How to Clean Out and Organize Your Closet
/A change in seasons makes for an ideal time to clean out and organize closets. While you’re shuffling around seasonal items, take the time to edit your wardrobe, purge unwanted items, and get organized.
As you consider what to keep in your wardrobe, take into account any lifestyle changes that have occurred since your last closet clean out. Are you an ex-business woman turned stay-at-home mom? Lose some of the pant suits. Hang on to the jeans and tees. Are you just landing your dream job? Amp up your work attire, and streamline your casual options. Getting your clothes and closet organized and in sync with your lifestyle, means less time fretting over what to wear, less time riffling through the clothes you don’t need, and overall, less time spent getting ready! Sound good? Let’s get started..
Prep for the Task
Grab some hampers, laundry bags, trash bags, boxes, whatever you have on hand to sort items as you clean out… Got em? Now, label them… and the categories are...
Trash/Recycle
Items that are severely damaged—ripped, stained, or warped—socks, and undergarments.
Donate
Items that have a little more life to live…but no longer have a purpose in your life.
Sell (If desired)
Items that are in good to like new condition, are a current style, and are a well-known brand.
Pro tip: If you’re doing a big closet purge, I don’t typically recommend selling items. It’s a time consuming process and there’s no guarantee the items are actually going to sell. You’re forced to hold onto the unwanted items longer and they continue to take up your space and time. So before you create a ‘sell’ category, be certain you are up for the task. That said, once you’re to a point of maintaining order—when you’re only purging a couple pieces at a time—selling unwanted items is a great option.
Sentimental
Items that you are holding onto because they hold a special meaning, but you know you will never wear again.
Undecided
Items that are difficult to decide whether or not to keep. Don’t get hung up one one specific item, toss it in the undecided pile and keep moving. You’ll find when you go back to address these items later, it will be much easier to make the decision.
Purge, Edit, and Declutter
I recommend starting with drawers—each drawer is like a mini-purging and organizing session, and it’s a great way to get your feet wet. Once you’ve tackled all your drawers—socks, underwear, bras, pajamas, all of them—then move on to your closet.
Try items on if needed, but be efficient. Check out my ‘Questions to ask as you edit your closet’ guide to help in the decision making process. Go through each item and put it in its designated pile. If you’re keeping the item re-fold or re-hang and return to its place (We’ll cover the organization a bit later.)
This is the most difficult part of the process, and the most likely to cause you to feel overwhelmed and want to walk away. If you think it’d help, have a friend—or trusted organizing professional *wink, wink*—come over to help keep you moving!
Don’t give up…
Once you’ve gone though everything, revisit the ‘undecided’ pile and make those last few decisions. If you’re still struggling to choose what should stay and what should go, that’s okay. When in doubt, keep it. Don’t get too hung up on the tough decisions. You can always go back later and get rid of an item if you decide it’s unwanted.
Now, let’s talk accessories—shoes, belts, scarves, hats, jewelry, and even purses. This is the ideal time to edit, purge, and organize these items as well.
Get it Organized
Now for the fun part—getting everything put away in a well-organized fashion—No? Just me? Nonetheless, rest assured the hard part—deciding what goes and what stays—is behind you. Here’s how to get the ‘keep’ items organized…
Invest in matching hangers. This may sound frivolous, but it allows all your clothing to hang evenly, giving your closet a clean, crisp, and orderly look. Velvet hangers have a slim profile and will free up closet space. If space isn’t a concern, any hanger material will do, as long as they all match.
So what about the clothes that get folded?There’s no ‘right’ way to fold clothes, the method you choose will likely depend on the storage space and article of clothing. File folding works really for items like t-shirts, underwear, and scarves, while dry-fit materials stay in place better if rolled. Try out different techniques and find what works best for you and your space.
Organize your hanging and folded clothing by category—tanks, tees, long sleeve, sweaters, jackets, dresses, and so on. For an extra organized look, within each category, organize by color—lightest to darkest or vice versa. This may seem tedious, but once you set this method in place, it not difficult to maintain.
Use matching bins or baskets to store accessory items—like purses and scarves—and out of season clothing. Keep in mind fabric and wicker bins work well to conceal clutter, while wire or acrylic bins keep your items visible.
Say Goodbye
With your closet and drawers organized. It’s time to address the piles that aren’t staying.
Trash/Recycle
Did you know your old clothing can be recycled? It’s true, but you won’t be able to put textiles in your curbside recycling bin. Search to see if you have a local recycling center that accepts clothing, or head to the mall, American Eagle Outfitters and H&M clothing stores have collection bins for textile waste.
Donate
A vast majority of your items have likely landed in the donate pile, but it can be an additional chore just to choose a donation center.
Here are some ideas:
Goodwill
Saint Vincent DePaul
Salvation Army
US’Again
Don’t have time to drop off your items? Check out Charity Clothing Pickup.
Sell
Looking for an alternative to a yard sale?
Try selling your items on Facebook Marketplace, Facebook Swap ‘n Sell groups, Poshmark, or other online resale sites.
Sentimental
Find a storage solution for these items that isn’t taking up space in your closet or dresser. If storing them in a box in the basement or garage isn’t what you had in mind, try thinking outside the box…
You could photograph these items to create a photo book or digital album. T-shirts can be turned into a keepsake quilt. You could even frame some of the pieces of clothing to hang as artwork. Get creative, and get these items out of your closet space.
Maintain Order
To keep your closet and drawers looking their best…
1. Be consistent.
If you are file folding your t-shirts, file fold them every time. If you’re hanging your jeans, hang them every time. You get the idea.
2. Keep clothing picked up and tidy.
Follow the one-minute rule, if you can pick it up and put it away in less than one minute, do it immediately.
If you have a surface that tends to collect clothing clutter—a chair or piece of workout equipment—try to eliminate that surface from your space.
3. Continually re-evaluate.
Have you ever put on a shirt and after 10 minutes or so, you decide you don’t like the way it fits and change?… It’s probably time for that item to go.
Have a bin or basket in your closet at all times for items you decide to donate or sell. This makes it easy to maintain a clean and organized closet and allows you to avoid the need for an overwhelming purge session. As the bin gets full, address where those items need to go.
