Claire AndradeIf you have been following along you know that I have been working my way through purging and organizing my whole house and I am getting so much done this summer. I just finished our Master Closet purge and I thought it would be a great time to share my tips for how I clean out our closet.
I’ve pretty much been following these same following rules since I was in middle school (my organization obsession started young) and I try to do my clothes and shoes at least twice a year – sometimes with mini purges scattered throughout the year- but two big overhauls is normal. One in the summer and one in the winter.
Here are the questions I ask myself when going through my closet:
-Is it stained, ripped, lost its shape, faded or have holes?
-Is it too small or too big?
-Is it old and out of style?
-Have I not worn it in a long time and can’t think of a time when I will wear it in the near future?
-When I put it on, do I feel uncomfortable?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, there’s a good chance you need to get rid of it!
Another good one to ask is: Would I buy this in a store today if I saw it? Especially if one of the above answers it yes!
And trust me, I know it can be hard to get rid of things due to sentimental value or the price of the item when you bought it, but if you aren’t going to ever wear it or feel uncomfortable wearing it, there is NO point in keeping it around, that is just clutter! I am pretty tough when it comes to purging, but once you get rid of it, you probably won’t even remember it after it’s gone. And you feel so much better about your closet when you can focus on just the clothes you really like and love to wear – it will make getting dressed a much happier experience!
It also allows you really see what clothes you have and what articles you may need to add to your wardrobe so you can be thoughtful about what you purchase and you aren’t buying things you don’t really need!
After I have gone through it all and organized what I want to keep, I split my “get rid of” piles into categories. I have a pile for throw away (not good enough for anyone to use again), things I take to consign at our local consignment store (they only take things based on current season so I usually have to make summer/winter piles and take the off-season pile at a later time) and then stuff to donate to Goodwill (these are the things that are too good for the trash but not good enough to consign). I use boxes and totes and bags to collect all of piles together and make it an errand to drop it all off!
Thanks for catching up!