Closet Organizers: 5 Ways to Clean Out Your Closet

I have worked with many people helping them to organize their closets. When they run out of storage space for their clothes, they call for help, and one of the most asked questions is – how do they clean out their clothes and get rid of items? More often than not, they are either too attached to things for sentimental reasons, they think their weight will change and they’ll need clothes to fit into again or they simply have a hard time parting with their clothes. If you’re one of these people, here are five tips that will help you clean out your closet:

1 – The Hanger Trick: Place all of the hangers on the rods backwards. Whenever you wear an article of clothing and wash it or bring it home from the dry cleaner, place it back on a hanger and hang it normally. After a period of time (a seasonal change, 6 months, etc.) remove all of the clothes from hangers that are still backwards.

2 – The Storage Trick: Go through your closet and remove all articles of clothing that you haven’t worn in the last year, and place them into large garbage bags. Pick a date – a few months or a year into the future – and place the bags in the garage. If you miss an article of clothing, go through the bag(s) to find what you are looking for, but only get that one item. If you do not miss anything, give the bags away on the date you chose.

3 – Get Help From A Friend: Grab your favorite drink and your best friend, and give them a fashion show. Let them give you a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on everything you show them. If you get a thumbs-down, give that piece away.

4 – Color Coordinate Everything: Determine how much you want to reduce your wardrobe. Is it 10%, 20% or even 25%? Organize all of your clothes according to color. Look at everything that’s blue and choose those items that you love. Eliminate the percentage of clothes that you selected. For example, if you want to eliminate 25%, remove one out of every four blue shirts. Repeat with each color.

5 – Organize By Type Of Clothing: Organize all of your clothes according to type – T-shirts, sweatshirts, work shirts, pants, etc. and decide how many of that type you want. If you want to keep eight sweatshirts, select your top-eight sweatshirts and store them in the closet. Everything left over should be donated.

These are very effective ways to clean out your closet. Once you do this, your closet will feel light and it’ll finally be organized. Don’t be surprised if you notice each morning starts out on a positive note that affects your entire day.