1 Lifestyle

Seasonal Closet Clean Out Tips

If your closet (or closets in my case) are overflowing and anxiety has taken over your life… today’s post is for you. One of the most commonly asked questions is HOW IN THE WORLD I’m able to keep my closet slash LIFE organized being a style blogger and a closet tour is constantly requested. The reason I have yet to do this is because I am by NO MEANS any sort of closet/organization expert — but I’m trying and slowly becoming better at it! It’s a constant work-in-progress for me to keep things organized and tidy around here. I’m constantly battling my urge to get rid of EVERYTHING while also saving EVERYTHING. A few of you have expressed similar feelings to me over DM and this post started to come to life.

I’m going to be sharing a few of my tips and tricks I’ve been implementing into my life to help keep a handle on all things in the wardrobe department.

Get on a schedule. In the past, I liked to aim for a seasonal closet clean out — late in the prior season, I would start looking ahead at the next season. For example, it’s nearing the end of summer, so around this time, I would start planning for my fall wardrobe and clearing out everything from last fall and winter. Unfortunately, being a style blogger, sticking to doing this just 4x a year isn’t feasible for me… but it SHOULD do the trick for most of you (unless y’all are style bloggers, too… & in that case, bless your heart, you feel me here). Doing this seasonally will help get you organized, and give you snapshot of what you have/need before you actually are in the nitty gritty of wearing everything. How am I handling this currently? I stick to four MASSIVE clean outs (one per season) and then try to keep up with it weekly/monthly — meaning, if I happened to save something and then now KNOW I have no use for it, it gets cleared (I don’t wait until the next year).

Rome wasn’t built in a day. The BEST piece of advice I can give you is that this process should take a little time. It doesn’t need to be FULL days by any means, but I would do the seasonal clean outs over the course of a few days (or a few weeks). Take it a little at a time. The main reason I wouldn’t recommend taking a full day and going at it: it can be insanely overwhelming and your itch to just get through the task will likely take over and you’ll end up making bad decisions which can hurt your wardrobe and wallet. Taking it slow will also allow your mind time to remember what decisions are being made. Ever throw out something you didn’t mean to in a frenzy and then go rummaging through your stuff later realizing that mistake?! When you have to REBUY things you didn’t mean to toss, it means you’re making rash decisions. SLOW DOWN. If you’re really unsure about something, TRY IT ON. You’ll immediately know if you have any connection to it, if it still fits, and if you can see yourself wearing it in the upcoming season.

Make three piles: keep, sell, donate. You can create these “piles” however they will interrupt your life the least. I make these in my basement (where I store most of the clothes I swap out seasonally) and use separate tupperware to keep things organized. If you’re working with a tight closet space and don’t have access to a storage spot, rearrange the clothing on hangers in your closet — I used to do this when we lived in our smaller condo. Or, invest in a collapsable clothing rack while you’re going through the process. For items I plan to KEEP, I make sure they are basics (or non-trendy pieces I wear year after year), still in good condition (no holes/stains), and most importantly — I actually WORE the items last year. If I saved something last year during closet clean out from a previous year and DIDN’T WEAR IT LAST YEAR, it goes. For the items I determine I no longer need, I do a mix of donating and selling — it’s a great way to make a little side cash!

KEEP: Any basics, items you wore a ton that season the previous year, and any loved items you cannot part with (I can’t get rid of anything I wore for our wedding events). I typically save denim for a longer amount of time — it tends to take denim a longer amount of time to go out of style, and, if I’m fluctuating in between sizes, I like to save both in case they’re needed.

SELL: Any duplicates, items with the tags still on or items that are in GREAT condition, items you splurged on, items that don’t make you feel good, items that no longer fit. I love using Poshmark (they take a 20% cut, but make it SUPER easy to keep track of everything + your earnings automatically get dumped into your PayPal account). If you don’t have a Poshmark account, use code OHSOGLAM for $5 off a purchase!

DONATE: Everything else. I typically don’t throw out any articles of clothing unless they are in AWFUL condition (other than underwear). I love donating to Good Will, Salvation Army and Dress for Success.

If you need a “maybe” pile, it’s okay. I typically use my “sell” pile as my maybe pile — it gives me a hot second to reevaluate an item when I go to list it. I’ve actually added items to my sell pile and then removed them when I realized I wanted to wear something. If you have a maybe pile, it might help eliminate any anxiety of cleaning out your closet, and I feel like you can be a little more ruthless when deciding what you actually need. If you add it to the “sell” or “maybe” pile and don’t miss it (or try to reach for it), you made the right move.

Use this time to organize. I like to use this time to start swapping out my seasonal wardrobe. Once I know what I’m keeping, it’s a great time to start rearranging my drawers and closet. I try to organize my closet racks by ITEM TYPE. I know some people do it by color — it’s totally a preference thing. I try to keep my sweaters together, my flannels together, any layering pieces (turtlenecks, long sleeve tees). I also try to HANG as much as possible. For some reason, seeing things on the hanger is WAY more efficient for me — I’m a very visual person. If everything is buried in drawers, I have a hard time. I typically reserve my drawers for my denim and tees. Everything else gets hung. Bulky sweaters get stacked on my top shelf in my closet.

Only allow yourself to shop for the season AFTER this is complete. First of all, you’ll have a waaaay better handle on what you actually NEED — you just spent time sifting through everything and you KNOW what you’ll actually be keeping. If you need to replace a basic, want to try a upcoming trend, or find yourself always wishing you had a specific piece, this would be the time to get that list together!