Many of us are at home, doing our best to help stamp out the coronavirus.
This is a great time to clean out your closet. It is, however, not a great time to come into a store to do a trade. Due to social distancing guidelines, Valhalla is currently open for members with adjusted operating hours and we're doing deliveries for members who would prefer to stay home. For safety reasons, it's not a good idea to make unnecessary trips. But also, we aren't selling clothes which means we don't have extra room for new inventory.
We are currently doing trades, exclusively for members, and when it's safe again, we'll be open to doing trades with customers (restrictions may apply, depending on demand). Members looking to do a trade now: the best way is to either drop off when you do a pick up or leave it with your returns when we do a delivery. At this time, we are unable to return items we can't take for the store and are asking you to allow us to donate to Autism Awareness Shop when they resume operations.
With all that out of the way, we thought we should share some of the things we're looking for and some tips on doing the best, most satisfying closet clean out!
Things we're looking for:
Comfy anything.
It's the hottest item at Valhalla right now while we're all doing our best to flatten the curve and work from home.
Jewelry.
As a percentage, it's the most successful trade item you can bring in. We probably take about 90% of all of the jewelry we see. Compare that to the amount of jeans we take, probably less than 5%, it's a great thing to trade and is often skipped when doing a closet clean out.
Maxi dresses.
So popular with working from home now and it's always a summer hit.
Shoes.
While we're not selling shoes at the moment, and it's not a rental item, it's an often forgotten item in a closet clean out.
Shorts.
When you get to control your own temperature, you can wear shorts to work in your living room! Also, they're a perfect selection for the "work on top, party on the bottom" WFH fashion craze sweeping the nation.
A funny thing about Valhalla is a lot of our clothing doesn't "live" with us; it's out in the world doing things… But now, with the places we work and play closing, much of our work wear has been returned and we don’t have a single extra inch of space for work dresses, especially if they aren't super comfy.
Things we're not looking for:
Winter wear.
Sweaters.
Work tops.
Jeans.
Formal wear.
Work dresses.
Now, on to doing the best and most satisfying closet cleanout.
Make a rule or several rules and stick to it.
Some rules are:
Will I wear this again? This is Danielle, our founder's, favorite rule. It doesn't mean, have I worn this in the last 6 months? Or does it fit? It goes way beyond that. It’s every single thing you can't reasonably foresee wearing again; including things you're hanging on to for sentimental reasons. Get rid of it!
Have you worn it in the last year?
Does it fit?
Everything goes. Yup, we're serious. This is the last rule Danielle set for herself and for the most part, she's stuck to it pretty closely. She only owns a couple of cardigans, tank tops, 3 pairs of jeans, and 1 dress. That's it. And she still wears something different almost every day. Do not attempt this if you don’t have a Valhalla membership unless you're planning a new hobby as a nudist - check your work's HR policies first. Pro-tip: up your add-ons to make it easier on yourself.
Does it bring me joy? (borrowed from Marie Kondo) Now, Danielle isn't a big fan of this particular rule because "bringing joy" doesn't equate to wearability necessarily. And the goal should be to only keep things you will wear. You do you.
Start with jewelry and shoes.
They're the most left out items in a closet clean out. Don't leave them till the end. They should be the easiest to undertake and if you leave them until the end, you'll have expended all your energy on the clothing portion and you'll be too exhausted to do it. And it's sooo easy, just get it knocked out first.
Take out every single thing.
EVERY SINGLE THING. Put it on your bed. Now you can't sleep until it's done. Procrastination thwarted!
Clean.
Take this time before you really get started to wipe down surfaces and vacuum in the closet. When else are you going to do it?
Use the rule.
Now, go through each item and assess by the rule you selected. You'll be tempted, but try to stick to the rule you chose. Place the unwanted items in a cardboard box. We suggest skipping a trash bag for few reasons.
Most importantly, it's a single use plastic.
Trash bags impart a smell, especially scented kitchen bags that is difficult to get out of clothing.
Storing clothes in a trash bag can trap moisture in the bag causing mildew which will ruin the entire bag.
Time to put things back in.
Start with the dresses first. They're the easiest to wear and don't need much planning/accessorizing.
Single out hard to match items; tops and bottoms that you don't always know what to pair them with. Take the time now and match them up while you're able to see everything you own. Put these outfits together in your closet so you can see them together, it'll make getting dressed easier. Anything left over without a matching top/bottom: either put in the box or bring it on your next trip to Valhalla and we'll work on getting a match.
Leave a space at the front for you to place your planned outfits for the week (or your Valhalla rentals). When you know what you're going to wear in the morning, getting ready for the day is so much easier.
Tip to prevent a closet clean out in the future.
The best way to prevent needing a closet clean out in the first place is to recognize that you only need a closet clean out if you aren't purging as you go. Keep a box in or near your closet for instant purging. In the morning when you're getting dressed and you put on an outfit that doesn't spark joy, throw it in the box. You can always review your cast aways later when it comes time to trade/donate.