Day 13, The Wardrobe Audit

13. The Wardrobe Audit
Did you know that most of us wear 20% of our wardrobe 80% of the time?
A great wardrobe is one that is full of clothes that you like and want to wear! When your wardrobe is great choosing garments each day is simple, mixing and matching is easy, all the accessories work and everything suits your lifestyle. What bliss!
Some people possess just two or three outfits that they wear to the max before the next season rolls around when they buy three new outfits to replace the three they’ve worn out! These are the disciplined people!
Some people never get rid of anything and have forty years worth of clothes in fluctuating sizes (and interesting styles and colours!) squirreled away behind their cupboard doors. Yes, these people are the hoarders!
Most of us fall somewhere in between, we buy a few garments now and then and we dispose of a few now and then, and we keep a lot of garments we seldom wear!

Most people have made a fashion purchase mistake at some time. We all know how it happens. With the wallet stuffed full of money and the credit card ready to roll we hit the shops running. We’re full of high spirits and hopes and we’re absolutely burning to buy something new and incredible, an item that will feel different and set us apart. The day wears on; the step becomes heavier, that special something just does not pop and we either end up buying a ‘desperation dud’, or return home fed up and empty handed. The dud gets shut away in the closet and there it lurks, sometimes for years, as a disappointing reminder of a frustrating day.
When this happens to you take heart, forgive yourself, get rid of the dreadful desperation dud and move forward.


De-cluttering the wardrobe
The first step towards a youthful-looking wardrobe is to cull the clutter and eliminate items that haven’t seen daylight for years. It’s the most important step to take, and it is one of the most difficult tasks to undertake.
Auditing the wardrobe is particularly relevant to those of us who have held on to garments from times past when we felt our most sexy and feminine. If this is you take a deep breath and haul those clothes out, bag them, tag them, and then admire the space you’ve created for their gorgeous, wearable replacements!

Vintage – trendy or tragic?
Essentially when you wore an item the first time it came into fashion you were trendy. If you’ve hung onto that item for years and when it has finally come back into fashion you’ve taken it out, dusted it off and worn it the chances are you have become a fashion tragic!
When we see a young person wearing a pair of pre-loved retro platform boots that she’s probably picked up at a vintage outlet we tend to think she’s clever and quite trendy.
When we see a mature woman wearing those same pre-loved platform boots we wonder why she’s clinging to youth. We also think it’s about time she overhauled her wardrobe!
Garments and accessories making a comeback are never quite the same as their original incarnation because modern designers tweak the styles to look fresh and current.
However, don’t confuse vintage with classic. Vintage garments are those worn in fashion moments. Tie-dyed garments, baby doll dresses, power-pads, colour-dyed dried bean necklaces and clog shoes were incredible, exciting fashions that lasted for moments.
Straight skirts, court shoes and dark denim jeans are designs that have endured the years and still look current. These are fashion classics.


It is important to recognise your lifestyle before you begin editing your wardrobe.
What are your clothing needs in terms of your personality? For example are you an outdoorsy person? Your wardrobe may reflect open-air activities and contain walking boots and anoraks, whereas a sporty person might have a wide selection of sneakers and tee shirts.
Be realistic. You might love sparkly evening dresses but do you actually wear them?
Do you want to project a new image? This is a great opportunity to update your appearance.
What sort of budget can you afford, what lifestyle do you currently lead?
A change in circumstances often renders a number of your clothes redundant.
Have you opted out of the corporate world for a more relaxed and casual lifestyle?
Your current clothes should reflect how you are presently living.
When your wardrobe is audited it’s easy to add a few extra garments to suit any alteration in circumstances.
Effective planning and organization takes determination, and depending on the number of clothes you own, it takes the best part of a day to create harmony in your wardrobe.
Before you begin put on your makeup, do your hair and wear comfortable, uplifting, flattering underwear. This is important and it will help your decision making - you’ll be trying on some of your garments and scarecrowing together a few new outfits.
Pull all your clothes out of the wardrobe for assessment .
Include everything in your appraisal – outer wear, underwear and all your accessories such as shoes, scarves, bags, gloves, hosiery, lingerie, belts etc.
Put sentimentality aside and examine each item individually. Don’t think about what the items cost or where (or who) they came from. Consider each item on its merit and sort them into one of the following three categories:
Keepers, Maybes and Discards.
Keepers:
These are the clothes that you wear often, that you like wearing and there is no question about returning them to the wardrobe.
These are garments that:
don’t require alteration
are comfortable, fit well and suit your personality
are flattering and make you feel good when you wear them
are in good condition and don’t need repairing.
Maybes:
These are the clothes that need some attention.
The ‘Maybes’ are garments:
that have bits missing – buttons, lace, rips, dragging hems etc.
that are soiled
that need to be altered to fit you
you like but never wear
that you need to purchase something else to wear with
that you are unsure about the fit, shape or colour
Sort the maybes into colour piles on the bed.

Discards:
Identify and liberate any garment:
that’s too small or too big
that pushes you together and gives you a mono-boob
that is really dated (fabric, style, pattern)
that is worn out, ripped beyond repair or stained beyond redemption
that has not been worn for the last three years (two years isn’t long enough!).
that is too short, too old or too young
that is not of the quality you currently wear
Any grotty underwear
Ancient smelly trainers, evening shoes that you’ve worn once (fifteen years ago) and any footwear that doesn’t fit or has bits missing
Any bag that’s stained, quilted or patchwork (unless it is a fantastically expensive label in a truly timeless style).
Any freebie make-up bags, or frayed, dirty, ripped, scuffed or torn bags
Put the discards in a pile on the floor, and place any obvious throw- aways into a large plastic bag to go out on rubbish bin night.
The condition of each remaining item will establish its destination - op shop, local markets, recycling store, vintage store, or whether to sell it on eBay. Make piles accordingly.

The maybes that you have sorted into rough colour piles on the bed are the most fun. With a little lateral thinking these garments can present you with outfits you’ve never thought of, or combinations you’ve vaguely considered might work but haven’t tried out!
Examine each garment and determine why you don’t wear it.
Do you love the design but aren’t so keen on the colour?
Is the item worth having professionally dyed? (did you break the bank when you bought it?)
Are the sleeves a flattering length? Could they be shortened or chopped off?
Can the hem be shortened or lengthened? An unflattering dress can be shortened to make a great tunic top.
Would changing embellishments such as buttons update the garment to current and wearable?
Does it fit you?
Is the style is classic or current? Would a fresh approach lift it?
A short damask evening jacket can work over dark jeans and a casual shirt.
You may have never found the perfect camisole to complete the stunning outfit you envisaged when you bought the hot pink silk sarong skirt in the sales. Maybe you could switch down the skirt to casual wear by teaming it with a navy and white narrow striped sleeveless tee shirt. Would a crumpled white linen jacket add Boho chic and pull it all together?
Metallic belts are useful to ramp neutrals up a notch or two.
A bright scarf injects a blast of colour when neutrals look too neutral!
Try wearing wear a shirt in a different way. Make it do double-duty as a loose jacket worn open over a dark tank and dark capri pants. Add metallic wedge heels and a squashy hobo bag to pull the outfit together.
Do you have a pair of high heeled ankle strap sandals lurking in the bottom of the wardrobe? Wear them with black pants or dark denim jeans for a bit of glam.
If you and your clothes are different sizes take them to an alteration expert. Too big garments can often be taken in, shortened or altered to fit.
Too snug garments are more difficult to alter. Clever experts can put inserts into the undersides of sleeves and lengthen a hem a little with tape, but you really have to ask yourself if the garment is worth it or if it’s time to go shopping!
Very often the maybes are the garments that you have loved and worn to death. They are most likely the right colour and the right fit for you.
Garments over five years old are likely to look dated. If you really love something and can’t bear to part with it, take it to a tailor and have it copied.,Stop at the shops on the way to see if you can replace it with an item that’s more current!

Accessories benefit from auditing too!
Mix, match and co-ordinate your jewellery.
It’s chic to wear a swathe of necklaces with related textures and layered in different lengths. Add a medallion or pin a broach onto the side of the swathe to lead the eye upwards.
Jewellery clusters can work youthful wonders and are useful to update rarely worn items.
Wear several unrelated textures together, try wearing hard and stretchy bracelets such as crystal, pewter, wood and bone in a cluster.
Pin a group of small broaches on the lapel of a jacket or to the shoulder of a sweater. This is an uber-modern look for denim jackets. Uneven numbers work best. Link them together with small chains. Lapels are great show boards for clusters of pieces that are otherwise insignificant when worn solo.

Any items over a decade old could be candidates for a vintage shop. You will get more if the label is still attached or you have the original packaging.
Vintage shops usually only accept good quality designer clothing from the 1980’s and good quality clothing from the 1970’s and before.
Making a bit of money eases the pain of saying farewell to old clothing friends; and think of the fabulous new fashions you can buy!

If you have a collection of long, floor length gowns you no longer wear, could you have them restyled into cocktail length dresses? At least then you could wear them out to dinner!
In the opening scene in the movie “Sex and the City” Carrie Bradshaw walks through the streets of New York in an amazing short white dress embellished on one shoulder with a gigantic fabric flower. The dress is accessorized with a pair of serious gladiator heels and a tiny clutch bag.
The dress was originally a vintage floor length evening gown that Patricia Field, the movie stylist and costume designer, had chopped down to skim the character’s kneecap. Whilst that particular dress might not appeal to you, you can pinch the idea and adapt it!

Hit Parade
Some items are perceived as straight out of Matronville. Other garments are just too young for the mature woman.
These are the top 20 clothes that have to go. They’ll date you. Do not keep them. They will not do as “round the house/round the garden” clothes. You will not slim back into them and even if you do they are NOT RIGHT FOR YOU!
Do these items lurk in your wardrobe?
Any sweater embellished with bells, reindeer, teddy bears, appliqué, crocheted flowers, pompoms dangling on crocheted wool chains, etc.
This is a difficult candidate because a sweater is warm even if it looks dreadful. Put it in a charity bin to be passed on to the needy.
Necklaces with your name written on them (in any language), or necklaces with little children cut-outs dangling from a chain. Retain a little mystery please! Who really needs to know your name or the number of children or grandchildren you have?
Tee shirts.
How many tee shirts do you own? Do you ever actually wear the souvenir tee shirt you bought on holiday because you felt sorry for the vendor?
Tee shirts printed with brands and slogans provide free advertising for someone you have probably bought the tee shirt from. And even if it was free do you want to be an unremunerated human billboard?
Tee shirts with meant-to-be-funny sayings are only amusing the first time, and are best worn by young men and children. Ditch the baggy, the daggy, the faded, the greyed, the ripped, the tight, the over-decorated and the stained.
Overalls
Bras and Knickers
Our bust fluctuates in size more than any other part of the body due to pregnancy, weight gain and weight loss – and many of us tend to keep our bras from year to year. If you spill over the top of a bra, if the straps dig in, if you haven’t worn it for two years, if it has lost colour or if it’s way too sexy or provides no support; give it the flick.
Bikini knickers and cami-knickers give VPL beneath pants, skirts and jeans. And granny bloomers, no matter how comfortable they are have gotta go, Bridget!
Mummy jeans – any jeans that are too short in the leg, too high in the waist, too loose in the leg or too baggy in the butt.
Jeans with pleats in the front, embroidery, acid washed, grungy, rips, lace, holes, studs, drainpipe, stone washed, boyfriend, or so tight they give you camel toe.
Big shoulder pads. Purge big loose soft-foam shoulder pads that you tuck under your bra strap. While you are at it, bin any tops with sewn-in shoulder pads unless you are certain you need them to balance your body shape (if you have wide hips and narrow, sloping shoulders then shoulder pads will balance your shape). Check jackets for too-big inbuilt shoulder pads. 1980’s power pads are a twenty-first century fashion tragedy.
Some skirts are perennial fashion classics. The following skirts are dated. If you own any of these consider the colour, length, fabric and condition and then decide whether it is a ‘keeper’:
Dirndl or folk dancing skirt, gored denim skirt, tiered skirt, tartan kilt, any tartan skirt, thigh stitched pleated skirt, yoked skirt (no matter the colour, fabric or condition, this one has got to go!) and divided skirt (culottes).
Fingers full of estate jewellery.
Handbags with photos of your children, grandchildren, movie stars or pretty chocolate-box scenery screen-printed on them
Three quarter length cargo pants
Any cargo pants
Bum bags
Back packs
Pants with pleats at the waist and/or tapered legs
The evening gown that hasn’t been on your back for a decade.
The sundress that was cool and loose when you bought it on holiday but is no longer cool, the looseness is questionable, and the bright colour has faded.
Big owlish reading glasses
Lycra bike pants
Black trakkie daks with a white stripe down the side
Batwing sleeves and cowl necklines
Safari jackets
Anything with smocking.
Patchwork anything

Not your daughter’s clothes!
Just as some of the wardrobe relics date us, other fashion items can make us appear to be trying too hard to look young.
When a woman in her prime wears the following items it compels people to wonder if she is coping with her maturity:

Too young, too teenage, too tragic
Ankle bracelets
Belly rings and toe rings
Body piercing (anywhere) and multiple piercings on the ears
Visible tattoos
Anything mini or micro-mini (skirts, dresses or shorts)
Baseball caps and newsboy caps
Girlish ruffle hemmed skirts
Knee to thigh split skirts
Spaghetti straps (as stand alones)
Bolero jackets
Puff sleeves
Halter neck tops or dresses
University sweaters, tee shirts or caps
Ruffle top swimsuits or triangle bikinis
Ankle strap shoes (unless you are Elle Macpherson)
Ballet flats that reveal toe cracks, actually, any shoes that reveal toe cracks
Peter Pan collars
Grecian necklines (one shoulder)
Low rise jeans with button openings and thousands of studs
Ripped jeans no matter how expensive they were
Tie-dyed anything (didn’t you wear it the first time around?)
Neon coloured tights
Anything too small, too short, too revealing or so tight that you end up with a muffin top or camel toe
Skinny leg jeans, drainpipe jeans or leggings when worn alone without a butt-covering top

Some of us make the mistake of revealing a lot of flesh in our quest for youthfulness.
An old chook’s bare boobs, bare midriff or butt cleavage are unattractive no matter how many hours were spent developing them at the gym or how many dollars were forked out to buy them.

Another ‘try hard’ revelation is clothing bought from a shop targeting teenagers. The reason teenage fashion is inexpensive is that generally it is made from cheap fabrics that are not made to last the distance. Cheaper fabric is bulky, creases easily and are likely to contain fabric starch or fabric sizing to give body and weight. These finishes wash out the moment the garment is laundered, leaving it limp and misshapen.
Only teenagers can get away with garments made from cheap fabric and that’s because their bodies are young and their skin is plump and fresh. Teenage garments are never, flattering to the mature body. Give them to your daughter!

Scarecrow your outfits:
Smart style starts with the wardrobe audit.
It’s well worth taking the time to scarecrow a few outfits together.
Make a note of them in a little book to keep in your wardrobe.
Start with a garment from your piles of ‘maybes’ – something you like and that fits you, but a garment you seldom wear.
Stand in front of the mirror (with your make-up on and your hair styled) and hold the garment against yourself. Try to define exactly why you rarely wear it.
Do you like the colour and does it suit you?
Is the style flattering and age appropriate?
Does it need to be altered – lengthened or shortened, taken in or let out?
Can you accessorize it from your existing accessories?
Now, considering only the colour, take the garment to your wardrobe and run it alongside the clothes hanging there. Look for different colour combinations. For example the garment may be a silvery grey dress. While black is the obvious (and boring!) coordinate, a solid coloured russet scarf tied as a sash could add spice and interest.
Step out of your comfort zone, try lots of combinations, some will work and some won’t, and you may not be entirely comfortable wearing all those that do work, but you are in your own home, there’s no one watching or judging you so go ahead and have some fun!
When you find an outfit; scarecrow it on your bed and accessorize right down to the last detail. Decide what definitely works and then play with some alternative garments and accessories - hosiery, footwear, bags, jewellery, hat, gloves, scarves, wraps, eyewear, and belts.
Write everything in your little notebook. Include the alternatives and make a note whether an item dresses the outfit up or down. This can be achieved simply by changing the footwear. Making notes is invaluable for those days when you can’t quite decide what to wear, or for those CRAFT moments when you can’t remember what went with what when you put the outfit together in the first place!

Closet Clues
Once you’ve audited your wardrobe, weeded out the ‘discards’, saved the ‘keepers’ and sorted the ‘maybes’ there are a few smart tricks to retain law and order within your closet.
When you have a higgledy-piggledy wardrobe presentation it’s easy to assume you are bereft of clothes or accessories. And so off you go shopping, whack down the credit card and come home with your purchase only to find the twin to the black skirt or whatever you’ve bought, languishing under the mountain of clothes piled in your closet.
Remove out-of-season clothes from the closet and store them in airbags beneath the bed. It is surprising how many garments can be squeezed into one airbag, and even more surprising how flat it lies once the air has been sucked out!
When the non-seasonal items have gone, the contents of your wardrobe will be clear making selection of outfits a breeze!
Accessible clothing displayed on orderly shelves and hanging spaces saves time in the mornings. Organized shelves and tidy drawers assist you to create new and imaginative combinations from some of your old friends. A plus is that you’ll know not to buy that fourth pair of black pants!
Underwear, lingerie and shape wear are the base on which you build an outfit, so the lingerie drawer is a good place to start sorting.
Line your drawers and shelves with pretty paper – recycled gift wrap or white tissue paper, or purpose-made perfumed drawer liners can be bought.
While you are into tidying you could sort items into piles and section them with Perspex or cardboard drawer dividers. Storage specialist shops stock an amazing range of storage solutions. Alternatively use shoe boxes – trim down the sides to fit the depth of your drawers and line the boxes with white tissue paper.
A lavender bag imparts soft feminine fragrance to your lingerie and it’s easy to make your own:
Stitch two squares of natural fabric together (inherited linen or cotton handkerchiefs are ideal). Leave a pocket open on one side.
Fill the bag with dried lavender flowers. Alternatively use a combination of dried lavender flowers and scraps of polyester wadding (batting).
Stitch up the hole or tie the bag with a pretty ribbon.
Every now and then rub the bag to crush the flowers so they release some oil, or add a few drops of bought lavender oil.
Dangle lavender bags from coat hangers, nestle them in amongst your lingerie and scarves, or stuff them into the toes of shoes.

What is your closet personality?
The Hanger
You like to hang garments whenever you possibly can!
Ask for the coat hanger when purchasing clothes, many retailers are pleased to give it to you, others might offer an alternative coat hanger, but do ask, the worst a shop assistant can say is ‘No’!
Hanging is quicker and easier than folding and one glance will immediately establish what’s there.
If your wardrobe is fitted with custom-built rails, shelves and drawers hanging everything together may be impractical. The solution is to categorise your garments and hang them together in colour codes. Group skirts together with the black skirts beside each other, the jackets together with those of similar colour next to each other, pants together, tops and dresses together etc.
If your wardrobe a standard shelf and one rail arrangement hang all the red garments together, all the white garments, all the blue garments and so on.
A couple of elastic bands wrapped around each end of a coat hanger give grip for slippery silky fabrics, or use padded, fabric covered coat hangers. Another oldie, but a goody is to cover a wire coat hanger with strips of tulle. All you do is cut tulle (the cheaper and stiffer the better) into lots and lots of 2cm wide by 10cm long strips. Tie each tulle strip side by side onto the coat hanger along the length.
The Folder
Tee shirts, sweaters, knits and jerseys store best when they are folded simply because hangers tend to leave unsightly lumps and bulges in the shoulders of knitted fabric.
If you have a slippery knitted garment (made from metallic thread for example) that’s irritatingly difficult to fold, place a rectangle of double or triple-folded white tissue paper over the garment and fold around it.
Use white tissue paper. Coloured tissue paper is not colour-fast and the dye can rub off or bleed onto garments.

Here’s the thing:
Sweaters, tee shirts, knits, or any garments that are put away with even a smidgen of dirt can provide a tasty banquet for moths or invite mildew to settle. Moths love to devour food-encrusted wool and cashmere and are extremely partial to the natural fibres of linen, cotton and silk. Once they’re in the wardrobe they lay eggs in the folds of your garments, and munch their way through all the good stuff - basically they grow fat feeding on your clothes.
Mildew and mould grow on moisture, dust and dirt. Leather and suede items (jackets, pants, skirts, belts, footwear and bags) are particularly subject to mould and mildew, especially in tropical and sub tropical areas. Remove plastic dry cleaning covers from your garments when you bring them home, humidity, dark wardrobes and plastic covers are not a good combination. Ventilated shelves promote airflow around clothes.
In areas of high humidity an electric damp-chaser stick with a sealed 15 watt bar helps keep mildew at bay. Or place a couple of tubs of Damp Rid crystals on the base of the wardrobe to soak up excess moisture.
A scattering of lavender bags, citrus leaves, bay leaves, cinnamon or cloves helps deter moths although nothing beats a weekly blast of fly spray into the wardrobe!

Shoe Storage
If you are blessed with the luxury of plenty of wardrobe space to hang, fold and store your clothes and have a wall packed with racks of shoes you are the envy of the rest of us mere mortals!
Shoes, boots or sandals are an integral part of an outfit so it makes sense to look after our footwear.
Assuming you’ve riffled through your shoe collection and discarded any footwear with parts missing (heels, buckles, straps or embellishments), and any that is uncomfortable, too small, too high, too scraped or too smelly, the remaining items deserve to be well treated.
Are you making the best of the available space for footwear?
Most of us don’t have walls on which to fit rows of bespoke shoe racks. Do you have space to fix some rails on the inside of a sturdy wardrobe door?
Protect shoes from dust by stacking them in the boxes they came in or clear perspex boxes available at reasonable prices from variety stores.
An old trick used by models is to store shoes in each foot of an old pair of pantyhose.
Plastic shoe racks from storage specialists come in flat packs, are easy to assemble, reasonably priced and will take 9 – 12 pairs of shoes. Rack them with the heels hooked over the rack and store flat shoes underneath on the floor.
Peg boots together, use large butterfly clips from stationers or use clothes pegs.
Stand boots upright with a rolled up magazine inside to avoid them creasing down.
Dangle rubber thongs and flat sandals from commander hooks stuck down the wardrobe edge, or drop a wide linked plastic chain from the top of your cupboard and attach light-weight thongs, sandals etc. with plastic hooks (shower curtain hooks are ideal) to the links.
Crumple dry newspaper and stuff it into wet shoes or boots to reshape them. Allow them to completely dry before you put them away in the cupboard. Shoe polish helps to repel water and keep mildew at bay.
Hook, Line and Sinker
Use every available centimetre of your wardrobe space – walls, posts, ceilings, the undersides of shelves and the wardrobe doors. Commander hooks are your best friends when you are pushed for space. They’re available from supermarkets, mass retailers and from hardware stores. Commander hooks come in a range of sizes and some hold weights up to about 3kg. They are repositionable, stick onto most clean surfaces including tiles and can be removed from painted or papered surfaces without leaving damage or any marks.

Closet clues
Stick hooks inside wardrobe doors, and on walls and posts to hang necklaces, bangles, belts, boots and bulky handbags you can’t fit onto the shelves.
Inexpensive purpose-made plastic hangers with slots, slats and hooks for ties, belts and shoes are available from mass retailers and hardware stores. Use them to hang belts, jewellery, scarves etc
Variety stores often sell big inexpensive stackable boxes that are ideal for storing hats. Fiddle around and fit 2 or 3 hats into each box, separating them with a layer of white tissue paper. Stuff crumpled white tissue paper into the crown to retain the shape, and make small sausage-like rolls to maintain curves or curls in the brim.
Tie racks are a great storage solution for long scarves. Fold the scarf lengthways then drape it over the rack. Alternatively attach a small towel rail or round towel hoop inside the wardrobe door to drape a collection of scarves and belts.
If you are a handyperson (or know someone who is) a small towel rail upended and attached to the underside of a shelf or the wardrobe ceiling is a great little additional rail from which to hang scarves, belts, or to hook bulky bags. Use shower curtain hooks or rings– again! They are useful little gems that come in packs of 12 and can be bought separately (without the curtain).
A decorative display board can be a practical storage solution for jewellery. Try making your own from an old framed picture and corks from wine bottles.
Ask a couple of local restaurants to save used wine bottle corks for you. Provide them with a clean plastic ice cream container they can throw the corks into. Champagne corks are an awkward shape, plastic corks and stoppers are no good, they’re too hard and you can’t stick drawing pins into them.
Remove the glass from the framed picture, but leave the picture in the frame to form the base for the corks. Don’t use a picture you want to keep; it will get wrecked because you’ll be gluing the corks directly onto the picture.
Use Aquadhere Glue to stick the collected wine corks over the picture in a herringbone pattern.
Cut the corks with a craft knife to fit around the edges and into the corners.
Leave the board to dry for a few hours or overnight.
Attach a strong commander hook onto the wall (near a mirror if possible), hang up the cork board and push in large shiny drawing pins to dangle necklaces, chains, bracelets and bangles from. Use long thick pins to dangle rings.
A cork board dripping with jewellery is much more creative than hiding necklaces and jewellery away in forgotten boxes!

Jettisoning pre-loved clothing
A recycling store may agree to sell your clothes on consignment. Recycling stores accept good quality, current clothing (maximum 2 years old) and expect garments to have been dry cleaned before accepting them so attach the dry cleaning docket to your garment. Recycling stores are not the place to attempt to offload an inherited fifteen year old, sad and tired kilt of questionable tartan.
Recycling stores generally sell items for about half the original cost (if the article is in excellent condition) and give you a percentage of that – so you’ll get back a lot less than you paid on the original purchase price.
Consignments are accepted for an agreed period. If your consignment does not sell, it’s your responsibility to collect it within a specified (usually short) time. Uncollected consignments are donated to charity. Every recycling store has a different policy so read the fine print carefully to understand the exact terms and conditions and what you are up for.

Local markets are excellent venues if you want to sell your stuff yourself. Many councils and churches hold markets at least once a month where you can set up shop for a nominal fee. Sometimes trestle tables are available for hire. Public liability insurance is a consideration, many organisers insist you have it and some offer it at cheap daily rates.
Clearly marked, reasonably priced, clean items are the best sellers so it is worth taking the time to wash and press your garments and attach the price.
Present items in the condition that you would expect to buy them yourself.
Have some price flexibility, market shoppers are looking for bargains and are more likely to buy when they are offered a discount! Also, you don’t want to take everything back home with you when the markets finish!
Some markets offer casual spaces inside a hall or under cover which are worth paying a premium for if it’s likely to rain.
Some hire companies rent clothes racks to display garments on.
Save up carry bags for a few weeks beforehand and take them with you to put your sales into.
Take a cash float, keep your money on you (this is the one instance when we do ‘bum-bags’!) and have a marking pen to mark-down the goods an hour and a half before the market is due to close (most organisers will expect a full day commitment).
It’s worth personally checking out the market prior to taking a stall, just to ensure it will be the best venue for your goods. Local newspapers carry details of markets, if you intend to sell outside your area jump online and Google “Local Markets”.

Many people have success selling clothing and apparel on eBay. Go online for more information.

Op shops and charity stores accept clean clothing that still has wear in it but is not current or new enough to be sold on consignment.
Clothes given to op shops and charity stores are donations; you won’t receive any money for them.
Most charities have arrangements with rag merchants. If your donation is not good enough for sale in the shop, it will be sold on to a rag merchant.
Don’t feel embarrassed about taking clothing into an op shop. It is unlikely the person who receives it will ask you to open the bags, or go through them while you wait. Just turn up and ask where to leave your goodies. Explanations are not required or expected. The assistants working in op shops and charity stores have seen it all, generally they are volunteers who are there for a short time, and are so busy they don’t have time for judgments.
Some charities don’t accept items such as underwear, socks, hosiery, make-up or pierced jewellery unless it is brand new, unworn, unopened and still has the original price tag attached. All charities appreciate clean items. Post bagged items into a local charity bin if you want anonymity.
The infants department of your local school or after school care centre may accept donations of clean used garments and accessories for their “dress up boxes”. Separates are more sought after than dresses, and they love hats, gloves, scarves and bags, male and female. Sometimes the local high school drama department is interested in vintage or unusual clothing for role playing or stage productions. Get on the phone!
Check all the pockets before you dispose of clothing, particularly any handbag pockets and compartments that could be harbouring lost lipsticks, business cards, loyalty cards, crumpled tissues or loose coins.

Mend and makeover
Sweater Snags
If you cut a snag off a knitted garment it might unravel. Use a snag needle to repair pulls and snags. Turn the garment inside out and push the ball point of the needle through to the other side (the right side of the garment) at the base of the snag. When the rough end of the needle is at the garment’s surface twist it to catch the snag. Pull the needle back through the garment to the wrong side, pulling the twisted snag with it.
Static Cling
Rub hand cream into your legs (through your tights if necessary).
Anti static spray can be applied to the inside of your skirt if static is a persistent problem. Test a small area of the fabric first to ensure the anti static spray doesn’t harm it.
Fallen hems
Body tape is an effective temporary fix for fallen hems. It is double sided tape formulated to stick fabric to the skin, but works just as well fabric to fabric!
Iron-on hem tape is strong and it is easy to use. If it becomes detached, just iron on some more.
Hair Dye Stains
Spray spilled hair dye immediately with hairspray to neutralize it. Wash the garment in soda water as soon as possible.

Retail details and magic products
Storage: K-Mart, Big W, Target, IKEA, Freedom Furniture, Howards Storage and Bunnings all offer a range of innovative, reasonably priced and practical storage solutions. Go on-line.
Cork boards, $7 to $20 from Bunnings Hardware
Check the Yellow Pages under ‘Recycled Clothing’ to find the nearest recycling store, charity store or op shop.
Snag Needles from Spotlight. Set of 3 in individual plastic sleeves $4.50
Hollywood Fashion Tape $20 per roll from Myer. A roll of Hollywood tape lasts a long time
Iron-on hem tape around $4 per roll from Lincraft or Spotlight

Good luck with your audit, it's hard to do, but worth the effort in the end.
Next time we're going to look at savvy shopping - smart bargain hunting, how to cope with the fitting room blues, where to shop and what to look for, plus shoe shopping which to me is a form of purgatory! Kisses, Dawn