What if just 62 minutes spent doing a closet clean out could change your entire life?
Human behavior expert, Gretchen Rubin often says, “Outer order contributes to inner calm.” And after diaper wrestling a tremendously stubborn toddler for 20 minutes, you need that inner calm, don’t you?
In this post, I’m going to show you how cleaning out your closet can create some outer order in your life. When you’re through with your closet, you’ll use these same strategies to create some outer order in other areas of your home, too.
So let’s get started. Inner calm is within our reach.
The Beginners Guide to Cleaning Your Closet Like a Professional Wardrobe Consultant
Having a clean, organized closet is a necessity. When it comes to getting the family dressed and out the door in the morning, standing in your closet for 10 minutes trying to find something to wear isn’t an option. You either throw something on and avoid looking in a mirror all day, or sport the same go-to outfit you’ve worn no less than 4 times already this month. The dread or the boredom takes its toll– you decide.
Unfortunately, neither of these options is a perfect recipe for confidence. Quite the opposite actually!
That’s where the problem lies and, consequently, why I do what I do. As a wardrobe consultant, my ultimate goal is to instill you with confidence; confidence in your clothing choices and confidence in your body, which will ultimately produce confidence in yourself.
What Are The Benefits of Having a Clean Closet?
- Better visibility means you feel like you have more options.
- In addition, you can find what you’re looking for more easily because you’ve optimized your closet space.
- Finding a new home for items you no longer use reduces feelings of buyer’s remorse.
- There is a personal inner satisfaction in knowing that everything has a place.
- Your clothing will hold up better.
- Making it easier to get dressed in the morning starts you out on the right foot with a boost of confidence.
Tips for Success in Cleaning Out Your Closet
Set Aside Some Time
The longer it’s been since you’ve done a thorough wardrobe cleaning, the more you’ll probably get rid of and, the more time you’re going to need. The first time always takes the longest, but after that it’s just maintenance. If this is your first cleaning session in the last 3 year, set aside 3 hours, unless you’re a very quick decision maker. If you clean out your closet once or twice a year, 30 minutes should do the trick.
Remove Distractions
Have the hubs watch the kids or wait until they are asleep. Undoubtedly, a little Tasmanian devil whorling through your piles of clothes is not a recipe for efficiency. Put your phone on silent so the constant chiming won’t draw you into the endless depths of funny Facebook memes.
Have a Staging Area
Have a place where you can organize things. I like to lay them on my bed.
Be Honest with Yourself
Now is the time to stop kidding yourself. If you really haven’t worn something in a year or more, are you really ever going to wear it again? If not, it’s time to say “goodbye.” Na-Na-Na-Na. Hey-hey-hey (sorry, I had to)
Have a Plan
Without a plan, it’s easy to get overwhelmed or not know where to start. That’s where I come in. I’ve got the plan for you. All you’ve got to do is stick to it.
Are you ready? Let’s dive in!
Steps to Clean Out Your Closet
Time needed: 1 hour and 2 minutes.
- Prepare
To help ensure your cleaning and organization success, I’ve created the Ultimate Closet Clean Out Toolkit. It includes a lifestyle inventory quiz, wardrobe inventory worksheet, and the clothing evaluation checklist. Fill out your info in the box above to have them delivered to your inbox if you haven’t already.
Take a minute to complete the lifestyle inventory. It’s important that your clothing mix matches your lifestyle mix. If you’re a stay-at-home mom, you probably don’t need 5 pairs of dress slacks, but you may need 5 pairs of jeans, right?
After taking the lifestyle inventory quiz, use the wardrobe mix worksheet to jot down a range of how many of each type of item you know you need to keep.
Print out the Clothing Evaluation Checklist.
Get a box or trash bag for things you are “not keeping”.
Designate a “keepsakes” area.
Designate a “TLC” area.
Take a before pic.
Check, check, check and check. I think you’re all set.
- Pull everything out
Start by taking pieces of your wardrobe out of your closet. As you remove each, quickly run through the Clothing Evaluation Checklist. You should end up with a number between 1 and 5. When starting out, keep anything that’s a 3 or higher. Items with a score of one or two go straight into the “not keeping” bag or box. With the threes, fours, and fives, start laying them in piles by category.
Everyone’s categories will vary depending on their lifestyle mix. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
Tanks
Tees
Blouses
Sweaters
Cardigans
Casual Pants
Dress Pants
Jeans
Shorts
Skirts
Dresses
Jackets
Outerwear
Dress Shoes
Casual Shoes
Boots
Sandals
Accessories
Make a separate pile for non-clothing things you may store in your closet like suitcases. The Clothing Evaluation Checklist will help guide you through what to do with exceptions, like things that have sentimental value and your items that need a little “TLC”.
By the time your closet is empty, things should already be taking shape. Way to go! The hardest part is over, give yourself a pat on the back.
- Prune
Start with one category. Compare what you have to your clothing mix worksheet. If you have too many items in this category, move some of your threes to the “not keeping” box until you have what you consider to be an acceptable number of items that you will actually wear.
On the contrary, if you feel that you do not have enough items in this category, add it to your shopping list.
Continue to step 4 with only this category.
- Put everything in its place
Now it’s time to start putting things away. Decide where you want to put this category that you’re working on now. Let’s say it’s spring right now and you’re working with sweaters. If sweaters are an offseason thing for you right now, put them in the back. You can always swap them for your tank tops when fall rolls around.
I know that different people will enjoy different levels of organization
. At the least, I would suggest organizing your closet by category. It just makes it easier to find things.
Another, optional organization technique I suggest is to organize by color within each category. I usually do neutrals first, from light to dark, then, colors in the order of the light spectrum: ROY G BIV– Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue Indigo, Violet. It flows very well and is pleasing to the eye. You’ll also know exactly where to find things later when you’re selecting an outfit.
Once you’ve got all of one category back in the closet, start back at step 3 with another category. Repeat until all of the things that are going back into the closet have found their new home.
Whew! That was some hard work, but you did it! Celebrate by taking an after pic to show how much you’ve accomplished.
Now to tie up loose ends!
Right away, make an appointment with your tailor to mend any “TLC”s. Let’s be honest. There is a difference between something that CAN be altered versus whether you actually WILL get it altered. If these items that need to be fixed are just going to sit in a pile for who knows how long, just go ahead and move them to the “not keeping” box. It will save you months of kicking yourself for not taking care of them and making them useful again.
Then, prepare your “not keeping” box or bag and load it into your car. You can always donate your gently used clothing to a charity like Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Check out this article How to Sell, Donate or Recycle Your Old Clothes. If you’d like to earn a little bit if $$, keep reading below for some more suggestions.
Take your keepsakes clothing and store it with your other keepsakes or start a new collection of mementos if you don’t already have one.
Since your closet is clean, you’ll be able to take advantage of all the beautiful clothes you have. Start putting together some new outfits right away to bring you out of your dressing rut. I bet your stress levels are already on the decline!
- Perpetual upkeep
Now, you’ve got this beautifully organized closet. What’s next? Chances are, it’s not going to stay this pristine forever, but with a new habit or two, it will stay tidy and organized.
It’s really pretty simple. Each time you do laundry, but everything back where it belongs.
Then, use this process to go through your closet again once every season change. You’ll find, the second time around it won’t take anytime at all.
Additional Hacks
Alternate organization order
Maybe hanging your clothing by category and color doesn’t’ work for you. As an alternative, you could hang your clothes in order from most casual → most dressy or formal.
How to hang a sweater
Do your sweaters suffer from shoulder-nipple? You know– that shoulder protrusion your sweaters have from being misshapen by the hangers? Try this neat trick instead.
Fold your sweater in half lengthwise down the center front. Lay the sweater on a flat surface with the fold facing downward at a 45
Organization tools
If you’ve cleaned out your closet, but you still need to squeeze a little bit more space out of it, check out The Best Products to Organize Your Closet to kick your organization up a notch.
Closet organization board on Pinterest
Are you looking for even more tips and ticks? If so, follow my Closet Organization Board on Pinterest.
Common Questions/FAQ About Cleaning out your closet
Many people host closet clean out sales on Facebook after their Spring cleaning, and then, there are the traditional consignment stores. Another way to make a little extra dough is through an online second-hand store called ThredUp.
ThredUP is an online consignment retailer where you can shop and sell secondhand clothes. It’s really easy to do. Just order a kit. You earn cash or credit for accepted women’s and kids’ items and then, they ship back or responsibly recycle unaccepted items. Here is a list of brands they accept.
Furthermore, if you like giving old clothes new purpose and prefer to shop secondhand as well, you can use my referral code and we’ll both get a $10 credit toward our next purchase..
But, I can hear some of you yelling through the internet, “What if I don’t have that kind of time!”
Here’s what you need to try.
First, you need two things, a trash bag or box and a ribbon. Tie the ribbon at the back of your closet next to the wall. If you have more than one pole, do one on each pole. After you wear something, put it at the back of the closet behind the ribbon. Wear the clothes from in front of the ribbon. As you come across things that don’t fit anymore or are past their prime, put them in your “not keeping” box. Little by little, one minute at a time, you’re cleaning out your closet. Eventually, one of two things will happen:
You’ll wear all the clothes the clothes and the ribbon will end up at the front of your closet. You’ll be so excited about all the existing clothes in your closet that you rediscovered and found new exciting ways to wear.
Most likely, you’ll end up with some pieces at the beginning of your closet that you just don’t want to wear or don’t fit your lifestyle anymore. Inevitably, you’ll start going behind the ribbon to pick one of your favs that you’ve already worn. This is your queue that it’s time to put all the things in front of the ribbon in the the “not keeping” bag.
With very little effort at all, you will have cleaned out your closet. Yay, for you!
In short, it depends on your lifestyle– how often you wear jeans and how often you do laundry. Jeans are something that you can re-wear a few times without washing. Take the number of jean days in your typical laundry cycle and divide that by 2. Round up for good measure and +1 if you like more variety. I should note, this is a formula for how many you need looking at it from a minimalistic standpoint. If you like having a multitude of denim options, by all means, don’t let me stop you.
According the the fashion experts at Elle magazine, bras need to be washed every 3-6 wearings. It depends on your typical laundry cycle. If you wash clothing every week 2-3 regular wear bras, plus a specialty bra like a strapless if your tastes are so inclined.
You have several different options in this area:
Category- like tee shirts, jeans, dress slacks, blouses
Color only
Formality. For example, casual to formal
Length of sleeve or hem- strapless —> sleeveless —> short sleeved—> 3-quarter sleeved—> long-sleeved etc.
The Last Thing You Need to Know about Your Closet Clean Out
You’ve cleaned your closet! Doesn’t that feel great? What are you going to clean now? You can apply these same principles to your pantry, kitchen or any other room in your house for that matter!
Now, remember those before and after pics I had you take? Would you mind sharing those with me? I’d love to see how I’ve helped you. I would be so excited to feature your closet clean out transformation.
In addition, I’m looking for any closet cleaning tips that you’d like to share! Fill out the info below to share your tips. You’ll be added to my “almost” weekly newsletter too just to make sure you don’t miss the feature.
Until next time, sweet cleaning!
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