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Do you ever feel overwhelmed the moment you step into your home because there is “stuff” everywhere? Perhaps it’s a specific room in your house that has this effect on you. Maybe you even try to avoid being in the said room or at home because you just feel stressed and unsatisfied. If any of this resonates with you, it might be time to declutter your home. In this article, we will discuss tips and tricks to declutter your home, specifically your clothing items. Let’s jump in.
You probably know that excessive clutter isn’t great but do you know all the negative aspects related to clutter? First, it makes your living space less sanitary because it is harder to clean. It makes your home less attractive and is likely to make you shy away from entertaining therefore possibly causing social isolation. Clutter causes unnecessary stress and lowers your productivity because it is harder to find what you are looking for. Lastly, you could even end up with physical injuries due to clutter by slipping or tripping over things that are scattered around. Are you ready to declutter?
Tips to declutter your home
Tip #1 – Focus your efforts
If you are dealing with a house full of clutter, do not try to eat the elephant in one bite. The clutter was likely created over a long time and you will need a long time to get things in order. It’s not a sprint but a marathon. Pick one room or area of your home to start with. Do not start with another area until you are finished with the first one. Furthermore, do not move clutter from the area you are cleaning to another area you will eventually have to declutter. Fix the problem, don’t just move it around.
Tip #2 – Prepare yourself
For many people, there is a huge mental component to successfully declutter your home. However, it is important to understand that you will need to part ways with things you currently own and be ready to do so. This is extremely difficult to do for many people. Start with things that are easier for you. For example, don’t tackle your wedding dress and late mother’s clothing items first if you know this is particularly difficult for you. Maybe start by downsizing your socks collection. Here is a good article that explains attachment to things, when it is considered a real problem and also suggests ideas to overcome this.
Tip #3 – Set some goals before you start
The goals are up to you but important to have. They will vary for each individual based on where you are starting from and where you are going. I recommend deciding when you will start your decluttering and how long you want to spend working on it. Keep in mind, that it may very well be a multi-day project.
Also, since this article is focused on decluttering your clothes, determine what it means to you. If your bedroom floor is covered with clothing items, perhaps your goal is to clear it up for good. Maybe if you are further in your decluttering journey, your goal is to reduce your clothing by 20% of items.
Steps to declutter your clothing
1- Spend time understanding your needs
The very first step to declutter your home, in this case, your clothing is to assess what your lifestyle is and therefore understand what your closet should look like. To do so, consider the categories below. Assign a percentage of your time when you are dressed for each category. In the end, your closet should very much mirror this mix.
- Workout
- Leisure
- Work/professional
- Formal/date night
Feel free to add other categories that are relevant to your lifestyle.
2- Set up 3 stations
You need to set up 3 stations in the room you are working in:
- Keep
- Donate and/or sell
- Trash
When adding things to your donate station, consider things you could donate to friends and family members. It can sometimes be easier to part with items when you know where they are going.
3- Do a first sweep
Collect all the obvious things you do not want anymore and put them in the appropriate station. These can be stained things, items that are not your style anymore, or stuff that doesn’t fit you.
4- Do a second sweep
This is where things get hard. Try on the items and see how they fit and how you feel about them. Do they provide you joy and make you feel confident? Start going through each item and ask yourself a few questions:
- Have you worn the item in the last year? If the answer is no, you really need to understand why you would keep it. Don’t fall into the “just in case” trap. I’m going to keep this dress just in case I am invited to a wedding. I’m going to keep these jeans just in case I lose 10 pounds. I’m going to keep these boots just in case I go to a rock show. You get the picture, right?
- If you were at the store today and saw this item, would you buy it? If the answer is no, consider donating or selling the item.
5- Clear the space
Take the trash out for good and gather the donate/sell items into boxes or bags and move out of the way.
I recommend taking your items to a donation center as soon as possible to keep the decluttering process moving. Alternately, if you are planning to sell items, do not procrastinate on this, and make sure you have a plan to get this done timely.
6- Assess the keep pile
How do your “keep pile categories” compare to what you determined in step 1? If this isn’t in line, it doesn’t mean you need to make changes immediately. It can simply be a realization that you have. For example, if 50% of your clothes are workout outfits and you only need to wear those for 1 hour each day, you need to acknowledge that you are set for a long time!
Additionally, if you live in a place with seasons, you can consider splitting the keep pile into 2 wardrobes based on the seasons. It will allow you to have a much less cluttered closet during each season and give you variety when you switch your closet for the new season. If you chose to do so, vacuum seal bags are amazing to store clothing. They take very little space!
7- Organize your items
It is time to organize your closet and dressers by putting your items back. Consider organizing your clothes by the categories you identified in step 1. When you are getting dressed for a particular day, it will be easy to see all of your options. You will also be more efficient at putting outfits together based on what you are setting out to do that day.
8- Keep up with you decluttered wardrobe
To keep up with your new decluttered wardrobe, it is critical to follow a few simple rules.
- Do not go out and purchase a bunch of stuff that you just discarded. Even if you now see that you discarded every black pants you had, do not rush to buy a new pair of black pants. Ultimately, you have been living without them for some time because they didn’t fit you or you didn’t like them anymore.
- Live with your new downsized closet for at least 1 month. Wear what you kept and confirm whether you truly still want all these clothes. You might be able to further declutter. Take notes about which outfits or items you like most and least and why. If you feel something is missing, put it on a list but do not buy it yet.
- As you learn to live with a smaller clothing collection, also learn to focus on better quality items. Note which of your current items have better quality and pay attention to how you feel in them and how they look on you. Research other high-quality brands that match your personal style.
- To complete your wardrobe, it is okay to eventually purchase a new piece of clothing that is needed. Make sure to focus on high-quality items that will last you for a long time.
- When you bring a new piece home, donate an existing piece.
In conclusion..
If you are new to attempting to live with a smaller wardrobe, I recommend going through this process often. It will become quicker each time. You will have fewer items to sort through and you will become more in tune with your style.
Ultimately, having a smaller closet will cost you less, help protect our environment and simplify your life. You no longer will look at your overstuffed closet and think “I have nothing to wear”. You will appreciate each piece you own and become a master at creating different looks with your items. I hope that his article on how to declutter your home – clothing edition was helpful to you.
Thank you for reading,
Cat xx