My name is Katy Schutte and I’m a writer, theatre maker and improviser based in London. When I was a kid, I won a box of crayons in a Friends of the Earth poster design competition, I was the school Recycling Monitor and I wrote to the RSPCA to see if it was okay to have a pet snake. (No, they get depressed). I used to put animals and the environment first, but as I grew up my habits changed. So, what happened?

With the confusing ethics of shopping versus the ease of fast fashion, it's easy to get overwhelmed. The more we try and do, the more righteous other people seem and we appear to be further and further from the goal. I got to a place of ‘ah f**c it’ and blamed the government and corporations for the choices I ended up making. There is blame there of course, but we can make changes ourselves and when a lot of us make those changes, there is hope.

I’m ready to take more personal responsibility instead of being stopped by the guilt. Join me if you like, or pass on your best advice on how to do fashion better.

Let’s talk about decluttering.

I was all over KonMari years before Marie Kondo’s TV show. Now people think it means only having 12 books and giving up tidiness once you have three kids. For me, it’s a satisfying way of keeping only the things I love, making good choices and vertically stacking all my t-shirts…

Once you’ve been through the process (and there are lots of resources for that), what do you do with all of the clothes and accessories you don’t want?

I’ve tried a few things. I’m no expert, but perhaps my journey will help you to start or continue on yours:

• Traid. I’ve given stuff to this charity who pick up bags of clothes from your door which is super useful when you’re too busy, or you have a lot.
• Thrift+. They only sell certain brands and give you store credit or the option to give to charity in exchange. They photograph and price all the items for you and give you a freepost bag to send your unwanted clothes. It’s easy and fun.
• DePop. This feels more like a social platform where you build up followers to sell your clothes. If that’s your jam, the usability is good.
• Vinted. ( coming to Ireland soon) A popular platform where listing and posting is free and you keep the money your clothes generate.
• Ebay. Another favourite of course. You need to photograph and upload everything properly, but if you have the time, you’ll find a lot of potential buyers.
• Friends and family. If I no longer wear things my friends, sister or nieces will like, it’s easy to pass them on
• Charity Shops. I had always taken my old clothes to charity shops and I still do some of the time. Happily, one of my local shops will put up a sign when they have too many contributions, so I’ll know my old stuff isn’t going to landfill.

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The Sustainable Life School share some of their tips on where to donate clothes that are in great condition

• Take them to the next Clothes Swap event and swap them for something new to you
• Swap virtually on the Nuw App
• Sell them on Adverts or with Offset Fashion
• Check out Let's Match Mums, the brilliant initiative that matches mums in direct provision with mums across Ireland who can pass on their preloved kids clothes. Sometimes they are also in need of adults clothes
• Give them away for free by putting them on of your local Freecycle Group
• Local charity shop and textile bank

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Another great app is Save Your Wardrobe. It’s the closest I could find to Elle’s electronic wardrobe in Legally Blonde! You take pics of everything you own and you can make magazine-style outfit pics with your clothes. It’s helped me to appreciate and pair the things I already own, rather than getting distracted by new things. It’s a great way to fulfil the shopping dopamine by choosing instead of buying. It takes time to upload everything, but it’s a great way of seeing how much stuff you actually own. You can put (seasonal) items away, create a capsule wardrobe, flag things you want to rehome and so forth. It’s a visual database of your clothes.

Let me know what you discover. Happy rehoming!‍

@katyschutte

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