One of the best steps you can take when downsizing or moving is learning how to declutter your clothes. Clothing is something we tend to keep around for a long time, sometimes well past its usefulness. As styles and waistlines change, we hang onto old pieces with the idea that they’ll come back into fashion or complete some future outfit.
Whether you’re downsizing for a big move, or just want some extra space in your closet, here are 5 tips for how to declutter your clothes:
1. Put EVERYTHING together in one pile
Borrowing a piece of advice from Marie Kondo, the first step to decluttering your clothes is putting EVERYTHING in one pile. This pile should even include the seasonal items you’ve stored away in other parts of your house. Doing this will turn your closet and storage bins into blank canvases.
Admittedly, this is a big first step. But it helps to get all your clothing in the open before starting to declutter. Often, our wardrobes get out of control because we store it away in so many different places. By gathering everything together like this, you guarantee that your declutter will make a big impact.
If you don’t have the space to gather every item of clothing together, you can break the process down by category. Do all of your tops one day, bottoms the next, coats after that, and so on and so on.
2. Assess each item individually
Once you have everything together, it’s time to dive in. Consider each item individually and ask yourself some of the following questions:
- Do you still love it?
- Are you comfortable and confident wearing it?
- Have you worn it in the past year?
If you answered yes to any of these, that’s an item worth keeping!
- Is it damaged or worn in some way?
- Has it become uncomfortable to wear?
- Have you NOT worn it in the past year?
If you answered yes to any of these, that’s an item you can comfortably give away.
3. Organize what you keep
Once you know what you’re keeping, you must put these items back in an organized way. Group like items together so that you’ll always know where things are and where they should go when you put them back. Keeping things organized is how you get the most out of your decluttering project.
In an ideal world, you’ll have decluttered enough to have all your clothing in one place, making organizing simple (and any future decluttering projects even simpler)!
4. Find a home for everything else immediately
This is an essential part of how to declutter your clothes. Even after deciding what items to get rid of, people will keep them around in boxes and bags for months. This completely defeats the purpose of decluttering these things in the first place!
Depending on the condition of the clothing, there are several things you can do with items you’re decluttering. Consider reselling, donating, or recycling old clothing.
5. Add a donation bin to your closet
Once you’ve decluttered your clothes and found new homes for everything you’re not keeping, you can start some new practices to keep the decluttering energy going.
Since you now likely have some extra space in your closet, consider adding a donation bin. Whenever you find yourself having second thoughts about whether or not you still love an item, you can add it straight to the bin rather than hanging it back up. Once the container is nearly full, sort the clothes and get rid of them!
Congratulations! If you’ve followed each of these tips, you’ve learned how to declutter your clothes.
Likely, you're not the only person in your family that could benefit from these 5 tips for how to declutter your clothes. Every member of your family should go through this process for their wardrobe! The earlier everyone learns these practices, the easier it is to keep your home's clothing situation under control.
Watch three more clothing downsizing tips from Jaime!
