With spring in full swing, you may be feeling that urge to clean everything. To help you with that feeling, I’m going to walk you step-by-step through the process of one of the most overwhelming cleaning conquests: the closet.
Odds are, you’ve heard of Marie Kondo. Or maybe you’ve heard about people with impossibly small closets. A deep spring clean of your closet doesn’t mean you have to get rid of everything, but it is a good time to reevaluate what you really do need.
Step 1: Put on a good playlist
Unless you already pride yourself on being a minimalist, this is probably going to take a while. Put on some uplifting jams and get yourself pumped up to clean!
Step 2: Lay out all of your clothes
This is a crucial step to figure out how much you really have. Tucking all of your clothes away in a closet or some drawers hides how much clothing you actually own. Take everything out of your closet and lay it out. You don’t have to organize it yet—just empty out your closet.
Step 3: Sorting – Stuff to get rid of
This may seem self-explanatory, but sorting your clothes is the most important part of a closet overhaul. There are many ways you could do this, but here are the basic steps:
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Get rid of anything beyond repair: If something is filled with holes or torn/broken in anyway, you probably don’t need to keep wearing it.
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Get rid of what you don’t wear: Remember that bomber jacket you got from the mall 3 years ago thinking you’d become a bomber jacket person but you haven’t worn it at all since you got it? Get rid of it. You’re never going to wear it.
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Get rid of multiples: Do you really need 2 of the same shirt? Or 13 flannels? You probably don’t.
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Get rid of anything that’s uncomfortable: If you’re not comfortable in it, you’re less inclined to wear it. In the future, instead of keeping around that pair of cheap jeans that are just a little too tight, try investing in some high quality jeans that you will wear and love for a long time.
Step 4: Sorting – Stuff to Keep
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Figure out what sparks joy: Yes, this point probably seems cliche by now, but Marie Kondo is right! If something sparks genuine joy for you, you should keep it!
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How often have you/will you wear this: When sorting through clothes, consider how often you wear certain pieces. After getting rid of the stuff you’ve never worn/never will wear, consider the harder items. Have I worn this is the past 6 months? Will I wear it in the next 6 months? I’m not telling you to get rid of seasonal items (you probably won’t wear your snow boots in the summer), but instead, think about the whole year. If you have a solid reason to wait to wear the item (again, snow boots), or if you wear it literally every week, keep it!
Step 5: Sorting – The ‘maybe’ pile
If your sorting isn’t black and white: Going through your closet isn’t always an easy ‘yes/no’ process. If you have a few pieces that you wish you wore more or that you can’t bear to part with, keep them for now. Put them in a box or tucked away somewhere. If in several months you realize you’ve forgotten about them, you can probably get rid of those items. If you keep going back to certain pieces, you can justify holding onto them a little longer.
Step 6: Organization
After the tiring process of going through all of your clothing, it’s time to put everything back in your closet! However, don’t just throw everything in there with no sense of organization. Create an organization method that works for you! You could do the tried-and-true method of organizing by type of clothing (pants, tops, jackets, etc). You could organize by season. Or you could organize by color if that helps you! Figure out how you decide on what clothes to wear, and organize based on that.
If you hang your clothes, you could invest in getting a set of hangers to make your closet more cohesive. If you have a dresser, try the KonMari fold! It allows you to see more of your clothes as it makes them take up less space in the drawer!
(Image courtesy of makespace)
I hope this guide gave you the inspiration to tackle your closet and get on top of your spring cleaning!
Happy cleaning!