We keep a lot of memories in our closets: the dress we wore when we were at that “perfect” size, those high heels that hurt our feet but we can’t get rid of them because they cost so much, and especially those jeans that we are determined to get back into.
In fact, most people only wear 20% of the clothes in their closets.
If you keep focusing on what you were in the past you have no time to think about the present or the future. And your closet may be reminding you every morning of what you were instead of what you are. What kind of way is that to start the day?
The Initial Purge
The first step in a closet declutter is an initial purge. You won’t get all of it on this go-round, but you should be able to make a big dent in the 80% of clothes that you don’t actually wear.
A few guidelines for a successful closet purge:
- Haven’t you worn it in the last 12 months? Donate it to someone who can use it.
- Is it completely out of style or the wrong look for you? Get rid of it.
- Are there any tears, stains or broken zippers? If you haven’t fixed it by now, you aren’t going to. Toss it.
- Do you really wear all of those shoes? Donate the ones you don’t actually use.
- Belts, scarves, hats – people either wear them or they don’t. If you don’t, get rid of them.
By now you have a pile of clothes and shoes on your bed ready for donation or the dumpster. But we still have a few steps to go.
Over the next few posts we’ll talk about organizing your closet for ongoing decluttering, color-sorting to make your closet easier to use, and options for donating/selling your clothing.
Closet Declutter Challenge
Are you up for a little contest? Because I’d love to give away a prize.
Take before/after pictures of your closet project and send them to me (with permission to publish on the blog). We’ll take a vote from all the readers and the winner will receive a $50 American Express gift card.
The rules:
- Three pictures are required: before, after, and picture of your “purge pile.” You can email me at btalbot (at) marriedwithluggage (dot) com.
- You must give me written permission in your email entry to publish the pictures on the blog along with the name you want me to use.
- Entries must be received by Monday, April 27, 2009 at 5 pm Pacific.
- Voting will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the winner announced on Thursday, April 30.
Are you in? Announce it in the comments so I can support you!
To get links to all of this month’s decluttering articles, click here.
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Betsy Talbot writes about carving the lifestyle you want out of life you already have. When she’s not writing, she’s paring down, saving up, and getting ready for a year of travel with her husband.
About Betsy
Okay Betsy- your "before" photo looks like an "after" to me!
Hey, I’ve already been through the closet 12-step program!
Seriously, this does not come naturally to me, and for many years I had a messy closet. Today this is as messy as it gets, and it has been easy to maintain for almost 2 years now. Stay tuned this week and I’ll show you how I did it – and how you can, too.
Betsy, I tackled my closet yesterday and had no mercy.
Skinny jeans I haven’t worn for 3 years? My butt has moved on, and now – so have they. I also got rid of umpteen pairs of shoes, my kids’ old ratty back packs, junky out-of-season clothes, 3 broken lamps, a suitcase and a duffle bag.
Seriously – my life was in danger every time I opened the damn closet door. I
Wish I’d taken a “before†picture, because surely I could have won the $50. Oh well – I got my peace of mind back instead!
Lynn, good for you! You must feel 20 pounds lighter for doing this. How much nicer will it be to start every day with a closet that says " fabulous me!" instead of one that says "what I used to be"?
(One of the best cards I ever received said "skinny jeans are for little boys and women who only eat crackers.")
Betsy… OK. I took your challenge and have attached my before, after, and recycle pile. The recycle pile contains 11 pair of pants, 1 sport coat, 1 suite, and 12 shirts. I’m sure a smaller person will be able to use them better than me and yes I feel a lot better now.
Thank you for the inspiration to just “do itâ€. As an extra bonus, my wife is much happier now that my section of the closet looks so much neater.
As part of my new “authentic self†marketing plan, you are welcome to display my clutter to the entire world. …Howad
And Howard takes the lead! Nice work. You have some great clothes for donation, your wife is happier, and you will find it easier to get dressed in the morning by seeing all the clothes that fit the you that you are right now – your most "evolved" you. Doesn’t that feel great?
You guys aren’t going to let him win the contest that easily, are you? Feel free to state your participation even if you don’t send me pictures until next Monday. I’ll be posting next Tuesday and we’ll all be voting on the best decluttered closet. You don’t have to be as brave as Howard in stating your real name if you’re afraid it will get you a visit from Niecy Nash on Clean House.
Betsy- I already wrote this, but it didn’t stick- I don’t know why. If it comes up twice, you can delete one for me.
So- I’m not going to enter the contest because 1) I don’t think I’d be a good non-consumer example to my readers if I was trying to win a gift card, and 2) in our 1920s house, the closets are so small that my "closet" is actually 2 armoires, a chest, and a teeny tiny closet, so not good for photos.
But I did attack it all yesterday, and came up with 2 bags for my clothing swap, 2 bags for Goodwill, and here’s the funny part- a brand new pair of never-used running shoes!
I thought I’d try to do it for 15 minutes, but then I just ended up ploughing through. It felt great because since I haven’t bought anything new, the spaces weren’t jampacked and overflowing.
thanks for the nudge.
Good for you, Angela! You just saved a ton of money by rediscovering those running shoes! And I’m so glad you mentioned the clothing swap – we’ll be talking more about those as an donation option later this week.
I understand your reasoning for not participating in the official contest, but I did set it up with an Amex gift card because it can be used as cash – you can use it for groceries or any of your regular expenses just as easily as buying a new item. After all this decluttering I don’t want to advocate buying something new, but it would be nice to celebrate with some steaks for the grill, or a nice(r) bottle of wine, or a night at the movies with popcorn (the concession stand alone could run someone $50!). Basically a nicer version of something you would be doing already.
Of course, the how the prize is spent is up to the winner, those are just my thoughts if I had been the winner.
So far Howard is in the lead, and since he made his wife so happy with the closet clean-out I’ll bet he’s planning to take her out for dinner. You guys aren’t going to let him win that easily, are you?
All of us have different ways of organizing so make your system unique to you. This will help you stick with returning items to their proper location in the closet.