I hate to admit it, but September is here, which means Fall is upon us very soon. That means it’s time to revisit your wardrobe and do a good purge of your clothing closet. Here are some tips to help get you on your way.
Start by pulling everything out of the closet – and I mean absolutely everything. As with any good organizing project, you will make a mess before you get to that beautifully organized space that you envision but this step is an absolute must.
Ask yourself the tough questions
- Does this piece add value to my life?
- When was the last time I wore this piece of clothing?
- How does this piece make me feel?
Begin to Let Go
- The items that you had totally forgotten you had should be the first to go.
- Remove clothing that doesn’t fit, flatter you, or you just plain don’t like.
- If you feel any type of negative energy, including guilt over something you should be able to fit into, now is the time to purge those pieces.
- If you haven’t worn it in a year, you probably never will, so let it go!
Editing a Professional Wardrobe
If you have recently retired, editing your professional wardrobe can be especially difficult as you are letting go of that part of your life. You will need to acknowledge that you are never going back and that’s not easy.
- Donate to someone who couldn’t otherwise afford those clothes.
- Consider a charity like Dress for Success.
- Keep standalone pieces such as a dressy jacket that could be paired with a casual dress or even a pair of jeans.
Get Donations Out of the House
I would strongly suggest that all the things you have designated as garbage or giveaway get loaded into the car for charity drop off and garbage taken out to your garbage area immediately.
If you don’t do this, you may start to pull things out of the bags that you have decided to let go of because you have second thoughts.
Organizing Your Clothing
- Organize your wardrobe with all tops together, pants together, sweaters together, etc.
- Hang your clothes instead of folding them if at all possible. It’s quick and easy and you can see everything you have.
- Please, I beg you, use matching hangers. Preferably velvet or wooden rather than plastic.
- If necessary, consider changing the design of your closets to give you more hanging space
- If you have the time and inclination to fold your clothing that can work but only if you plan to maintain the folding.
- To better manage open shelving and avoid the need for perfect folding, buy some bins to fit the shelves. Label them and simply toss like items into the bin.
- Be warned, long open shelves require more upkeep than drawers. Adding drawer units to a closet can be life changing.
Once you’ve put everything away and taken what you don’t want to donation, then you can call your project finished. I can’t stress the importance of one hundred percent finished enough. If you don’t get to that stage of completion, it is likely your closet will go back to its messy state.
Here’s another helpful post about whether or not to rotate your wardrobe.
If you are stumped with how to design and organize your closet(s), please contact me right away. I love a good closet project and would be thrilled to help you with yours.