Day 24 - Clothes
The hardest part of decluttering is making up your mind to do it! This one could take a long time but it will be SO worth it.
Unless you are living the minimalist lifestyle, you probably have too many clothes. We all do!
If you streamline your wardrobe you could :
Save time in the mornings trying to decide what to wear
Donate gently worn or new clothes to someone in need
Get rid of the stress you associate with your closet or dresser
GET STARTED!
Take a before picture
Gather all of your clothes in one spot.
I suggest taking them out of the closet & dresser to look at them all at once. Maybe lay it all out on your bed or in the floor. Look at them all under a different light than you normally do.
If you’ve got time, get the out of season clothes out for this task too.
Take it all in.
A friend told me she recently did this and was immediately convicted by how much she owned & didn’t need or even wear.
Sort like with like.
This will help you to see what you have for each season or occasion.
Declutter & Purge.
Make keep, donate, relocate & trash piles.
Keep the essentials.
Choose items to donate.
If you find things that don’t belong put them away now.
Throw away the items that are worn out beyond repair!
Unless they are weather related or occasion specific items, get rid of items you have not worn in 12 months.
Ask yourself these questions to determine if each items stays or goes:
Does it fit?
Do I still like it?
Do I have anything that goes with it?
Is it damaged, torn, stained?
Has it been in the “I will wear this again someday” stack for a long time?
You could make a fifth pile if you want to try to make some money on your clothes that are in good condition that someone else may want to buy! Just don’t let them sit around forever. Take them to a resale shop or post them for sale today if you’re going to do it.
Do you struggle with getting rid of things that were expensive? Even if you paid too much money for them, that’s not a practical reason to keep them in your closet. You’re not wearing them so let someone else and maybe make a little bit of your money back.
Be ruthless & honest with yourself on this step. You may even need to walk away and come back for a second round of decluttering.
Clean it up.
Do any of your clothes need to be washed before you put them back in? Do it now!
While you’ve got it all out, wipe down the drawers & shelves. Vacuum the floor!
Put it back neatly!
Fold & hang it all neatly. Finish strong - you did all the hard work prior to this step…you can do it!
Keep like items together.
Try file folding if you need more space in your drawers.
Hang your clothes up by category. You choose what makes most sense for you.
Short sleeves, long sleeves, outerwear, pants, dresses, athletic wear, dress clothes, work clothes, etc.
If you REALLY want to step it up here…sort by fabric or color! (Totally not necessary. But man, it looks good!)
Make sure everything has a place.
Maintain.
This is BY FAR the most important part of this task. Why would you ever want to undo all that you just did?!?!
Each time you do laundry put everything back in the space you created for it.
Keep things that don’t belong in the closet or dresser OUT.
Practice the “One In - One Out” rule.
For every new item you bring into your closet you get rid of one in its place.
Declutter twice a year. It will be easier than waiting a long time and going through all of these time consuming steps again!
FINISH.
Drop off that donation bag today or make a plan to take it one day this week!
Determine prices for the items you want to sell and make that happen this week too.
Take an after picture!
If this task seems to overwhelming for you, let me help! I’d love to set up a consultation & organizing session to help you get organized!