The Best Time to Clean Out Your Closet
Do you stand in front or inside your closet and say to yourself, “I have nothing to wear!” Even though clearly the closet is full of clothes? If this is you, don’t feel bad. This happens to most of us at one point or another. Sometimes it is because we buy things that are inexpensive or were “a good deal” but those items didn’t really fit our taste. Or, it could be because we hang onto clothing because it was expensive or something we once really liked, but it no longer fits our lifestyle. Whatever the reason, one way to combat this issue is to do a regular closet cleanout or closet cleanse, as I like to call it. In this post, I’ll share the best time to clean out your closet, along with a few tips for ensuring you DO have clothes you actually WANT to wear when you’re finished.
What’s The Best Time To Clean Out Your Closet?
There are several approaches to this but my favorite is to do a closet cleanse seasonally. Here’s why – You can very quickly discern if you wore any garments from the season that just ended. Therefore, you don’t have to wonder “will I wear this?” You already know if you did or didn’t.
Here’s how it works:
- As the season changes, go through your clothes from the season that just ended. For example, if Spring just started, you want to go through your winter clothes.
- Were there any items that you went the whole season without wearing or even really thinking about? If the answer is “yes” then that item can likely be donated, sold or swapped. (See The Conscious Closet in Action blog post for more tips)
- If you’re like me and live in a climate that doesn’t really have 4 distinct seasons, notice when the weather starts to change. For example, now that it is May, I noticed it’s been a bit since I wore any of my pullover sweaters. So, it’s a perfect time to go through my sweaters, coats, boots and other winter and fall items.
Other Ways to Cleanse Your Closet
There are a couple of other techniques that you can apply to cleaning out your closet, whether you choose to do it seasonally or more or less often. Really, the best time to clean out your closet is the time that works best FOR YOU.
Technique #1 – The Ribbon Test
- Tie a ribbon at the far right end of your closet.
- After you wear an item, hang it to the right of the ribbon (opposite from where most of your clothes are hung). If your closet has several sections, you might need a few ribbons, one for each section. If you put most of your clothes in a drawer, you can do the same thing by using a folder, book or board of some kind to separate these sections.
- Try this for about 1-3 months.
- After that time, take a look at the items to the left of the ribbon. Those are your most likely contenders to donate, swap or sell.
These are a few of my experiments with pairing old and new items.
Technique #2 – What’s Old is New Again
- Go through your closet and pick out 5-10 items that you know you haven’t worn in at least a year.
- Set them aside in a designated section of your closet.
- Start creating outfits with these pieces, mixing these older pieces with newer ones that you wear more often. For example, maybe there is a blouse that you haven’t worn for over a year because you feel it’s too dressy for your lifestyle. Try wearing it with your favorite pair of jeans. Maybe put a white tee under it to dress it down for a more casual look.
- After giving the old item another chance, decide if it is something you are going to keep and try wearing again or, if you really are just over it.
Make a New, More Conscious Habit
If you can get into a new habit of using one or more of these techniques on a regular basis, you’ll be well on your way to refreshing your wardrobe and making room for the clothes that you really DO WANT TO WEAR. The next step is to discover the gaps in your wardrobe and make a plan to fill those gaps. This can be more challenging than it seems – it requires a more conscious approach to make sure we don’t just fill our closets full of cheap so-so clothes again. The Checklist for Creating a Sustainable Wardrobe on a Budget is a great resource to help you get started with ensuring that the choices that you do make are ethical and environmentally friendly.
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