This is a long one, but I hope you'll give it a read if you feel like your closet is busting at the seams.
My kids are back in school and I'm a little sad, but this summer was a wild one trying to run a business and manage the whole crew being home.
Even though I haven't been posting, I feel like I decluttered about a million tons of stuff this summer. Unfortunately I took pictures of only about 2% of it. Some clients request ‘no photos’ and that's totally ok. Most of the time I'm just so excited to jump in that I forget about “before" photos.
The changing of seasons is a great time to think about managing your wardrobe. I will admit that I am particularly ruthless in my own personal closet. I'm not a fashionista by any means. 😂 (If you ARE a fashionista, attacking your closet may be harder, but you can still make progress. You have to give yourself some tough love and a set of guidelines or an inventory limit. Or just get rid of everything else in your house and commit to letting clothes be your full time hobby.)
Believe it or not, clothing is one of the simplest areas to begin working to declutter It can take time depending on just how much you are dealing with, but making the decisions can be easier than in other areas of your home.
Some things to keep in mind:
-If you have a lot of clothing, DO NOT EMPTY YOUR WHOLE CLOSET AT ONCE. You will end up sitting in a giant mess two hours later. You'll likely be crying and you'll definitely be regretting starting this project.
-As much as possible- catch up on laundry beforehand so you can make clear decisions.
-Collect ONE category of your wardrobe to pull out and assess. Possible categories (women) depending on how much clothing you have: jeans, dress pants, shorts, tshirts, dress shirts, sweaters, sweatspants and sweatshirts,swimwear, workout clothes, underwear/socks, etc.
-Look at your pile of the chosen category. Let's say it's jeans. Ask yourself how many jeans would be a reasonable amount for your lifestyle and your storage space. If you wear jeans to work or in your everyday life more jeans make sense for you. If you work in an industry that requires business wear you don't need 29 pairs of jeans.
-After you decide on your number, start choosing your favorites until you reach that limit. DO NOT ASK YOURSELF IF YOU “LIKE" THEM. Liking them isn't the criteria. Of course you liked them at some point because you spent money on them. You are choosing your favorites.
-You are not keeping extra in case you never do laundry and run out of clothes. Laundry is a whole separate topic, but it's not a reason to keep stuff unless it's underwear and you are actually incontinent.
-It is ok to set aside a ‘maybe/try on’ pile while you are making decisions. Trying things on as you go will just distract you and slow you down.
-When you complete this category, put it back as best you can. You may not have the ideal organizational set up until you are further through the process and have cleared a lot of space.
-I encourage you to be ruthless in clothing decisions. If you don't love it and feel AMAZING in it, let it go. You will always reach for your favorite items over and over and the rest of your stuff stays toward the back of the closet/drawer. Fast fashion has made clothing so abundant we as a society should not still have this level of attachment to individual pieces. You're not going to miss any of it.
-I strongly discourage selling your clothes unless you have already set up a system and have followed through with doing it in the past. The goal is clearing out and simplifying your life. Just donate them.
-Items that don't currently fit absolutely must leave your closet. If you are worried you might size up again someday or are hoping to size down again someday, pack up your absolute favorites in the off sizes and store them somewhere else.
Clothing is one of my FAVORITE decluttering tasks! Let me know if I can help you with your wardrobe. You could head into the fall with a closet you love to see.
