How to find cash in your closet

We all make shopping mistakes, but why live with them for the rest of your life? Turn past years' bargains into cold hard cash right now by putting your old stuff on consignment.

Consignment stores are popping up everywhere, because people know that they can find great bargains on quality used clothing for themselves and their families. The flip side of buying consignment is selling on consignment, which is a great way to clear your closet clutter and make a little money in the process.

So how do you do it? Start by pulling each item from your closet one at a time, and separate into piles based on the following criteria:

• You love it and wear it faithfully, and you like how it looks on you.

• You hate it and never wear it. In fact, you wonder what you were thinking when you bought it; it doesn't fit, or you bought it because it was a bargain.

• You like it and you wear it fairly often, or it's a key player in a few outfits.

• This pile is for undecided items — those that don't really fit into the other piles.

Here are five easy steps to complete the job:

1. Once the closet is empty, put everything in the "Love it" pile back into the closet.

2. Put the items in the "fairly often" pile back into the closet. You should be left with two piles of clothing: the "hate it" pile and the "undecided" pile.

3. Neatly fold everything in the "hate it" pile and wish it well, for it will be going on a little journey.

4. Go through the "undecided" pile piece by piece, and ask yourself what value each piece currently gives you.

5. Call a local consignment store and ask what their guidelines are for consigning clothing. Find out if you need to make an appointment or if you can just drop by. Ask how the proceeds are split between you (the consignor) and the store, and don't take less than 50 percent. Ask what happens to your clothes if they don't sell. It will be easier for you to not do business with a store that gives your clothing back if it doesn't sell. Most consignment stores will donate anything that doesn't sell within a certain period of time to a shelter or another nonprofit organization.

Courtesy Monica Ricci of Catalyst Organizing Solutions on hgtv.com