Confessions of a Recalcitrant Declutterer
October 2023Stuff + lack of closet space = the French Quarter dilemma. But once you’ve committed to downsizing your wardrobe, what’s the best way to be rid of your cast-offs?
By Bethany Ewald Bultman
Stage One: Seasonal Stuff Shuffle
As our fall temperatures ricochet from muggy to frigid, many New Orleanians engage in the mental gymnastics of when and how to lug our sweaters, boots and coats out from under our beds and artfully camouflaged bins from beneath skirted tables or atop armoires. For those fortunate enough to live in a historic home, lack of adequate closet space is as ubiquitous as rising damp, crumbling plaster and antiquated plumbing.
Each year as I embark on my Seasonal Stuff Shuffle, I conjure the late comedian and social critic, George Carlin: “A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it… a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff!”
If you have never lived in one of the city’s many historic dwellings, you might be thinking: “Why don’t they solve their ‘too much stuff’ problem by embracing the advice imparted in Tidying Up With Marie Kondo on Netflix?”
Full disclosure, I read Marie Kondo’s book up to the point when I realized she obviously never lived in New Orleans. Nowhere does Kondo address the storage of costumes. Or wigs and second-line umbrellas. Or hand-beaded bustiers.
And when told by Kondo on her Netflix show to hurl out anything that I haven’t worn in two years, I gazed at the crown I wore as the queen of Krewe du Vieux in 2013. Only worn once and now sitting atop the lampshade on my dressing table. Do I need to hold on to a ten-year-old used faux Elizabethan crown? Well, yes.
But New Orleanians’ proclivity for costuming aside, for a city with ten months of summer and two months (at most) of glacial temperatures, I own too many clothes. I am guilty of spending more time discovering ingenious means for storing my overabundance of clothing than I do in decluttering.
Turns out, I am not alone. A pre-pandemic UK study noted that 12-15% of clothes in our closets have been “inactive” for more than two years. Other studies reveal that there are two main psychological reasons why many of us hang on to items that we don’t have the space for: Nostalgia and a need for stability, consistency, security and safety. This may explain why I have bins of clothing hidden all over my house, but it ignores the existential question George Carlin raised – my endless quest for another deeply discounted black sweater or pair of boots.
During the long Covid shutdowns in New Orleans, I began to consider my storage dilemma in earnest. While I wasn’t willing to part with my faux crown or my precious costume boxes, changes were in order. I needed to rehome much of what I already owned.
How best to do that? The research began. One can never have too much of that.
Stage Two: Fast Fashion Fallout
Before the Industrial Revolution and the advent of the sewing machine, clothing was made entirely by hand. Fabrics were spun, woven, dyed and hand stitched. The working poor often bought used clothing of the dearly departed or artfully re-tooled hand-me downs.
The first metal coat hangers weren’t even available until the middle-late 19th century as a means of efficiently packing more clothes in an armoire. One armoire and a dresser would easily accommodate the apparel of a family. If they were fortunate, they had a second set of clothes for church, weddings and funerals. Even up until the early 1960s, most women in New Orleans would buy one full new outfit a year – a suit, shoes, two blouses, gloves and a hat – usually at Easter. During this period, the American fashion industry produced 95% of the USA’s apparel.
AI generated image
The term “fast fashion” was coined by the New York Times in the 1990s to describe the way international retailers can have styles from designer runaways mass-produced and selling in stores in less than two weeks. The useful lifespan of this fast fashion apparel is less than two years.
In Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, journalist Elizabeth Cline warns, “…because of low prices, chasing trends is now a mass activity, accessible to anyone with a few bucks to spare.” Quality and lastability isn’t the issue, because we only need clothes to last just “until the next trend comes along.”
Fashionistas shop to the mantra of Instagram influencers: See now, must have. The result is a 500% worldwide increase in clothing consumption since the 1990s. A recent UN study revealed that the average consumer now buys 60% more clothing than they did even 15 years ago. Globally, around 56 million tons of clothing are purchased annually.
At the same time, today only 3% percent of this clothing is produced in the United States. The other 97% is made in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, and India under (more often than not) deplorable conditions.
Faced with the horrific publicity, sustainability has become a marketing tactic (known as “greenwashing”) by many of fast fashion retailers as a justification for overproduction. Good On You is an eye-opening directory of thousands of brands that they’ve investigated and rated for the impact on: the planet, people, and animals. For instance, one mega-retailer promises to “close the loop”—to take our cast-off clothes made by them and recycle them into new ones.
In fact, only 5-10% of the textiles are recycled into new clothing. This is because recycled fibers are weakened, so you still need at least 80% new fibers to create a piece of clothing. A large amount of the clothing is churned up to make insulation. Meanwhile, it is estimated that as much as 50% of recycled clothing is resold as is to developing countries where it ends up in landfills.
Despite what fast fashion retailers promise, there is no such thing as a sustainable fabric. Estimates are that 20-35% of microplastics in the marine ecosystem come from synthetic clothing. All polyesters are partially derived from oil which renders them non-biodegradable, meaning they can take up to 200 years to break down in a landfill.
Then come acrylics, that cozy fabric for sweaters, gloves and hats, whose key ingredient is acrylonitrile, a highly toxic chemical. This translates into the fact that globally the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions and 20% of global wastewater.
But as I would learn, ethical consumerism isn’t easy. Put simply, the average American throws away 82 pounds of clothing each year! I suspect I may exceed that number, but my goal is that none of it will end up in a landfill. With George Carlin’s voice blaring in my head, the goal of my decluttering has evolved from making more room for new clothing, to leaving a smaller footprint on the planet.
In the past, I would gather up my cast-off clothing once a year to stuff in a charity bin. But I would soon learn that responsibly decluttering was easier said than done when it comes to passing on our “archived” fashion so it goes on to have a second life.
Unraveled: The Life and Death of a Garment, by Maxine Bedat reveals that there is not enough global demand for the massive quantities of secondhand, low-quality clothing we donate. As a result, our good intentions become costly, overwhelming waste and an environmental nightmare for people living halfway around the world. This podcast outlines the utterly, devastating reality.
From a Greenpeace report, “Poisoned Gifts,” I discovered that in Kenya and Tanzania, our second-hand clothes are known as “mitumba”, a Kiswahili word meaning bale or bundle because they are typically sold to retailers in bales. Up to forty percent of the mitumba has no re-sale value. Most nights the air is polluted with the noxious smoke fumes from open pyres of athletic shoes and polyester clothing.
I don’t want my frumpy “Covid” fleece hoodie to end up halfway around the world destroying the environment of a village in Kenya. Yet, if I were to put my overflow of clothing into one of the charity bins, there is a good chance this would be its final resting place.
My shelves, drawers and bins of tee shirts seemed the easiest place to begin saving our planet. My old tee shirts are time capsules of concerts, festivals, blood drives, marches, family celebrations and charity benefits. Do I wear them anymore? No. In fact, when dumped on my bed, my tee shirt pile revealed that the majority fell into the category of “only worn once” like single-use plastics.
This article, “What’s the Environmental Impact of a T-shirt,” puts my tee shirt pile into perspective. The numbers are staggering. Of the approximately 15 million T-shirts sold each month in North America, 40 percent end up being burned, or put into the ocean, or dumped in landfills all over the world. According to the World Resources Institute, it took 713 gallons of water to make each of these cotton shirts. Buying one white cotton shirt produces the same amount of emissions as driving 35 miles in a car.
US thrift stores typically only resell about 20 percent of our donated garments. The rest ends up in landfills in faraway countries. In Ghana, West Africa’s largest second hand clothing market, all of the “dumped” US and European Union thrift store excess has been dubbed obroni wawu or "dead white man's clothes." In Ghana, about 40 percent of our bales of donated clothes are thrown into landfills. It adds up to an estimated 18 million pounds of cast-off textiles in landfills per year.
Step Three: Sustainable Options
The goal I have set for myself for 2023-2024: only acquire new clothing when it is recycled, organic, artisan-produced clothing – or when I can’t borrow or find it used. Sustainable fashion isn’t really about the brands we own. It’s more about becoming a mindful consumer.
As for cleaning out my closet, it was a bit of a shock to find the pile of my cast-offs was the size of Monkey Hill. Below are ideas and a list of resources I found to ease my mind while cleaning my closet.
Donate Locally
Basic guidelines:
Be sure to research organizations thoroughly (local ones tend to be better). To protect the health and well-being of their volunteers, all clothing donations must be on hangers or neatly folded. Most won’t accept clothing donations in garbage bags. Please ensure that all items are donated freshly dry-cleaned/laundered and ironed, in current or classic styles, not more than five years old.
Donation bins are not a place to unload unwanted, soiled, ratty pieces. This behavior actually harms charities, as they have to spend money and resources getting rid of the pieces in bad condition.
Out of the Closet - Taylor Cohen, MPH, is New Orleans Musicians Assistance Foundation’s (NOMAF) Public Health for the Public Good Director. She volunteered to gather up a selection of clothes from me, our co-workers and her friends to donate to Out of the Closet.
Photo by Taylor Cohen
The shop provides well-displayed vintage clothes and accessories, but also provides resources and services for the LGBTQ+ community, including STI and HIV testing. According to the foundation’s website, 96 cents of every dollar made from sales goes toward providing HIV testing, treatment and prevention services. Founded in 1987, the foundation is the largest provider of HIV/AIDS medical care in the world, according to its website, with more than 1.7 million patients in 45 countries.
This unique concept is the brainchild of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the nonprofit committed to ending the HIV epidemic by breaking the stigma around it and teaching people how to prevent transmission.
“I had the best STI screening of my life,” Taylor reported after her clothing drop off foray. “OTC is a beautiful space, doing amazing good. You can shop and then go into a private screening area to get free rapid tests in a totally judgment-free environment.” Their walk-in testing services give results in less than 10 minutes.
2. SisterHearts Thrift & Consignment Store – Supports a “decarceration” program for previously incarcerated individuals.
Founded in Manhattan in 1997, Dress for Success is a global non-profit providing suits for those applying for their first job. They accept Interview appropriate suits including skirt or pant suits in all sizes, modern, classic styles in conservative colors. (No wool or winter weight suits.) Donations are accepted on several Fridays each month 11am-2pm. Entrance through the parking lot. Currently they are in need of need of plus size clothing (sizes 18W and up, 2X – 5X) and work-appropriate jewelry and unopened cosmetics.
4. YEP Youth Empowerment Thrift Works
Thrift Works accepts clean, gently used clothing, furniture, and household items. YEP provides young people with real-world customer service, point of sale, and inventory management experience in this vibrant retail environment.
5. Donate items to small local charities which will pass selected items directly to their clients. Consider contacting refugee relocation organizations, nursing homes, and domestic violence centers.
Gift select clothing items for friends
Martha and Nicole, New Orleans Musicians Assistance Foundation co-workers of Bethany’s in upcycled sweaters.
I divided up the tops, pants, and dresses into weekly installments and took cherished items I hoped would be adopted by friends and co-workers to the office. One friend selected a few “extra” items for her monthly neighborhood swap party. Each guest brings 8 items to trade with their friends. A few of my special items were gifted to local costume artists who recycled them into headdresses and wearable art.
Online Gifting
There’s a website called Freecycle, which is an online forum to give things away. Buy Nothing groups are also a great gifting community. You could also post your items on Facebook marketplace or local buy/sell groups for free.
Mend or repurpose
I have embraced the “slow” mantra, damm — decorate, alter, make and mend. Sewing and stenciling gives me a feeling of environmental agency. Since my discarded wool coats and sweaters, many partially devoured by moths, will take up to 5 years to decompose, I have cut them up to use as stuffing for pillows and cushions that needed plumping.
Singer Ingrid Lucia in a repurposed hand-painted dress of Bethany’s, altered to become a top and a skirt.
Alter
Zarina at Royal Imports, 622 St. Ann restyles dresses into skirts for me. Next Door and neighborhood Facebook groups are good places to find reliable alteration experts in your neighborhood.
Compost
As an avid gardener, I compost clothes made from natural fibers. Undyed, natural materials, like cotton, hemp, linen, or silk, can be cut into small pieces compost in flower beds or to fill in pot holes. ( Be sure to remove any buttons, zippers, or non-natural elements.)
Explore recycling and trade-in programs
Here are a few I’ve found:
Levi’s Denim Recycling
The North Face Clothes the Loop
The Bra Recyclers
Patagonia’s WornWear (Patagonia clothing only)
Eileen Fisher Renew (Eileen Fisher clothing only)
Resell online
If you want to make more money on your consignment items, you should consider selling on Poshmark or ThredUP, secondhand clothing apps. You list your items for free, but the app takes a 20% cut (minimum $3), and you must use their shipping labels. The downside is that buyers end up paying a significant amount more than sellers get paid.
There’s a whole world of apps and websites on which to sell clothing, besides Etsy. Etsy has a fantastic “vintage” section for fashion items that must be made no sooner than 2002. You have to provide documentation for the items you are selling. If you don’t have your own Etsy shop, you need to connect with one of the existing vendors, send them good photos of the items you wish to sell and an honest assessment of the condition.
Flyp: The App matches you with a Pro Seller who will take a commission from marketing your items. The sellers are vetted and sell across multiple marketplaces. It works best for items from upscale brands, both male and female.
Galaxy: A bit more laid back in its mix of handmade, vintage and up-cycled fashion items. You can live stream yourself modeling and/or extolling the virtues of your items.
Poshmark: Besides men and women’s high fashion, this online marketplace re-sells pet accessories, beauty supplies and electronics. Its peer-to-peer model puts buyers and sellers together in a more human way than most of the other resale sites.
REI Co-op: Re/Supply : Their outdoor gear garage sales for used items were what the site is known for, but for a $30 annual fee, it is a great place to sell or trade your unused outdoor clothing and gear.
The RealReal: This high fashion resale site’s claim to fame is its stable of professional gemologists and authenticators who will make sure what you are reselling is authentic.
SWAP: It is an invite-only site, where sellers are screened before they can offer items. Once accepted, though, the site’s filters are effective in dividing items into “good condition” and “like-new.”
Vestiairie Collective: This is another of the resale options to sell or own secondhand premium high fashion which is authenticated. Their vintage section is a gold mine of tempting rare pieces, but truly I should not even be telling you this, right?
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