted it sent that day and I didn't always have time to ship it immediately. I know this is not Poshmark's fault, it just wasn't fun to deal with!
- They don't help you sell. They don't give many suggestions or tips to make things sell faster.
- You don't get paid for a very long time. You will not receive payment until the customer decides they like the garment. If they don't, it gets shipped back to you. I understand why they do this, however it's wasteful when you've spent money to package something and you can't reuse that packaging.
- Vacation Mode did not work (at least for me).
​- You hardly make anything--I understand that Poshmark gets to keep some of what you make but out of all the sites I've tried, Poshmark by far kept the most.
- The app is very out-dated. It seems like they haven't updated it in 5 years.
- When you make a sale you have to search the app for it. I always had to scroll way down in my notifications to find sales, rather than there being a separate tab so that your sales are easier to find.
- It seems that no one wants to buy the "in style" stuff, lots of the clothes were very out-dated and that seemed to be what people were shopping for.

I never bought one thing from Poshmark. The pictures were often bad quality and didn't show the garment very well. I wasn't opposed to purchasing, I just never found anything I liked.

To make a long story short, there ended up being a huge mix-up with two of my sales that caused me so much time. By the time it got all figured out I was over it and not wanting to sell on Poshmark anymore. This is nothing against Poshmark--I just didn't enjoy the app and it was causing more trouble than help. So I started searching elsewhere.

I came across 3 apps that I gave a try--Curtsy, Depop, and Mercari. I had seen ads on Instagram for Curtsy and it seemed like the best fit for what I was selling, but I wanted to give Depop and Mercari a try as well.

I had Depop for one day before deleting it. The selling criteria was just incredibly vague and difficult to understand, and I didn't want that to cause more problems later.

I sold a few things on Mercari and had a great experience with it, it just didn't work as great as Curtsy.

Curtsy got the thumbs-up approval pretty much right off the bat! The sellers/buyers on the app are in the same age range as myself and also have styles that I'm so​ into. None of that vintage, out-dated stuff!

Curtsy has been such a fun experience for me! Selling and buying are incredibly easy, and the people who work for Curtsy are simply amazing.

When you first join Curtsy, you receive a message from Clara (she works for Curtsy) who's there for questions and help. I actually did end up messaging her for help at one point and she responded so fast! I also got to speak with David, the CEO and co-founder, on the phone and share my experience with Curtsy to give them some feedback. The people behind a company are what make it great, and Curtsy definitely has a great team!

Buying on Curtsy is a piece of cake. After making a few sales, I decided to purchase a dress (which was a total score because the money I had made from other sales paid for it) and it shipped so fast! I already had my info (address, name, etc) saved so I clicked buy and it was mine (again, I didn't even have to pay for it)! The girl I ordered from did an awesome job of communicating with me and letting me know when my dress shipped. The Curtsy app makes it super easy to chat with buyers/sellers and that just makes everything run smoothly!

Curtsy is also awesome about giving you rewards! You get Curtsy coins for posting items, re-selling something you bought, buying items, making sales, and getting your first 5 star rating. 60 Curtsy coins gets you $10 in your Curtsy wallet!! It's super easy to get tons of coins which just means mooooorrrreeee clothesssssss!!!!!

The app gives you so many great tips for helping your items sell quicker. When you go to sell, depending on the price, quality of your photos, description, and shipping, there's a bar that shows you how quickly the item will sell. Better yet, Curtsy will alert you with tips and tell you exactly what to add to help it sell. I always use this tool, and it works because my items sell so quickly!

Interested in buying an item but want to wait? You can click on the heart below the item and it will "love" the item for you. The item is now saved on your profile, and you'll get an alert if the price drops or the seller offers free shipping. I use this all the time when I'm waiting for something to go on sale!

If you're anything like me and hate the shipping part of making a sale, Curtsy makes it super easy by offering a shipping kit. For only $3.84 (cheap right?!) you get 5 small mailers, 5 large mailers, 10 shipping label holders, Curtsy stickers, and a Curtsy phone wallet! Who doesn't love a little extra swag?! Then, once an item sells, all ya gotta do is print the label, attach it, package it up, and send it on it's way! That way there's no running back and forth to the store for materials or paying for shipping.

I've not had one issue with Curtsy and I've been using it since October! With a busy schedule like mine Curtsy is a quick, easy, and non-stressful way to make some money from my closet. It's also my fav way to get a great deal on in-style clothes! Let's just say my wallet = not broken, thanks to Curtsy! Lol.

You can click here to download the app and start an account of your own! If you're interested in checking out my closet, you can just search my name (Kaci Wiens). I'm constantly uploading clothes that you've prob seen me rock on my Insta! Better yet, I have a code you guys can use to get $5 your purchase! My code is "PF4T."

I hope all of you get the chance to try out Curtsy, because I know you'll love it as much as I do (especially because I'm SO picky when it comes to selling my clothes).

Peace n blessins!!!!

XOXO,
​Kac