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How To Declutter Clothes With A Closet Cleanout

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Are you tired of being overwhelmed with too many clothes but having nothing to wear?

Learn how to declutter your clothes with a closet cleanout to make your life less stressful.

Does your weakness for sales leave you with clothing you’ll never wear?

For years I did the whole “buy what I like on clearance” routine – only to wind up with a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear.

 

Decluttering Clothes

 

I think many women can relate to having a closet full of clothes that they don’t wear.

The clothes are just taking up space, and it makes it harder to find the clothes that you actually enjoy wearing.

It’s time to DECLUTTER CLOTHES IN YOUR CLOSET AND DO A CLOSET CLEANOUT.

This is part of a DECLUTTERING SERIES that has helped me balance my life by getting my home in order.

Grab your Free 30 Day Decluttering Challenge Printable!

The series includes 3 of the most clutter catch-all rooms: the kitchen, bedroom, and closet.

In this part of the series, I will be sharing tips to cleanout your closet and declutter your clothes.

I am going to teach you how to be ruthless when decluttering clothes!

You will learn how to purge your clothes and be left with only outfits you love. 

Closet Cleanout: Declutter Clothes

First, get a trash bag ready for your clothes that you will throw away, a box ready for clothes you will donate, and a hamper for clothes you will keep.

Clean out your closet by taking everything out. 

You must have the closet completely cleaned out, to start with a clean slate.

Quickly go through your belongings and separate them into three piles: items to keep, items to donate and items to toss.

If you come across any item that is stained or ripped, put it in the trash bag. If it is seasonal, then put it to the side.

Next, go through your shoes.

It doesn’t matter how pretty they are, if they hurt your feet, toss them.

Declutter Clothes: Downsize Your Wardrobe

It makes so much sense to have fewer things in your wardrobe, all of which you love and reflect the real you, rather than having a closet filled with things you stare at and can never decide what to wear.

Now that you have had a closet cleanout, it’s time to take everything out of your dresser drawers.

You should have a pretty good amount of clothes to get rid of in the trash bag or donate bin. 

Now it’s time to purge the clothes that you have decided to keep. 

Chances are, there are plenty of outfits that can still go!

How To Decide What Clothes To Keep?

It’s time to decide what clothes to keep.

Use this when to get rid of clothes rule – If you haven’t worn it in a year, toss it!

If you are really unsure about an outfit, then try it on.

By trying it on at that very moment, then it will be much easier to say whether you like it, whether it fits you, and whether you will wear it.

 

Closet Cleanout

 

Don’t keep clothes for your “past self” and “future self”, only keep clothes that make you feel great right now as your present self.

When I decluttered my closet, I found my favorite pair of Calvin Klein jeans from high school.

I had kept those jeans for 20 years!

It was time to let them go, because after having three kiddos I knew they would never fit again.

If you find that you truly can’t part with many clothing items, then try Oprah’s strategy-hang all of your clothes with the hangers in the reverse direction and after you wear an item, return it to the closet with the hanger facing the correct direction.

Over the course of several months, it will be clear what items you wear, and the ones you don’t.

Declutter Your Clothes By Using A Capsule Wardrobe

When I started using a capsule wardrobe my life changed for the better! 

A capsule wardrobe is having practical outfits that you can mix and match.

Clothes that fit your lifestyle and your body!

It helps you know your style, and shop less for clothes you will never wear!

As an Amazon Prime member, I used Prime Wardrobe to find my perfect pieces for my capsule wardrobe. 

Prime Wardrobe is a Prime-exclusive program that lets you “try before you buy” eligible items across women’s, men’s, kids’, baby clothing, shoes, and accessories.

The best part is you can try up to eight items at home and only pay for what you keep.

If you don’t have Amazon Prime, you can try it for 30 days for FREE!

Closet Cleanout & Organization

After you have had a closet cleanout and sorted through everything, it’s time to organize your closet.

Simplify your closet by hanging up as much as you can.

Put the clothes that you wear the most in the front and sort by colors.

Organize your closet by seasonal items and pack away what you don’t need. There is no need to have a closet full of sweaters in July.

Most people can’t fit four seasons of clothes in the closet all at once, and especially if sharing a closet with a spouse.

Related Post: How to Make Money With the KonMari Method

Maximize your closet space by taking advantage of unused spaces.

Put a shoe hanger on the inside of your closet door to hold shoes.

Use cute little baskets to hold socks.

Be creative, but have a PLACE FOR EVERYTHING!

Do it the right way and you shouldn’t have to do it again.

After packing away all of my seasonal items and cleaning out my closet, I was able to see what outfits I had and truly loved. 

By downsizing your wardrobe, you’ll be able to get dressed quicker, have calmer mornings and enjoy what you wear.

 

Declutter Clothes: Closet Clean Out

After you have decluttered your clothes and did a closet cleanout, then you need to KEEP it that way.

Think about how the closet became so full.

Don’t be an impulsive buyer just because something is on the clearance rack.

Be more intentional and focused on what items you truly want in your wardrobe.

Paying more for an item that you will definitely wear instead of making a lot of cheap purchases, will save you more money in the long run.

When decluttering your closet, it is important to be mindful of new clothes coming into your closet.

Don’t take anyone’s hand-me-downs, chances are you will never wear them.

 

Closet Organization tips

 

Make a list of clothing items that you really just don’t like or that don’t fit your body-style.

Don’t ever buy them again. When you do go shopping, ask yourself if you really need an item before you purchase it.

With the ease of online shopping, it so easy to make clothing purchases without trying it on.

This has been a problem for me, because many times even if the item of clothing doesn’t fit, I rarely return it.

I am trying to be more mindful of online shopping because I feel I have cluttered my closet and wasted so much money.

Where to Donate Clothes

There are many options of where to donate clothes.

You can drop them off at any Goodwill store and even get a small tax write-off. You could even call a local homeless shelter to see if they will accept your clothing.

If you don’t have the time to make a local drop-off, I have found a great option for you.

It is probably safe to say that with the holidays just passing you may have recently had an influx of Amazon Prime deliveries.

Well if you still have those boxes leftover from the holidays, you can pack them up with all of the clothing items you would like to donate.

Amazon has made it easy to ship your items to Goodwill.

Simply visit GiveBackBox.com to print your FREE shipping label and drop the box off at your local post office or UPS store.

Make sure to get rid of your donation bags and boxes ASAP so they do not add more clutter to your home.

If you are wanting to sell your expensive clothing items then check out these tips.

More Ways To Declutter Your Home:

How To Get Motivated To Clean When Overwhelmed

30 Day Decluttering Challenge

Clear The Clutter Checklist

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Ali Montu

Friday 13th of May 2022

Yeah, in my decluttering process, I found alot of clothes that I never wore for donkeys years, so they were tossed into a 'give away \donate' bag. Couple torn ones, I am using as rags then when worn out will trash them - Many Thanks again for your useful tips!

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Mary Yowell

Monday 18th of February 2019

These are great tips! I need to go through my clothes next free day I am doing this!

Briana

Monday 18th of February 2019

I do this almost every season!

Briana