I don’t consider myself a sentimental person, but when Mercari’s chief stylist, Anna De Souza, came to my home to help me clean out my closet, I realized I’d been hanging on to a lot of unnecessary stuff. The peacock blue suede Christian Louboutins I ill-advisedly bought with my first real-job paycheck and haven’t worn in years. The backless white linen Reformation dress I wore to my bachelorette party and feel naked in now. The leggings I haven't worn in years (but somehow managed to hang onto even though I clean out my closet seasonally).
When Mercari, the app that helps you buy and sell practically anything quickly, initially reached out to help me slim down my wardrobe and put up items to sell, my first thought was that I didn’t really have anything I needed to part with. Clearly, I was wrong.
With De Souza’s help, I donated three trash bags worth of clothes and am now slowly working my way through three additional bags of things we found to sell. So far, I’ve made about $600 and not only has it been really easy, but it changed the way I think about my wardrobe. Here’s why.