Decluttering your closet
Getting rid of the junk in your trunk
So what?
ICYMI – our previous post outlines the benefits of decluttering. In summary, the benefits are having more money, time and energy.
Rather than providing you with a step by step guide as we have in the last four posts on decluttering, I thought we might do something different with decluttering your closet by giving you a list of items that you should cull from your closet or donate to your local charity.
Two years
Many of the guides we have read and people we spoke to recommend much less timeframe but we are a generous bunch. Taking changes in seasons and tastes into consideration, a two-year timeframe for knowing what clothing to cull or donate is ideal. You may have clothing that you only wear on an annual basis like down jackets or every couple of years as your tastes may have changed. Just to be sure, give it an extra year from the previous full season so you don’t get rid of clothes that you will wear again. This includes any new clothes or shoes with tags still attached.
Too big, too small
Have you gained or lost weight? You can quickly tell that your weights have changed dramatically to a point where your clothes don’t fit when your clothes are too big or too small to wear them. Donating clothes that are either too big or too small may seem like a waste as you may intentionally try to lose weight or bulk up muscle to wear your old clothes that don’t fit. You can use this opportunity to motivate you to gain or lose weight. If you unintentionally gained weight, you can use the guilt of wasting clothes (i.e. money) to get on the treadmill and go for walks in an attempt to lose weight. Then, you can reward yourself by buying new clothes once you have lost the weight you intended to.
Hurtful feelings
Do you have clothing that make you feel bad emotionally and physically (e.g. shoes that hurt)? Items that bring back unwanted memories or don’t make you feel good about yourself should be culled or donated. Your aim should be to wear items that feel good rather than look good which some may disagree. Feeling good clothes will make you exude confidence which will in turn make you look good. And those $1,000 shoes that you bought that you can’t wear because of the inevitable blisters? They are just taking up precious closet space.
My experience
I spend a few hours every spring and fall to declutter my closet. Despite moving to a new country with nothing but one suitcase, I somehow accumulated a ton of clothes, most which I don’t wear. I’m as guilty as many of you for keeping clothes and shoes for the very same reasons that I have stated above. It’s not an easy task but one that must be done as not decluttering your closet will quickly get out of hand, cause a havoc and waste your time trying to pick out what to wear.
What now?
- Is your closet a place in your home that you can proudly show to your guests?
- If not, what are you embarrassed about? It being too messy? That flannel sweater that you have? Whatever it is, make it something that you can be proud of.