Are you really ready for this? Do you have several hours for it? Are you willing to try on countless articles of clothes? You have to be in the right frame of mind for this type of purge, but if you are, it’s worth it! Let’s get started…
Step 1: Toss everything, I mean everything, in a pile on your bed (this way you can’t go to bed until it’s finished – well, you could toss it on the floor, but DON’T!). Take everything from your closest, your drawers, and those baskets hiding in the back of your closet, all of it.
Step 2: Organize everything into three piles: “keep,” “donate” and “can’t decide.”
The “keep” pile will have your must-haves and favorites, the “donate” pile will be the clothing you don’t care about enough to keep, even the torn and stained ones (we’ll get to that) and the “can’t decide” pile is made up of the items you’re not sure you’re ready to get rid of just yet.
Here’s a tip: try everything on, including the clothing items in your “keep” and “donate” pile. You’ll find clothes you thought looked great on you really don’t, or clothes that look great on you when you didn’t think they did.
Step 3: Tackle the “can’t decide” pile. Follow the one-year rule*: If you haven’t worn it in the past year, you probably won’t wear it again, so it’s best to get rid of it. The exceptions to this rule are fancy dresses and other nice pieces worn for special occasions.
Get rid of clothes that’s too small or don’t fit right, as well as ones you can’t see yourself wearing in two to three years.
Once again, try everything on and get a second opinion. Grab a trusted friend and ask him or her if the printed pants are worth keeping or if you need to get rid of them.
*The one-year rule can be made easier if you flip your clothing hangers around when you change your seasonal wardrobe. If the hanger is still flipped at the end of the season, you didn’t wear it – get rid of it!
Step 4: Reorganize your closet. Once you’ve decided which clothes to keep and which to donate, it’s time to reorganize your closet. Hang your clothing by category (pants, skirts, tops and dresses) and other sub-categories (long-sleeve, short-sleeve and strapless). Doing this makes it easier for you to find what you’re looking for each morning and speeds up your getting-ready time. You could go one step further and organize them by color.
If you’re lacking closet space, get creative. Invest in slim hangers, canvas shoe compartments, shelving and/or plastic tubs. Let your inner Pinterest-savvy self come out. Don’t go buy any containers until you get to this point. You need to know what you need and what space you have.
Step 5: Tackle the “donate” pile. You’ve probably had a long day, this can be day two, but don’t wait too long for this project! Do you have some nice pieces that you could sell? Take them to a resale shop, have a rummage, or maybe you rather donate them and take the tax deduction (consult your tax advisor).
In the Delaware County area, there are many bright green Vet donation boxes. They will take ALL your clothing items, including stained and ripped items. They sell these items to be recycled and the money comes back to support our local veterans. There are so many choices to take your donation and they all would be grateful. Some can take ripped and stained items, others can’t, just ask.
Happy purging! If this task is too much for you to tackle alone, call Organize This! And let the professional help you.
