Just a quick post to celebrate the kickoff of my 2026 decluttering journey! I ended up hiring a Konmari-trained organizer, and she came for the first session yesterday. GOOD NEWS: she was lovely, and I think we are really going to enjoy working together.
She is super young and energetic, and is not too dogmatic about all things Konmari (she did not, for example, insist that I fold my underwear 🙂 ).
We went through ALL of my clothing:
AFTER:
Side notes:
- I have been assigned on my own to do the same thing with the kids (AND JOSH if he is wiling)! I do respond to deadlines and I am going to get it done before our next session
- I have some clothes I now need to figure out what to do with including a few new with tags items that were never worn. (Does thredup still do that thing where they’ll take a whole bag and just pay you if anything sells? If not I think I will just donate!)
- Getting rid of some running stuff was . . . weird. But I am wondering if there is anyone out there who would like a pair of barely worn Asics Metaspeed Edge shoes (it says UK 4 / US 5 but it’s really more of a women’s 6.5)? For free, I just would like to pass them on.
ANYWAY very excited to get started on the guided portion of our organizing journey – I think it will work well for us!!
26 Comments
Good for you! What a satisfying set of before and afters. I love that you set up some external deadlines for yourself and am wondering if that’s what I need to continue decluttering my little house.
Yes, ThredUp still takes whole bags of clothes and just pays you if they sell. It’s never that much money for me, but it’s still a great way for me to periodically clean out my closet without a hassle.
I found the payouts from ThredUp to be so small, it wasn’t worth it. Either find a local store to sell at or donate.
Excellent decluttering and organizing!!! This is my love language and I always tell my spouse that I never love him more than when he’s removing things from our house – ha!
Re: ThredUP – yes, you can still send them an entire bag BUT there are caveats. They now charge a fee for processing, which is anywhere between $7-15 depending on the deal you get, and I find that their payouts are pennies on the dollar so it’s definitely not a moneymaker. However, they also have a partnership with Athleta, in which there is no processing fee and the money you make comes to you in the form of an Athleta gift card. I use this frequently and have probably made a few hundred dollars over the years. I view it like this: donating gets me $0, doing the Athleta x ThredUP partnership gets me slightly more than $0 for the same effort of taking a box of clothes to someplace (donation vs. the UPS store). You can just print a label at home and ship in whatever box you have lying around: https://athleta.thredup.com/pages/trade-in
(or just donate!)
that athleta thing sounds great — I will try it for some of the NWT stuff!!
So happy for you! The external deadlines/body doubling are so helpful! Great work!
Looks great! I am wondering if I could copy some of this layout in my closet, I’ve been struggling. I’m jealous of your shoe shelves. I have actually just re-started running and was in the store yesterday trying on ASICS. I’m planning to run a 5K in April for the first time in forever. I would take the shoes and that is my size. BUT I also feel like you could probably easily sell them for at least $100 so maybe consider trying that. If you decide to just dump them I’m happy to pay for shipping!
I can send to you! just email me your address. they are awesome. but i have zero use for them! would rather give than sell!
Oh how fun! I’m really inspired. I don’t have a ton of clothes but am refusing to move anything tatty so will be doing a decent clear out.
Nice work, that’s a ton of progress in one session! I could use the shoes if no one else needs them–happy to pay shipping! My daughter is that size and is starting running club at school. 🙂
Amanda wrote first that she is that size — so sorry! But they are awesome shoes 🙂 🙂
No problem!! 🙂
Looks great! Also, in the interest of making donations as easy as possible, you may want to look into local veteran’s organizations that will come pick up things from your home. You just select a day and leave things outside and easily accessible–you don’t need to be there or interact at all. It really takes away the friction of getting things out of the house.
YES very good point!!!
Oooh tidy closets feel like a breath of fresh air! Amazing progress for the first session! 🙂
If the green and white fabrics are fitted sheets that resist tidy folding, have you seen the method where you lay them out (rather than folding in the air)? Not my video (not on YouTube) but helpful to see.
ooh! i didn’t even touch those sheets yet but when i do I will consult this method!!!!
Thank you… fitted sheets are my nemesis… I’m afflicted with being unable to rest or focus with any mess around and this is a long term linen cupboard struggle!
Looks so great! Well done taking the first step. Sounds like using the consultant with some deadlines is really going to work well, hooray!
Ooh that must have felt so good!
I’m a women’s 6.5 who exclusively wears Asics for running… happy to pay shipping!
thank you Jessie! The first person to respond was Amanda so I’m sending them her way but thank you for reaching out!! (And if you’ve never tried the metaspeed edge – they are so great!)
I’m glad someone can use them! Thanks for the suggestion- and thank you for generously passing them on!
Wow, that looks amazing!!! Great job, Sarah! That is inspiring me to do the same in my closet!
Your closet looks so nice and calming now! Nice work
When I lived in Philly we had friends we gave old kid clothes to, and other stuff we’d leave in the curb and it was usually gone pretty quickly. Stuff nobody wanted would go in the trash. Now that I live in a less high traffic area a lot more goes in the trash. I refuse to feel bad about it.
PS I recently read that after Marie Kondo had kids she became less obsessive about cleaning and decluttering and has remade her brand about being present in the moment. I found that amusing to say the least. 🙂
yes amusing – though I’m glad she didn’t try to cling to something that didn’t work anymore! I actually am interested in reading some of her more recent books!
If you itemize on your taxes and give more than 0.5% of your income to charity (a new floor for taking charitable deductions in 2026), you could just donate the clothes and take a tax deduction. For me, that would be easier than thredup and probably similar in value.
you’re probably right! thank you for that point!!