With the quick approach of warm weather and the imminent spring break, there’s no better time than now to clean out your cluttered closet! Here are some quick and fun tips on making efficient and smart decisions while reorganizing and looking at your closet from a different point of view, literally!
As you sort through your closet(s), follow these 3 simple guidelines to decide on what to keep and what to throw out:
1. Did you wear this item at all within the last 6 months? If you didn’t, toss it!
Don’t suffer from FOLG (Fear Of Letting Go)! If you haven’t wanted it within the last year, what makes you think that you’ll want to wear it next year?
2. Did you like it when you wore it? If you didn’t, consider the reason.
Is it hard to find clothes to go with it? Maybe it’s too far out of your comfort zone?
3. If you know it’s never going to be an item that really looks good on you or fits your personal style, toss it.
Does this item still fit you? We all have that shirt from freshman year that we keep thinking we can still wear some time in the future…let’s just face it—we can’t. Toss it!
(Exceptions: clothes with sentimental value, such as a senior year basketball team shirt.)
Keep these 3 important questions in mind as you move on. You are officially ready to begin the process!
Step 1: Start with your dresser drawers.
Organizing the easier stuff first will help you feel more productive; you will find yourself becoming more motivated to tackle cleaning out that jungle you call your closet. Plus, as you begin to rediscover clothes that you have forgotten at the bottom of your drawer(s), you’ll realize that this process is just like shopping in your own bedroom!
Begin by taking everything out of your drawers, one at a time. Have garbage bags/suitcases handy nearby. After asking yourself the 3 aforementioned questions, toss the clothing you know you don’t want or need any more into the garbage bag. Put heavier and thicker winter clothing, such as bulky sweatshirts and coats, into the suitcase to store at home until next winter.
After cleaning out the drawers, fold and organize the “keep” clothes. I organize by length of shirt sleeve/pant material, but you could also do color or just fold them nicely—whatever settles your mind! I’ve found organizing my dresser drawers to be a great stress relief. By simply allowing myself to put aside things out of my control and focusing my energy on things I can control, such as cleaning my drawers, I have greatly (and surprisingly) improved my mental health!
Step 2: Take on the closet
Depending on your typical level of tidiness, this task could be either no-sweat or super time-consuming. Start with anything on the floor and things that are piling around the closet. Hang up any clean clothes and throw dirty ones into your hamper. Then, use the 3 questions to decide what to keep and toss as you going through your hanger one by one.
We all have that super cute piece of clothing that have, for one reason or another, never been worn! Try to come to a conclusion as to why you have never worn it. If its only purpose is to take up your precious closet space, it’s time to let go.
Step 3: Give or Sell!
Whatever you do, do not just throw all those old clothes away! There are plenty of places that are more than willing to take, or sometimes even buy, them from you! There are 4 Goodwill’s and 5 St. Vincent de Paul’s in Madison alone that are in need of donations. There are also other options, such as Rethreads and Plato’s Closet, that will resell gently-used clothing items.
If those options don’t spark your interest, it’s always good to ask friends and younger family members if they are interested in taking any clothes off your hands. Knowing that the Owl City T-shirt you thought was so cool in 2011 is going to a person who is in much greater need for it than you often makes the process of letting go much easier.
Step 4: The FUN Part!
Now that your closet is fresh, organized and clean, you can have some fun! You’ve been looking at the same clothes all winter, and it is time to see your clothes from a new angle— finally. Bring in your roommates and have them create an outfit for you!
I have done this with my friends before and it was a fun activity for us all. Not only did I see my clothes being matched up and layered in ways I had never considered, but also my friends were also able to rethink their style choices! It was fun to see each of my roommate’s style peek through my clothes, and it gave me a lot of new ideas for how I can make them fresh again for spring! This activity also makes you reconsider your need, or the lack thereof, to shop as you rediscover new ways to wear the clothes you already have!
Here were some of the outfits my roommates created from my closet…
Now that you have a clean closet, a happy mind and new style ideas, you can officially enjoy a blissful spring!