How To Easily Declutter Your Halloween Costumes & Finally Take Back Your Closet
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I’m in the incredibly blessed situation to have 2 kids who grew like bean sprouts. There was not one time where they were able to comfortably wear a costume 2 years in a row.
You can imagine my shock when I checked in on my guest bedroom and found 9 years’ worth of outgrown, old Halloween costumes!
Talk about time flying. I have no idea how that happened! Time to get my declutter on…..Here are some great ways to declutter your old Halloween costumes:
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How To Declutter Old Halloween Costumes
We’ll be going over all the ways to declutter your halloween costumes, besides throwing them in the landfill:
- Sell,
- Donate,
- Store,
- Reuse, and
- Toss (Somewhat) Responsibly
…..Let’s Do It!
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Where to Sell Your Halloween Costumes:
If your Halloween costumes are in excellent shape, and the accessories are in great shape, there’s nothing wrong with selling them second-hand.
TIP: I know that the time we usually think about decluttering is after the holidays. But, if you try to sell things before the holiday when people are actively shopping for costume deals, you will probably get more money.
- Online places like Ebay, Poshmark and Kidizen take some prep work. Clear, beautiful pictures, descriptions and babysitting your listing are all pretty much required here. I wouldn’t recommend this option for a novice, but if you regularly shop and sell on these sites, give it a go!
- If you are looking for way less work, ThredUP is an online consignment store that sells your clothes online for you. They take care of pictures, sales and shipping. The cut you receive is far less for doing practically no work, but it’s out of your hair ASAP.
- Likewise, local consignment shops in your area may be willing to take the costumes, as long as it is early enough in the shopping season. Most brick-and-mortar consignment shops only hold pieces for a few months before returning them to you or donating them.
- If you have Facebook, Facebook Marketplace or your local Facebook Community groups are an excellent option for selling locally.
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Where to Donate Halloween Costumes:
This is the same deal as selling: If you can get to it before Halloween starts, the donations are far more likely to be used and useful:
- ‘Ween Dream and Halloween Helpers are amazing companies who take your costumes and dance recital outfits to children in need. Think hospitals, shelters and at-risk communities. (2020 Update: Ween Dream won’t be taking donations this year, but I think both Ween Dream and Halloween Helpers are still taking money donations to get costumes to kids in need!)
- If you want to sponsor a costume for a child who needs special accomodations, ‘Ween Dream’s Pumpkin Patch will accept money donations too!
- Give these places in your local community a call to see if they will accept costumes. They may even accept adult costumes too:
- Thrift shops
- Children’s hospitals
- Places of worship
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How To Store Costumes You Plan To Keep:
There are one or two costumes in here that we are having a hard time parting with. For this type of storage, you can consider hanging storage:
- If the costume can’t be folded, double-bagging a large, clear garbage bag right over the costume is a great option:
- Put the costume on a hanger
- Put any accessories in a plastic bag to hang over the hanger hook,
- Place the whole thing into the bag bottom to top, and tie at the top;
- Place one more bag over the top of the whole thing, top to bottom, and tie at the bottom. Poke a hole in the middle of the outside bag for the hanger hook to fit through.
- IMPORTANT! This storage method is water- & bug- “resistant,” not “proof.” If you are storing in a basement or attic hang it high, and tape a piece of cedar to the front. If the cedar is old, give it a few scratches with some sandpaper to revive the smell.
- If you want a totally sealed option, these clothing storage bags are great!
Sealed Storage Tip:
Wash Them Before Storing!! I know this may be difficult depending on the fabric but if it can be washed, wash it. It’s being stored in an air-tight container so it needs to be as fresh as possible. A dryer sheet or a lavender sachet can work in a pinch, too.
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Reuse Your Halloween Costumes:
Got any costumes that are on their last leg? Stains, holes, rips? Please DON’T try to donate them. Only donate items you would be willing to pay for yourself.
You can turn the torsos, legs and skirts of costumes into reusable bags, even if you just make them for collecting Halloween candy!
- Make this No-Sew Tote from Mommypotamus in 10 minutes!
- Or, if you’re crafty behind the sewing machine, check out this post from Felt Magnet, it’s got a bunch of step-by-step guides for different bag sizes!
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Need to Throw Your Halloween Costumes Away?
If you just don’t want the headache, and need to get them out, most H&M stores have textile bins now. They will take pretty much any fabric in any shape and you get a 15% off coupon per bag donated. If they can be reused or recycled in any way, H&M says they’ll get it done.
Related: REAL-LIFE Declutter Before & After Pics!
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Doing More Decluttering? Make it Super-Fun with these Decluttering Printables!
Here are some new printables to help make your decluttering journey fun!
- Declutter Bingo Sheet – Mark off the boxes after each decluttering task, five in a row wins!
- Declutter “Where-to-Look” Checklist – You need this list of 50 places in your home where clutter is most likely to accumulate. See if you can find them all!
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Happy Halloween….Costume Decluttering!
Whether you make a few bucks, hand them over to someone in need, make an awesome DIY project or just thank them for their time with you and say goodbye, decluttering your Halloween costumes will bring valuable space to your home, and your closet will thank you!
Happy and Healthy Halloween!!
XO,
-Mina
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P.S.: Checkout my other Blog Posts & be sure to follow me on Pinterest, I have TONS more great content!!
Here are some more posts that might be helpful:
–How to Declutter a Room in 30 Minutes….or Less!
–How To Organize ALL The Paper In Your House
-Check Out These Gift Ideas that Double as Small Space Organizers
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