Cleaning your closet can be exhausting and stressful, especially if you have too many clothes, footwear, and accessories, among other items. Here’s how to do it:
- Organize
The first thing to do is to organize your clothes, footwear, and accessories. Have a couple of big boxes ready for the items you plan to sell and donate and a bin bag for those you are throwing in the trash. The best way to make a decision about where these items should go is to follow the so-called “one year” timetable, meaning if an item has not been worn for a whole year, you should donate or sell it.
If 12 months – or more – have passed and you haven’t even worn a particular item, it is more than likely that you won’t even wear it at all. Try on each dress, pair of shoes, scarf, belt, etc. and see if it still fits or you really don’t like how it looks on you anymore; then you can discard it and put it in the bin bag for proper disposal, donate or sell it.
The next time you buy anything new, make sure you dispose of another item that’s been sitting in your closet for ages and will probably not see another outing. This will help free some space in your closet, not to mention extra cash if you sell the item or a smile from a recipient who couldn’t be happier than getting something like a pea coat, fedora or belt worn once or not at all.
- Clean the Inside of Closets, Drawers, and Cabinets
Okay, you have emptied out your closet, no go and wipe down everything such as racks and shelves. Vacuum the hard-to-reach places that you usually cram with accessories. Disinfect your shoe racks if you must. If you plan to wet clean the inside of your closets, drawers, and cabinets, make sure that these are completely and thoroughly dry before you place all your stuff back in; you don’t want molds growing in them.
- Have Storage Containers Ready
Draw dividers, shoe holders made of canvas material, and extra scarf and belt hooks require an organized closet. There is a plethora of storage containers available in-store and online that can reduce the amount of stress you have to go through when picking out what to wear every morning for school or work. Choose stackable storage containers to save space.
Coat hangers also free up the room when you put all your stuff back in. You should organize your items according to your preference. If you find it easier to color code your clothes and footwear, go ahead. You can organize everything by season as well or you can categorize everything into pants, short dresses, casual tops, long dresses, flats, heels, swimwear, wedges, etc.
- Enlist the Help of a Friend
Admittedly, all of us have certain emotional attachments even to clothes, footwear, and accessories. These can prevent you from letting go of items that once meant so much to you but no longer wear. Keeping that pair of size 24-inch jeans when you were in college will just occupy space since your waistline has expanded three or four inches more.
The storage space in your wardrobe should house items that you use right now, not those that you might use if your diet works. While some people argue that keeping clothes in the sizes which you once were is a motivation to lose weight, ask yourself: “how long have I kept these items without losing the extra pounds?” You might be surprised that most, if not all, of these items have had their second or third birthdays.
- Dispose of Your Donated Items ASAP
The temptation is great to sneak some items right back, so dispose of your donated items ASAP. A final note on donations: clothes that are torn, soiled, missing zippers or buttons, and faded shouldn’t be donated. Just because the recipients aren’t paying for them doesn’t mean you can give anything in its worst condition. Would you wear a top that has been eaten away by moths? The recipient wouldn’t either.
