Three Quick and Easy Ways to Clean Out Your Closet
Did you know the average person only wears 20% of their wardrobe?
Yes, you heard that right. The average person only wears 20% of the clothes in their closet. And when you really think about it, it makes sense. Think about the clothes you wear on a weekly basis. The outfits you wear to work, the gym, night out on the town. How often do you wear the same things. This is not a bad thing by any means we are creatures of habit and it really is in the big picture sustainable. Have you looked in your closet full of clothes and thought I have nothing to wear?
Start thinking about your wardrobe in terms of quality versus quantity. You need far less then you think to have a versatile stylish wardrobe. We wear what we see and when you have an organized closet you will be able to style your looks with ease. Maximizing your existing wardrobe and be less likely to buy things you don’t need. For more inspiration you can check out the Closet Candi section of my website where I post styled looks to show you the different ways you can wear items in your closet.
If your closet feels like it is bursting at the seams but, you are overwhelmed by the idea of taking a day to do a deep purge and clean don’t fret! You don’t have to do it all at once. These are 3 easy ways you can make instant space in your closet today. You can do these in small blocks of time set aside 10 minutes or an hour whatever works for you. Don’t worry about organizing and cleaning everything at once. The key is to pull out any unused items as you go along to make space. The more space you make the more you can see what you have and the easier it will be to get through your entire closet.
First thing first, you will need to set up three bags, baskets, boxes, whatever you have to sort. Label one for each category donation, alter, and storage. Put these in a convenient place in or near your closet you want to be able to organize items you pull so they are ready to go when you filled it up. While you are pulling out your next outfit take a few minutes and pull out a few pieces to assess and put them in the appropriate pile. You will be amazed at how much space you create and how many possible new outfits you will have to wear.
These are my top three easy ways to get started on purging your closet. The reason most of us have too many clothes we don’t wear is frankly because we are placing an emotional value on them. I will wear that when I lose x pounds, I’ve had that shirt since high school, what if I get rid of it and then I will need it even though it’s never been worn and hanging in my closet for five years. The list goes on and we have all done it. There can be so much unnecessary stress when you are trying to put an outfit together when you can’t see or get to all the pieces in your closet.
Number one quick tip on cleaning out your closet is remove any items that are broken, stained, or damaged beyond repair. This also includes accessories jewelry, handbags, shoes. It is doing you no good and just taking up space because you can’t wear it. If you love it and it can be mended or up-cycled and take it in to your local tailoring shop and have them fixed. Up-cycling is a great and fun way to update the damaged pieces giving them a whole new life. If you don’t know how to sew, or know anyone who does another option is to look into local designers that may be able to repurpose into something new you can enjoy wearing. If you are the diy type there are lots of tutorials on repurposing clothing out there to peruse and find inspiration. Items that are no longer in wearable condition can still be donated.
Number two quick tip and one of the potentially emotionally hard to do is getting rid of clothes that don’t fit. It can be hard to let go of something that doesn’t fit well or at all because, we may think we failed and never lost those extra pounds and having it in the closet somehow reassures us that we are going to do it and wear it. The fear of missing out if we let it go the fear of losing money because, we spent a pretty few pennies on it. It is all an illusion because the reality is we are missing out if something that we can’t wear is just taking up space in our closet.
I am not saying it’s a bad thing to have an inspiration outfit to have if you are in the process of changing your physical body but, I firmly believe in dressing the body you have right now. When you open your closet and have pieces that fit your body like they were made for you, you not only look good but, more importantly you feel good and that ripples into our lives. Those ill-fitting items are weighing you down physically, mentally, and emotionally. If you’re in-between sizes, certainly keep some clothing from both but, if you don’t die for it and feel amazing wearing it pass it on to someone who can use item. If you love it and it just needs some tweaking make the investment to get it altered to fit you.
And finally tip number three pull out all of the off-season clothing from your closet. This is by far the easiest and fastest way to make space instantly because, you are just pulling out the seasonal clothes you are not currently wearing. You are not having to make the emotional decision of deciding to keep the items or not. It’s 80 degrees and summer your wool winter parka is not getting much action at the moment.
Depending on wear you live will dictate how often you need to do this. If you live wear you experience all four seasons then you will need to do this about 3-4 times if you live somewhere like San Francisco as I do where the weather is pretty moderate and is a mix of hot and cold all year round you would do this roughly 1-2 times a year. This will give instantly more space for you to easily access your all the pieces in your current wardrobe.
If you didn’t wear an item at all in the last year (or few years), get rid of it. Apply the same rules one and two to your seasonal wardrobe as you are pulling the pieces out. Store the remaining pieces you need for the following season. If you are tight on space and don’t have an extra closet get creative. Under the bed boxes, chests, and space bags are great space saving options. Make sure all of your clothes are protected according to the space you will be storing them ie if you are storing them in the garage make sure they sealed in water and air proof bags. Invest in garment bags to keep dust and moisture from penetrating the fabric.
Well folks that’s wrap on my three easy ways to get you started on cleaning out your closet today. Remember if you don’t die for it and doesn’t look amazing on you let it go. I hope you find this helpful to get you started on making space for the items you truly love to wear that bring joy into your life. I hope you have a beautiful day!
If you find yourself needing more I can help check out my Style Up services. I can help you achieve the organized stylish closet of your dreams.