Here in Oregon, June is the transition month between rainy spring to glorious summer. If your closet looks anything like mine, it is a mess of winter sweaters, summer t-shirts, and old long sleeved shirts. So, the question is: what should you do to conquer your seasonally confused wardrobe?

There are plenty of consignment shops who are in need of your old winter clothes, and they will pay cash for that sweater you accidentally shrunk last winter.

However, don't confuse consignment shops with thrift stores. With thrift stores, the clothes you give are a donation and all profits end up going back to the thrift store or are donated to charity. Most thrift stores even offer a receipt to deduct the donation from your taxes. Consignment stores, on the other hand, split the profits with you. Keep in mind that most consigment stores won't accept merchandise unless it is in good condition. This is because the owners have to split their profits, and they want to get the highest possible price for their merchanise. For that reason, in-season clothes usually sell for more.

If you are looking for a good consignment store, Buffalo Exchange is a great place to start. It's a national used-clothing store that buys "quality" used clothes (sorry, no moth holes) and accessories in exchange for cash or for other clothing items in the store. To find other consignment stores in your area, check out yellowpages.com.

If you think your clothes aren't quite up to par, consider thrift stores such as Goodwill, The Salvation Army, and St. Vincent De Paul. Their revenues fund job training and other services to prepare people for job success. They also take used household goods (furniture, silverware, etc.). Best of all, donations are tax deductable!

It's a win-win situation. Not only do you clean out your closet, but you'll also earn cash or get a tax deduction at the same time! The only hard part will be figuring out how to sneak out that jacket your mom bought you last year without hurting her feelings...

--Lauren

Photo taken from this photostream and used with permission of a Creative Commons license.