How many times have you been befuddled by how difficult it is to find something to wear when your closet space is so full?
It’s a very common problem and something that’s bound to happen if it’s been awhile since you last set aside some time for a closet purge.
But enough is enough. You’re tired of dealing with your untidy closets every day, so it’s time to simplify things by streamlining your wardrobe and making a few tough choices about what’s worthy of your closet space.
Why an occasional closet purge is a good thing
Think of a closet purge as hitting the reset button on your closet space. Closets are a busy, ever-changing space that need some occasional maintenance in order for you to get the most out of them.
A “less is more” approach to how much you’re keeping in the closet tends to be more effective when it comes to making efficient use of the time you spend choosing what to wear every day.
Having too many things to choose from taxes your brain and, naturally, slows down your decision-making process. This is known as “choice paralysis”, “decision paralysis”, or “analysis paralysis”.
It’s not unique to closets, either. Just think of how many times you’ve struggled to make a decision when choosing from a lengthy restaurant menu, when shopping online or in a grocery store, or even when trying to find something to watch from the thousands of choices on Netflix.
With a little time and care, you can get your wardrobe down to a more manageable size and remove one element of stress from your day, so getting dressed can be a pleasure and not a chore.
Here are three tips that can help when you take on your closet purge.
1. Take an approach that works for you
A closet purge can be time-consuming and daunting. The simple act of fully committing to your closet purge project is a great first step on your path to success with this endeavour.
Make sure to schedule a sufficient amount of time to devote to your closet purge, preferably with as few interruptions or distractions as possible.
Work, parental, or household responsibilities (or all three) may severely limit your free time, necessitating a slower “chipping away” at your closet decluttering process.
Devoting a full day to the project in order to get the task over with quickly may be an approach that works better for you.
This method tends to be more effective because you can sharpen your focus on the task at hand and be little more thorough with your closet purge. For example, you can empty out everything from your closet, give the closet a good cleaning, and let it air out.
It’s always a good idea to enlist a little help in order to lighten the workload and speed up the purging process.
Be prepared with boxes or bins for the purged clothing that you wish to donate.
Remember to pace yourself and take some breaks. Let’s face it, a closet purge can be a rather mundane and laborious task, but it is a necessary one.
2. Make some tough choices
You’ll undoubtedly be faced with numerous tough choices when carrying out your closet purge. What stays and what goes? A common worry is that you’ll get rid of too many things, but that’s better than getting rid of too little.
Those choices can get even more difficult when strong emotions like sentimentality and pride are factored in.
Inevitably, a closet will find itself occupied by:
- clothing that no longer fits
- items that are barely worn (or have never been worn)
- clothing that no longer aligns with your style
- things that don’t “spark joy” like they once did
- duplicate items
- damaged clothing that’s not worth repairing
It’s particularly difficult to get rid of those never-worn clothing items that were too-good-a-deal to pass up. Doing so feels wasteful, but try to look at it from a different perspective.
Is something you have no personal connection to, that couldn’t even make its way into your wardrobe rotation, really worth feeling that guilty over?
Chalk up the purchase as a mistake and sunk cost and add it to your “donate” pile. A charity will benefit from your donation and a stranger can hopefully get more out of it than you did. And your closet space will have one less piece of clutter in it.
Your closet purge can also involve simply making smarter use of the storage space. Are items taking up hanging space that could be stored in drawers, such as t-shirts or jeans?
Unless you have a comfortable amount of storage space for them, out-of-season clothing should also be stored somewhere besides your bedroom closet in order to allow for more room for your seasonally appropriate wardrobe items.
3. Reorganize and live with your curated closet for awhile
Once your closet purge is completed, hopefully you’ll have a lot more closet space and have whittled down your wardrobe to a size that’s more practical and balanced for your needs.
With the luxury of more room, you can reorganize your closet with whatever method you prefer, whether it’s colour coordinating or grouping like items together. A closet organizer system that maximizes your wardrobe storage space is well worth the investment.
It may be tempting to take advantage of the opened-up space by adding a few new pieces, but try to live with your curated closet for a little while before going on a clothes shopping spree.
Identify and make note of some possible future clothing needs and you may even find that you can shed a few more items from your collection over the weeks following your closet purge.
It’s okay (and quite likely) to have some items that you’re “on the fence” about getting rid of. For those items, put them through the “turned clothes hanger” test.
This simple, yet clever idea involves hanging any clothing you’re unsure about parting with the opposite way you’d normally hang them. If you wear any of these items, hang them up the proper way.
Revisit your wardrobe after a set amount of time (about 4-6 months) and look at which of the clothing items never got worn. If there was no need or urgency to wear something after all that time, you shouldn’t be as conflicted getting rid of it.
Consider closet upgrades after your closet purge
A closet purge once a year helps to maintain the functionality and efficiency of this vital home storage space.
To make your now-decluttered closet even more functional and easy to maintain, schedule a free design consultation with Organized Interiors today.
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