Empty It Out
The first step towards cleaning out your closet is to take everything out. Clear out every nook and cranny, and start over with a blank slate. Hang up each item one by one, taking the time to decide whether or not you still want it. Create piles keep, don’t keep, and maybes. This will give you a better visual of what you actually had stuffed in your closet.
Flip the Hangers
If you still struggle with sorting the keep and don’t keep piles, there’s a simple hack to help the process. Flip the hangers. Hang all your hangers backwards in your closet. Each time you wear a garment set the hanger back the correct way. After a month, pull out everything that hadn’t been worn. Look at why they weren’t worn and if you ever will wear it, this will help narrow down the pieces you should consider tossing.
Checklist
Whatever method you use when deciding whether or not to get rid of items, create a checklist to grade by. When you have a certain amount of guidelines a garment needs to meet, it can make it a lot easier to separate it from the ones you do want to keep. These can include:
Does it have any tears or stains?
Can it be worn at least 3 different ways?
Does it still fit? Too big? Too Small?
Is it still relevant to your life right now?
Get 1, Give 1 Rule
When trying to keep your closet organized in the future, this is a great rule to live by. To help prevent some of the clutter building up throughout the year, you can reevaluate each time you go on a shopping spree. For every new item you buy, consider another that you may no longer need.
Donate
Now that you decided to get rid of some stuff, what do you do with it? Well if the clothing is in good condition, your first option is always to take it to resale shops like Plato’s Closet to make some of your money back. Or you and your friends can organize a clothing swap to trade out your old pieces and find something new to you. Whatever is left, take it to a local charity shop to help support the community and free up the space in your wardrobe.