When it comes to maintaining organizational systems, I recommend cleaning out closets seasonally. With fall approaching (so looking forward to those crisp temperatures and colorful leaves), this is a good time to begin revisiting your closet, especially your summer wardrobe. Read on for a few tricks of the trade. And this pertains to you men out there as well!
While this blog post will include some tried and true strategies for cleaning out closets, this article really resonated with me as well
- Gather bags for donations, alterations, and dry cleaning.
- Do not try and tackle a closet all in one day! Rather, chunk it down…shorts today, skirts tomorrow, jeans the next day, etc, etc.
- Within each category, group like items together. Put all tennis shoes together, casual loafers together, black flats, flip flops, whatever categories you have. With slacks, all black jeans together, white jeans, black casual slacks, black dressy slacks, you get the gist. Then go through each category one at a time and begin asking yourself which ones are your favorites. If you will pass over a pair of slacks in favor of others, then away they go. What emotions does each item evoke? “I LOVE these!” – then keep. “Well, they’re ok, I might wear these one day” – bye, bye. (More questions to help with this are below.)
- How are those hangers holding up? This is a good time to replace bent, wiry, thick hangers for some durable, sleek hangers that will treat your clothing well and not take up as much room as some of the thick plastic or wooden ones you may have.
- Your clothing should make you feel good about you! If you are holding on to items that are a few sizes too small, adios. You don’t need them mocking you every time you go to get dressed. Should you get back to that size, then you deserve a reward by investing in some new, current clothing.
- Same goes for clothing that is too big for your current you. By holding on to them, you are giving yourself permission to go back to that larger size.
- Always have a donation bin or bag at the ready. As you slip on clothing that doesn’t fit or you don’t like, put it in the donation receptacle. Don’t hang it back up or put it back in the drawer! When the bag or box is full, away it goes.
- Try this game…if all of your hangers face the same direction, then turn them backwards. Every time you wear an item you then turn the hanger in the correct direction. At the end of a season, go through the items that are still turned backwards. They will jump out at you, and you can then decide if they are worth holding on to.
- Want some ideas of questions to ask when making purging decisions? Try these:
- Do I really need it/wear it?
- How many other items do I have which are similar?
- Do I want to allot space for it? (The Home Edit girls say, “You can have the item or the space but not both.”)
- Is this the only one I have that serves this purpose?
- Is there an occasion to wear it in the near future?
- Will it be very difficult to buy it again?
- Can I live without it?
- Do I love it?
- Do I love the way I look in it?
- Is there anyone I can give it to who needs it more than I do?
- Will a picture of it suffice? (Especially good for any sentimental clothing items)
- Does keeping this item help me meet my goals?
As we close out the hot days of summer and look ahead to cooler temperatures, schedule some time to review your closet inventory. Again, cleaning out closets doesn’t need to take up a whole day, nor should it. I’m a firm believer that if getting dressed in the morning is an anxiety ridden, stressful process, then make it easier on yourself. That’s no way to start your day! Good luck and as always please contact Put It There if we can help with any of your organizing needs.
Back to School 2022: Making this school year less stressful and anxiety ridden for both parents and students.
