We hear a lot about eliminating clutter from our lives to save money and achieve better mental health. Because we see the positive effects decluttering has on others, we’re excited about the idea of reaping those benefits for ourselves.
There are many areas of our lives and our homes that could use a good clearing out. But the thought of decluttering our wardrobes can be paralyzing when we’re staring into a closet filled with piles of overflowing clothes. So…
How can you do a good closet declutter when you have a too many clothes and no idea where to start?
This 3-Step method will help you do it!
Step 1: The Prep
Prepare for your declutter by clearing and cleaning your space
Your working area can be as simple as your bed or your living room floor. It’s going to get messy and you don’t want to work in a dirty space. So, vacuum and dust your work area. If you’re using your bed, make the bed and set the pillows to the side.
Clear your calendar!
A huge declutter can take several hours, so don’t plan any cookouts or dinner parties on this day. Get a babysitter for the kids, or do it while they’re in school. You’ll need to eliminate as many distractions as possible. So, turn on your favorite podcast or some good songs and plan on working alone for a while.
Get some big boxes
Have 4 boxes (or piles, or big bags, whatever you have). You’ll want a box for items you are:
- Keeping
- Donating
- Selling
- Maybe-ing
Clearly label each box or pile. You don’t want to accidently put your favorite shirt in the donate pile!
Step 2: The Pile
Get everything out of those closets!
Take every article of clothing from your closets, your basement, your drawers, and storage bins and put them in one easy-to-access pile on your workspace. You’re not going for neat here. Just get it all out in the open.
PS: Don’t forget the clothes from your laundry baskets!
Step 3: The Purge
Establish your purge criteria.
Keep this list in mind as you go through each item during your purge.
For example, eliminate things that:
- are not your style anymore.
- are outdated and don’t fit.
- you don’t feel great in.
- you haven’t worn in a couple of years.
Keep things that:
- you absolutely love!
- make you feel fantastic!
- are quality basics that you wear time and time again.
Pick up every item, one at a time.
As quickly as you can (within about 5 seconds), make a decision about that item, then drop it in one of the 4 boxes you labeled. Sometimes this process is quick, but if there’s a lot of hesitation, think of your purge criteria and stick to it.
If you find you’re taking more than 15-30 seconds to make a decision on something, put it in your maybe box. You can always go back to it at the end of the declutter because don’t want indecisiveness to slow your momentum!
After you’ve gone through every item, pack up your donate pile and get it ready for the thrift store, or for whomever you’re giving it to.
Tip: Get your donate pile out of your sight quickly! Don’t tempt yourself with a poorly-fitting shirt from your donate pile, only to put it back into your closet.
Take items from your sell pile and put them where you’ll have easy access to them as you sell them. Get them sold as soon as possible, though. The sooner you sell them, the sooner you won’t convince yourself to keep them.
Lastly….
Sit back and admire your newly decluttered closet!
What are your wardrobe decluttering goals? Is your goal a specific number of items in your wardrobe? Or, do you just want to get rid of what you’re not using anymore? I’d like to hear from you. Post a comment so we can hear your story!
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i need to declutter my bedroom and closets
Good places to start! They are the two spots you use every day. Doing your bedroom and closet first will get you motivated to do the rest of your house 🙂
Today is the day I will start to declutter my closets . totes full of stuff when my first grandson was born cute jackets, first day of school so fourth and so on. This is going to be tough. Trouble is I love to show them things from when they was so little. I have gift’s I haven’t open in boxes. this is going to be hard. can you tell me how did you do it with things that held memories?
Decluttering things that bring back memories is so tough. What I do is keep only one or two of my most meaningful items related to that person. If there is anything else that you have left over, you can give it away to someone else in the family or a good friend. That way, it can feel like it’s still in the family. I think if you keep one or two of your MOST favorite items, those things will feel even more special to you. 🙂