When it comes to decluttering your home, one area that needs special attention is your bedroom closet. Don’t just think since you can shut a door and hide everything away that you don’t need to declutter it! Learning how to organize your closet and declutter clothes is so beneficial since it will save you time each day when you decide what you’re going to wear.
When it comes to clothing, most of us have far more than we really need. If you take a good, honest look through your closet, you will find that you have much more than you use. In fact, most people wear only a small percentage of their clothing over and over and neglect the rest.
Why You Should Declutter Clothes
Having too much of anything takes up not only physical space in your home but mental space as well. When you are looking for something to wear, having too many clothes can make you feel like you are searching through endless piles of stuff and yet still not finding something suitable. When you declutter clothes, you will be able to quickly find outfits that you love. This will save you time, and keep your stress levels low.
When going through your closet, consider the following so you can properly declutter clothes and organize your closet:
How Does It Make You Look and Feel?
As you are sorting through your clothes, think about how the item makes you feel. Do you look at it and feel excited to wear it? When it is on your body, does it make you feel and appear attractive and ready to take on the world?
Clothing is much more than a cover. It is a part of who you are, and how you feel in it is the image of yourself that you are presenting to the world. Keep only the clothing that makes you feel confident, and causes you to be proud of who you are.
Are You Keeping It Out of Obligation?
Many of us are harboring clothing out of guilt, given to us by well-meaning friends and family. Unless someone knows your taste 100% of the time, clothing generally does not make an appropriate gift. Too often we are given an item and then feel stuck with it for an undisclosed amount of time, and we never quite feel right getting rid of it.
If you are keeping clothing you hate just because you feel loyal to the person who gave it to you, go ahead and get rid of it. This will make room for items you love, and you won’t feel guilty every time you glance at it, knowing that it hasn’t been worn and will probably never be.
Have You Worn It in the Past Year?
As the seasons change and you have to pull out your sweaters, heavier pants, and coats, it is the perfect time to release some clothes you no longer want or need. A good rule of thumb is that anything not worn in the past year needs to go.
If you didn’t wear it in the past year’s appropriate season, it is likely that the item is no longer needed, or that it no longer flatters who you have become.
However, be sure to keep clothing and accessories which are appropriate for particular annual events that you might attend.
Actually, twice a year during the changing seasons is a great time to declutter clothes.
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Tips for Decluttering Clothes During Changing Seasons
Do you live in an area of the country which has a hot and cold season? If you do, I imagine you have clothing that you don’t ever wear in summer, but faithfully make use of every winter… or vice versa.
Try following these recommended tips for a clutter-free closet as you go through your clothes each season.
Before you dig out your stored clothes, think about what you want to keep from last season’s clothing.
Be sure you have enough time to complete the task of cleaning and clearing out your closet before you get started. There is nothing more frustrating than starting a big project like this, having your clothes all over your bed and then having to stop for some reason. Not only do you have to put your clothes back into your closet quickly so you can sleep that night, but you also lose the momentum and desire to work on the task at all.
Get a couple of empty boxes. Mark each of the boxes with one of these “S” words – Swap, Sell, Store and Scrap.
- Swap – Items in the Swap box are those you will give away or swap with a friend who wears your size. You can also donate them to the Salvation Army or Goodwill. These are clothes you do not wear any longer but are usable.
- Sell – Items in this box are those you will sell at a consignment store or online. These clothes are still in good repair but no longer fit.
- Store – Items in this box are those you will store for next year’s use or something that has sentimental value to it.
- Scrap – Items in this box are stained, torn, or damaged in some way and therefore no longer usable.
All of your clothes (cleaned and pressed) and accessories for this season should go into one of these boxes. Of course, depending upon the number of clothes you have, you may need more than one “store” box. Be sure to set the “store” boxes aside out of the way. Leave the remaining boxes open so you can place other items in them as you take out the clothes for this season.
Consider whether you want to keep the rest of the clothes that are not your favorites. Get rid of clothes you no longer like or you know will not fit any longer. Take the remaining boxes out to the car so they are not cluttering your room.
You may want to use this trick to help you learn which clothes you can purge once the season starts. As you place items into your closet, turn the hangers around backward. At the end of the month, look through your closet and see how many hangers face the wrong way. Take those items out and re-evaluate whether you want to keep them or if they can find a new home with someone else.
How to Organize Your Closet
Now that you have sorted through your clothes and narrowed down the items you are going to keep, it’s time to organize your closet and put this season’s clothing and accessories away.
You will need to decide how you want to organize your closet. This is really a matter of preference. You will know the best way to organize them based on your own personal needs.
First, be sure to pick out the things you know you will use most often and place them in a prominent place in your closet.
Then arrange the clothes in your closet. Some options for arranging clothes are to sort them:
- By colors
- By length. For example, pants with pants, shirts with shirts, etc.
- By whether you wear them together. For example, match up your shirt, pants, and accessories and hang them next to each other.
When you are done, you can step back with satisfaction and breathe a sigh of relief that you now have a clutter-free closet.
By learning how to organize your closet and declutter clothes, you will see what a difference it makes in your life. When you have in your closet only what you need and love wearing, you will never have to search for hours for a lost item again.
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