I Discovered a $10 Reason to Get Rid of All My Old Jeans
Because decluttering can be such an emotionally charged undertaking, finding the specific strategies that work for you is critical to success. I love to use parameters like asking if a certain item sparks joy, following the one-in-one-out rule, or using visual cues, like keeping a box in the closet.
Making money from discarded items can be another huge motivator, but I typically shy away from keeping items so that I can sell them for two reasons: It gives me the pressure of another thing I have to do, and it prevents clutter from actually leaving my house. On a recent shopping trip, however, I came across something that changed my mind — at least in certain cases.
My daughter and I were shopping at American Eagle for jeans when I saw a sign that offered $10 discounts for each pair of old jeans we brought in. (It’s part of the Blue Jeans Go Green program and you have to be a Real Rewards member, which is a simple loyalty program.)
I stopped in my tracks and asked the sales associate who was about to ring us up if we could use more than one pair of jeans for our purchase and how it would work in conjunction with the buy-one-get-one-half-off promo that was also going on. Her response was so refreshing: “We will do what we can so you save the most money.”
She added that the jeans didn’t have to be in wearable condition and that they could be any size because they were going to be used for insulation. I put our items on hold and made the 10-minute drive home to collect some jeans to donate.
We ended up grabbing four pairs of jeans from our closets, including a paint-stained pair and one that had been worn so thin that a hole had sprung. This got us $40 off of our purchase! I was thrilled! It was like “selling” my jeans without all the work of listing and shipping them and it was a super-easy way to implement the one-in-one-out method (although, in this case, it was even better because it was one-out before one-in!).
I felt so lucky to have stumbled upon such a motivating way to get rid of my old clothes that I looked up similar ways to trade in items that no longer serve our family. Here’s what I found out you can do.
Trade in Apple products to receive a Costco Shop Card.
Trade in electronics at Best Buy to receive a gift card or credit back on a purchase or at Target to receive a Target eGiftCard.
Trade in any car seat, including damaged or expired ones, during Target’s yearly trade-in event to receive a 20% off Target Circle bonus toward a new car seat or select baby gear.
Trade in used Patagonia clothing and gear for up to 25% off the MSRP in credit.
Trade in eligible gently used gear to REI for an e-gift card.
Trade in eligible items to Lululemon for an e-gift card.
Turn in boxes of clothing to receive shopping credit for eligible items through ThredUp’s partnership with Hot Topic, Smartwool, Athleta, J.Crew, and more.
Submit old items from The North Face through mail or in-store for up to $50 in credit per item.
Trade in any brand of denim to Madewell for $40 off a full-priced new pair.
Receive a thank-you coupon for a bag of donated clothing at H&M.
Get store credit for old IKEA furniture.
Further Reading
We Tested (and Rated!) Every Sofa at West Elm — Here Are the Best for Every Type of Need
Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About Article’s DTC Furniture
We Tested (and Rated!) All the Sofas at Pottery Barn — Here Are the Best for Every Type of Need
