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‘If you want to improve your life immediately, clean out a closet. Often what we hold onto holds us back’,
(Lifestyle
Coach,
Cheryl Richardson).
You might realise you need to clean out your closet when you go to your wardrobe to find an outfit, stand and stare, looking from one end
to the other, and are baffled by the mix-up of clothes that appears before you.
So much might be squished into your small closet space it’s spilling out and, for all the clutter, you can’t decide what to
wear, but at the same time think you have nothing to wear.
Or perhaps you simply have a disarray of pieces that you loved when you bought but now they're in your wardrobe you can't find a way
to wear them that works for you.
We haven’t all been graced with a wardrobe like Carrie Bradshaw’s and endless space is a luxury of fairy tales. Which means a
closet clean out is usually a chore we can only avoid for so long.
Keep reading to find simple but fundamental tips and strategies to clean out your closet, soon.
A minimalist lifestyle, which is the sort many of us are seeking, means making room in your life for the things you value most and
removing the stressors of a chaotic and overly materialistic lifestyle.
It also means consuming fewer products and contributing to less waste in the world.
Untidy spaces may seem very insignificant in terms of your overall wellbeing, but they can definitely affect your stress levels. Especially
when combined with the other stressors appearing in your life.
As mentioned in a
blog by Organised
Interiors,
‘A study conducted by Princeton University Neuroscience researchers found that a cluttered home environment impedes your ability to
focus. When we have a hard time focussing, our mental faculties get worn down and frustration ensues, causing stress’.
Whether it’s your living room, bedroom, or your workspace you are more likely to think clearly and feel relaxed in a space that is
tidy and organised.
And the same applies to your closet.
When you open your closet doors and are greeted by the confused chaos of a wardrobe in disarray you’ll find it difficult to know
where to begin! What’s even in there?
No doubt there will be items that no longer fit, are out of style, or you don't enjoy, and maybe even some that, amongst the chaos,
you’ve forgotten were there.
And when you clean out your closet it can also feel emotionally cleansing and liberating, ridding yourself of excess and creating a minimalist
capsule wardrobe,
holding on to just the things you love and will wear.
Keep reading to find the best simple tips I’ve put together to help you clean out your closet with as little frustration as possible.
Block off a day in your diary for this task. Commit to this day and don’t let other invitations or events distract you. Do it
quickly and painlessly (sort of), like removing a Band-Aid.
You could add a glass of wine and some good music to make things more inviting!
Before your closet clean out day arrives, have a think about whether you’ll need to buy any wardrobe storage to help when
you’re reorganising.
There are plenty of wardrobe storage solutions available including
hanging
shelves
and closet draw units.
You might also need some smaller closet organisers such as
storage
boxes
and shelf
dividers.
As well as
shoe
racks,
shoe
shelves,
or another hanging shelf to keep your collection of footwear organised and visible.
Make sure you check the dimensions of your wardrobe before you spend any money.
Also, consider whether your current hangers are damaging your clothes. Some can leave stretch marks in the fabric and cause clothes to lose
shape. This is where
padded
coat hangers might be best. And these don’t need to look like the ones your Grandma bought at the school fete 20 years ago!
And if you do update your hangers, your local charity organisation could use the ones you're replacing (so long as they’re not
broken).
You’ve committed a day to clean out your closet, done the planning, and now the next step is to empty your wardrobe and organise
your clothes by groups: all the tops in one pile, pants in another, and so on.
This makes it much easier to know how much you have in each group and whether you have multiple pieces that are very similar.
And make sure you do actually empty your wardrobe. You want to do it all at once. Remember the Band-Aid analogy?!
So all your clothes are out and organised, the next step is another quick sorting of each group: those you’re definitely keeping,
the ones you’re happy to give up, and the others you’re not sure about.
This will make it a less eye-popping pile when you get down to the nitty gritty.
And don’t start returning things to your wardrobe just yet. We’ll get to that soon.
There are always items you think you’ll wear next time the opportunity arises, but time and time again you choose something else.
The standard conversation is, ‘Well I haven’t worn them yet, but they’re lovely and I’m sure I’ll wear them
sometime in the future’.
Six months later and you have the very same conversation about the very same item! Will this item ever take first place or will it always
remain runner up?
Instead, you could sell this item and, if you need, use the cash to buy something more suitable, more enjoyable, more you.
Now you’re just dealing with the clothes you’re unsure about, so this is where the challenge really begins.
Marie Kondo, who created the famous (or infamous?)
cleaning method KonMarie,
suggests using the ‘joy
check’
to make these decisions easier.
She says, ‘Take out three items of clothing from your pile that unequivocally spark joy. Hold them in your hand and take note of how
they make you feel. Once you’ve determined what joy feels like for you, you can apply the joy check to all of your belongings’.
As well as using the ‘joy check’ there’s another question to ask yourself while sorting your belongings: does it really
deliver?
Firstly, does the item fit you well? Sometimes a difficult question, but don’t ignore it. Keeping items which haven’t fit you in
some time can be punishing. Telling yourself you should lose weight so you can wear these again is self-destructive and is unlikely to
leave you feeling positive.
If you do lose weight in the future then you can enjoy buying something new, but don’t leave the punishment hanging in your closet
where you’ll see it every day.
Next, does the item suit you? Different shapes, heights and skin tones enjoy different styles and colours, so consider what makes you feel
your best and what you most enjoy wearing.
Lastly, does the item work for your lifestyle? Is an occasion likely to arise which will give you the chance to wear it?
If you really struggle with the process of letting things go it might be a good idea to invite someone else to help you out.
Professor
of psychology at DePaul University, Dr Ferrari,
suggests, ‘If you’re going to declutter, don’t touch the item. Don’t pick it up. Have someone else hold the pair of
black pants and say, ‘Do you need this?’. Once you touch the item, you are less likely to get rid of it’.
Perhaps promise them dinner and a free glass of wine for their labour. Cheers!
.webp)
So you’ve completed the process of cleansing (yay!), and now it’s time to order the disorder.
Referring to the space-saving queen again, Marie
Kondo advises,
‘Ensuring that each one of your belongings has its own spot is the only way to maintain a tidy and clutter-free home’.
This is where the closet storage options mentioned earlier will come in handy. These space-saving ideas are great for making better use of
the room inside your wardrobe.
For example, if you don’t have room to hang all of your clothes without them being crushed, hanging shelves or stackable shelves will
be useful.
Here you can store items that won’t become creased when folded, such as jeans, knits, singlets, and scarves.
And if you have limited space in your wardrobe but the option to store your off-season collection elsewhere, then switching what is hanging
in your closet as the seasons change would really help.
Next, organising clothes by category - dresses, tops, pants, skirts, jackets - when returning them to your closet is the best way to
go.
It makes things easier to find and gives you the chance to see all of your options together when you go to dress.
A trick when you return items to your closet is to hang the coat hangers backwards. Then when you wear an item, turn the hanger back
the usual way.
As time moves on you can see which items you’re not wearing and might want to let go next time you clean out your closet.
There are several ways to rehome the items you’ve decided to let go without them ending up in landfill.
Try selling the clothes that are in great or good condition. Online
marketplace eBay
is probably the best known, but there are other places like The
Real Real,
Tradesy, Vestiaire
Collective,
and Depop.
Also, check out my blog about selling
your used clothes online for some simple but defined tips on how to sell used clothes and more platforms and websites to sell through wherever you are in the
world.
Offer items to friends and family if you think they’d be interested. Don’t make them feel compelled to take something, just give them the chance to have a look and see if anything catches their eye.
There are plenty of charities and organisations that could offer a new home for your unwanted wardrobe. A quick search for ‘where
to donate clothes’ should give you some choices close to home.
Just make sure any clothes you donate are still in good condition. If you’d still happily be seen in them then that’s a
good quality check.
Are there some items you could add to your around-the-house draw? Maybe they’re not right for social occasions but they’ve still got life in them and could be fine for wearing at home.
There's a significant push in the fashion industry for brands to become more environmentally responsible and recycling old stock is one
of the moves.
More stores are offering the opportunity to return old clothes from their label to the store so they can recycle them. Some are even
happy to take clothes from any brand.
Check out this blog on where
to recycle your old clothes
for some options near you.
And for those items which are worn out and have lost all wearability then they might only be suitable for the rags draw. Tear or cut
them up into rags of useful size and use them for cleaning. We’ve got quite a collection at my place.
Aside from using the backward-hanging-coat-hanger trick, the ‘one-in,
one-out’
method is another way to keep your wardrobe from again becoming a frenzied mess.
This method suggests that for every item you purchase, you remove an item you’re no longer using and so you maintain a calm
closet.
Also, keep an eye on the clothes that you’re not wearing and reconsider if it’s time to pass them on.
And always consider the various options for finding these items a new home: sell, gift, donate, around-the-house, recycle, or rags.
As seasons change and you're seeking inspiration for what your closet needs, consider
creating a few boards on
Pinterest where you can
save the styles you enjoy.
You might have a board for your summer and spring style and another for winter and autumn. You could include a board for casual looks
and another for nights out and special events.
Collecting ideas will help you plan what you’d like to add to your wardrobe when you next shop, how you’ll incorporate the look
when you’re dressing, and prevent purchases you regret later on.
So, you’re ready to clean out your closet .
Make sure you’ve got everything you’ll need so you don’t become stranded halfway through the process, prepare yourself
for the difficult task of letting things go, and grab that glass of wine and get that music playing .
Now the next time you're dressing to head out, you’ll open your closet and be greeted by an organised collection - a capsule
wardrobe - that fits and that you love to wear and dressing will be a much simpler pleasure.
And let me know how you go in the comments below.
Happy cleansing!
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