How to Spring Clean Your Closet

We’ve finally enjoyed a few days of spring weather, and I feel like a new woman! I’ve lit my lemon-mint candle, I’ve painted my nails pastel, and I’m forging ahead with spring cleaning! One of the areas in my home that needs the most TLC is my closet. Opening your closet shouldn’t stress you out. You probably open it multiple times a day! Today I’m sharing how I go through my clothes and accessories to keep my wardrobe well-curated and my closet de-cluttered.

Eliminate Obstacles

This is my number one approach to getting rid of clothes. Every item in your closet should be something you can easily and comfortably wear. As you go through your clothes, note any obstacles that keep you from wearing them. Examples include:

-It’s itchy or uncomfortable. You’ll never wear it, and if you do, you’ll be miserable all day.

-You can only wear it with a certain bra. In my experience, that certain bra is usually uncomfortable and may require an engineering degree to put on. You’re never going to feel like going through the trouble to make it look just right and ensure no wardrobe malfunctions throughout the day.

-It only goes with one other thing in your closet (i.e. you can only make one outfit with it). I have a rule that every item in my closet has to be able to pull at least double duty. I have to be able to wear it two different places, wear it alone in summer and layered in winter, or be able to pair it with several other items in my wardrobe.

-It doesn’t fit. If something doesn’t fit, you can’t wear it. If you do wear it, you’re going to be self conscious. And every time you pass it up in your closet, it’s going to chip away at your self esteem. You’re clothes aren’t allowed to do that to you!

As you are going through and picking out your outfit for each day, if there is something you consistently skip over for any of those reasons or others, get rid of it. This will reduce so much stress in your every day routine.

Don’t get sentimental

Clothes are for wearing, not for looking at. You may have had a wonderful time in that corset-back bridesmaid’s dress, but chances are you don’t have any hand-maidens to help you get dressed in the morning. I have to remind myself that I can keep the memories without keeping the physical item. If there are items in your wardrobe that you’re only keeping because of sentimentality but you never wear them, that’s called hoarding. Choose a select few that you will wear or pass down and let go of the rest.

Make the best of your space

Andrew and I have shared a closet since we got married. The closets in our townhouse are small, so we kept our out-of-season clothes in the guest closet. No matter what we did, our closet never looked clean and there never seemed to be enough space. This year we realized we weren’t using our space efficiently. We consolidated all my stuff into the master closet and Andrew took the guest closet. Now each of our clothes are in one place and we’re not elbow to elbow trying to get ready in the mornings. Whatever space you have, make it work for you. It doesn’t have to look like Pinterest, it just needs to be functional. For example, the trend in organizing right now is to have all matching hangers. But I found that the no-slip hangers stretch out some shirts, so I use a mix of no-slip and plastic hangers. No one would Pin this photo, but this is what works for me. List out the problems with your closet, list out how you need your closet to function and what you need storage for, and compare those two lists to find solutions.

Remember that you don’t have to clean your closet all at once. Curating my wardrobe is something I do continually throughout the year. So when it’s time for spring cleaning, it’s not such a huge undertaking. Have a spot for donations in your house where you can let things collect until you’re able to make a drop off. As you get ready each morning, make note of clothes you always pass up. If you wear a pair of shoes and you’re uncomfortable all day, don’t put them back in your closet. Toss them or take them to the donate pile. Life is too short, y’all!

I promise when you get your closet cleaned out you will feel such a weight lifted off your shoulders. Getting ready will be so much easier and you’ll be free of some clutter. If you take on the challenge, tag me in your before and after pictures on social media!