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Decluttercore and yard sales: Inside America’s latest trend

Kathy Owen
Wealth of Geeks undefined
A decluttercore mindset isn't limited to the fashionista world; other items like furniture might fetch a worthy sell-on price.
AP file photo

There is a new, emergent celebrity-endorsed trend labeled “decluttercore.” The new craze derives from the fashion world’s “cluttercore” moniker, which means over-saturated with different styles, colors, and fabrics.

Where the fashionistas’ approach is wearing a blend of awkward, over-the-top complementary garments, cluttercore uses a different approach. Be it an estate sale, yard sale, or garage sale, this American life staple is presenting new options for those with an eye on profit. In short, the yard sale is moving into the modern age.

Carol Twersky of W Magazine writes, “The idea behind this trend is turning found objects into fashion, detritus into design, litter into luxury.” The objective of decluttercore is to repurpose household decor or non-decorative objects into wearable items.



Of course, such a directive attracts influencers and celebrities who have jumped on this fad with glee. Miley Cyrus made a head-turning Grammy Awards appearance last February with a Maison Margiela dress fabricated entirely of safety pins.

Cyrus posted on X (formerly Twitter) to show her appreciation for the startling design. The singer revealed it took 675 hours, using “14,000 golden safety pins & adorned with singularly selected French antique beads.”

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A spectrum of decluttering opportunities

Clearly, the former Disney prodigy and current pop sensation didn’t find the safety pins in her Toluca Lake garage. Nonetheless, at the other end of the scale, there are possibilities for anyone who wants to attempt selling upscaled fashion items.

Social media is awash with decluttercore concept designs and successful artisans showing their rare upscaling talents. For example, nicolemclaughlin, with 816,000 followers on Instagram, posts videos of her whimsical, upscaled creations.

While they may not all be wearable, her portfolio of work includes curious oddities that could form a notable art exhibition, such as:

A high-heel show fashioned into a mini artist’s kit, the heel doubling as an easel and a mini artist’s palette tucked into a bow;A kneeling Crocs tennis net, which two people wear while playing;Micro-backpack panties, into which the wearer can store their miscellany;China cup headphones, lined with real headphone cushions, headband, and coiled wire.Shorts repurposed into a garden tool storage set.

The bonus with this magpie-like methodology is that the possibilities are endless, with flea markets and thrift stores on most people’s corners. What’s more, other local yard sales might be a treasure trove of inspiration for any would-be decluttercore fan.

Taking It to the catwalk

If the remit is incorporating everyday objects into high fashion, then Ellen Hodakova Larsson has made it her own. The Swedish designer’s latest fall collection appeared in Vogue, showing ingenuity and humor in equal measure.

There is some irony to decluttercore’s appeal; on the one hand, it serves the upper echelon of society using what is effectively trash. Nothing embodies this ethos more than Larsson, who shares in the article how her upbringing on a working farm showed the true value of everyday objects.

Conservationists are onboard

Her dress designs have incorporated anything from prize ribbons to pencils to belt buckles — and are now the toast of Tinseltown. A-list actress Kate Blanchett made headlines at her Borderlands (2024) movie premiere, wearing a dress fashioned from 102 spoons straight from Sweden.

Nothing says “I care about the environment” more than repurposed clothes.

Speaking in a Women’s Wear Daily feature, Blanchett shares her motivation for why she wore it. The Australian not only re-wears other clothing designs on her red carpet appearances; she is also firmly behind the decluttercore message.

For the actress, there is cause for action “when you know the world is consuming 18 billion pieces of clothing a year.” Further, Blanchett mentions this statistic represents a 400% leap from a decade ago.

Martina Igini of conservationist platform Earth claims the USA is responsible for, “an estimated 11.3 million tons of textile waste — equivalent to 85% of all textiles…” Such figures can only strengthen the decluttercore’s low-waste message.

A repurposer’s market

A decluttercore mindset isn’t limited to the fashionista world; other items like furniture might fetch a worthy sell-on price. Some have a natural talent for repurposing unloved furniture found in such locales, though there are steps anyone can follow.

Statista puts this year’s “goods and furniture recommerce [sic] spending” at nearly $22 billion, rising to $23.5 billion next year. Clearly, learning how to refurbish interior furnishings can bring monetary rewards.

Getting started

Newcomers looking to join the upscaling community can scan the market for what is doing well, or they can seek expert advice. Side Hustle Nation has a useful furniture repurposing checklist you can download.

Shifting furniture from its old home (and old state) to a new buyer takes a series of steps:

Sourcing the furniture;Transporting the item;Upscaling or repurposing it;Taking photographs;Making an online listing;Negotiating the sale.

While this process may sound straightforward, the first-time flipper could experience problems at any stage. The passive income platform also interviewed an experienced furniture-flipping lover, Ryan Cron.

Making the first time easy

Cron is no full-time flipper. Like many other declutter wizards, Cron has a career, with furniture a separate project that happens to turn a profit. His advice for a first-timer is to avoid overtly detailed woodwork, antique items, and fake wood products with particle board content.

Instead, simple, real wooden pieces with a low price point (below $75) are the easiest to turn around — namely dressers. “With dressers, there’s a lot less going on, and you can get more painting done in a quicker amount of time,” he reveals. “We found those to be best — it’s quicker to flip and you get more money for it.”


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