3 Step Closet Clean Out
Today is the first day of Spring! Spring is the time of new beginnings, and this season has so much symbolism including renewal, youth, growth, love and the promise that everything can begin again. I feel like we need these themes in our life now more than ever.
The “Dream Dictionary” says that when we dream about cleaning out our closet it symbolizes becoming more comfortable with who you are, being more accepting of your past, and signifies renewal and rejuvenation. (That dream also symbolizes a lot of other weird stuff too according to dream analysis people, but that’s not what this is about).
A few weeks ago I could feel Spring was coming and I think I was subconsciously needing a sense of renewal. I was also launching my business as a Style Coach and realized I needed to “practice what I preached” when it came to how I got dressed. I tell my clients, “Getting dressed should be effortless and something you look forward to doing.” This is usually true for me, but recently (maybe because of the change of seasons) I was starting to open my closet and stare and my clothes feeling a little more lost than usual. I decided I had way too many options still and many items in my closet we’re not pulling their weight. I clean my closet very regularly and I knew it was time to do it again. This time I wanted to be more systematic and have more of a “brief” for the outcome. I’d been watching and learning from a lot of stylists and home organizers. After hours and hours of going down rabbit holes on these topics, I have come up with a mantra of my own: everything in my closet should make me look great, feel great and serve a purpose. OK, maybe we’re ok with “look good” and “feel good” but I am aiming for “great” as much as possible.
After I repeated my mantra a few times and started to feel like the Brene Brown of wardrobe organization, I gave myself a pep talk and came up with an easy 3 step plan so I could get it done in a couple of hours… and it worked! Hopefully this will help others who are ready to simplify their life so getting dressed is a little easier every day.
STEP 1: THE PREP
This is an easy step that takes very little physical effort.
You need to get some plastic garbage bags, uniform hangers (flat, velvet, not-slip hangars for your tops and dresses) and plastic ones for your pants so they slide off easy. You may also want to use the velvet ones if you have any silky pants. Oh, and a few strong clip hangers for skirts and strapless dresses.
Then you give yourself a little pep talk. Remind yourself:
You do not need clutter in your life.
Everything in your closet is taking up valuable space. These items are not paying rent, so they need to EARN their space and carry their weight.
Less is more. Aim to have a few of each item. Not 12 pairs of jeans, aim for five.
We do not keep things because of “shoulds”. Here are some examples of “shoulds” – I’m sure you have some of your own.
I should keep it because it was expensive.
I should keep it because I’ve never worn it. What?
I should keep it because I used to love it.
I should keep it because someone gave it to me.
I should keep it because it’s a good brand.
Remind yourself that you are doing this because you want to have a closet where you can find everything easily and you instantly know what to wear because the choices are reduced and therefore you don’t have any anxiety when you get dressed. Everything is a winner.
And then remember the deeper meaning about why you are doing this: cleaning out your closet is more than just cleaning out your closet. It’s like a metaphor for a clear path ahead for you in life. It’s the beginning of a fresh start
.
STEP 2: GOING THROUGH YOUR CLOSET
OK this is the part where you make it all happen. Now that you have the right mindset you can start the process.
While you do this, keep in mind that you are not getting rid of anything yet. You’re just pulling an item out and really taking a look at it with fresh eyes and potentially getting rid of it. You do have the choice after this step to not get rid of this items yet. You can clean out your closet and just live with this simplified life for a few weeks to see how you feel and know that those items are simply put away for now while you “try this on” – pun intended.
You’re going to start on one end or side of your closet and just be ruthless. Anything that you do not think you would want to wear right now, tomorrow or anytime soon – take it out and put it in a pile.
Catch yourself if you lean on any “shoulds” from above. Don’t worry about those “should” right now. You may give these items to someone who WILL wear them, who WILL feel great in them. You are not wearing them for a reason.
Look for reasons to get rid of items, not reasons to keep them! Maybe you don’t like the way the color makes you look. Maybe you feel frumpy in it and you just don’t know why so it stares back at you and you never wear it. Those reasons are all a free pass to pull it out and put it in a pile. You’re not getting rid of it yet; you’re just removing it from your closet.
Reasons to get rid of items:
Poor quality fabrics. Limit the amount of polyester in your closet! It’s bad for the environment, it feels bad on your skin, it doesn’t breathe, and it usually looks cheap! I am aiming towards only having natural fabrics in my closet someday and I’m getting close. That’s cotton, linen, silk, wool, cashmere, bamboo, mohair, leather. I’m on the fence with Viscose and Modal fabrics which feel quite nice but are not totally natural and are chemically treated. I will post another blog post soon about fabrics as I am fascinated by them and am in the process of learning as much as I can.
Poor Fit. Maybe the sleeves are too long, the shoulders are too tight, it hits you in the wrong place. Don’t settle for clothes that don’t fit you. They should feel like they were tailored for YOUR body. You should wear the clothes; the clothes should not wear you.
Unflattering. I’ll admit that I have a few items that I LOVE even though I know they do not flatter my figure. Sometimes my husband will say “wow” (not in a good way) when I come out wearing a long flowy dress with poufy sleeves. But there’s a difference between keeping an unflattering item that you are confident enough to wear even if it doesn’t flatter your figure and keeping something that you don’t feel good in because it doesn’t flatter your figure. You can do better if you’re just settling and keeping it anyway. Especially if it’s a basic item. My crazy Mumu dress is not flattering but I wear it with pride because I love it anyway!
Worn out. Please, for the love of Goddess – do not keep old, yellowed, pilly, stained, torn anything. It doesn’t matter how comfortable or sentimental it is – just toss it. End of discussion.
Outdated. OK so there’s a difference between a classic item and a trendy item. And I know what you’re thinking, “it could come back in style again.” Chances are it will not and if it does you can get a newer version. If you’re feeling strongly about it, fine. Put it in another closet if you have one. Think of it as costume or sentimental but don’t keep it in your main closet because it’ll confuse you and make getting dressed more difficult.
You’re not sure. If it’s NOT an immediate “yes I want to keep this”, there’s a reason. You don’t have to figure out why you are hesitating. You ARE hesitating so it goes in the pile. Done.
Do this with every section of your closet. Your sweaters, shoes, purses, belts. Now move on to your workout clothes, your pajamas, you t-shirts, your sweaters – I mean everything.
STEP 3: THE CLEAN UP
You’ve done it! Now you have a giant pile on your bed or on your floor and you need a drink. Pour yourself a drink and then get back in there with your garbage bags. This part is much easier than you think it’s going to be. You have 3 choices:
Choice #1: Put everything in garbage bags and put it in your car and donate it.
Choice #2: If you have some newer, top brand items in good condition you can pull those out and put them in a separate bag and take them to a consignment store. More consignments stores require that you make an appointment. Fillmore and 5th is a great consignment near me, here is Palo Alto, CA. You can probably find something near you. You can also try Poshmark. My 17-year-old daughter sells and buys her clothes online all the time. I love how this generation is more frugal and love to embrace used and vintage. Her go-to is Depop and they mostly take the younger, trendier items and brands but it may be worth looking into. And if you have really nice designer brands you can sell your items on The Real Real. I have mostly bought items from The Real Real and it’s so easy – even returns. They also have brick and mortar stores if you prefer to bring your items in. OK, after the consignment pile is done, donate everything else.
Choice #3: Put everything in garbage bags and put them in a different room for a couple weeks. That’s what I did, and I LOVED my new, simplified closet so much I didn’t even want to go back to my bags. But eventually I did, and I pulled out quite a few nicer items that I am going to take to the consignment shop. And then I took out one pair of black velvet pants that I decided to keep after all. ONE PAIR of pants out of 6 bags of clothing!
Now swap out your clothes to uniform hangers and organize your clothes by item: all your pants are together, all your tops, all your dresses and skirts. Now put them in order from light to dark. It’ll make your closet look and feel fresh, clean and simplified.
EXTRA CREDIT:
If you did the above steps and you had a hard time getting rid of anything, there is another pass you can do of your clothes that might help. It takes some more time, but I find it’s the real test. This is how you really ensure you have a closet where everything makes you look and feel great and serves a purpose.
You may want a glass of wine and/or a friend to come over to sit on your bed while you do this (or call a Style Coach to help). In this step – you try things on.
Put on your favorite fitting pair of pants and then try on every single top: t-shirts, tanks, blouses, sweaters, jackets, you get the idea… Close your eyes and ask yourself if you feel great in it. Then open your eyes and look in the mirror and ask yourself if you look great in it. Then ask for an opinion if you have a buddy helping you out. And maybe right now you’re just aiming for “good”. I get it – it just needs to be the most positive response possible for you right now.
Then put on a basic top and do the same with your pants, skirts and shorts. Then dresses, shoes, belts.
This will be tiring, but you will be amazed at how many things DO NOT MAKE THE CUT. Get rid of them. They are not serving you.
Now you add these items to the pile.
Enjoy the next few days of a clean, organized closet. How do you feel? My guess is that getting dressed is easy now. My guess is you found a few things that you didn’t even remember you had that you’ll wear again. My guess is that you don’t miss a thing that you got rid of.
You might also realize that you needed a fresh start and got rid of nearly everything! That’s OK, you can get by with very little until you build a wardrobe that does serve you. And there could be a STEP 4 for you: You may need the help of a STYLIST and you deserve it!