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January is often the time of year when many of us think about cleaning out items that no longer serve us – and that includes clothing! If you’re in the mood to clean out your closet, here are some of my top tips:

3 Easy Steps for Cleaning Out Your Closet from Style For Today

1 – Organize by Category

It can seem super overwhelming looking at all the clothing in your closet and drawers, but going through them in segments organized by clothing type ensures you don’t miss anything and helps to lessen the mental overwhelm.

If you can’t go through your entire closet in one day, try breaking it up into manageable chunks, like dresses one day, bottoms the next, etc.

2 – Keep What You Love

When you’re going through items, instead of trying to reason with yourself about whether you may need it in the future, or you paid too much for it to now give it away, ask yourself this one question: Do I LOVE this?

If you’re not sure, take each item out of the closet or drawer, hold it, feel it, try it on – and THEN ask yourself if you REALLY love it. Keeping only the items you truly love makes getting dressed much easier because you won’t be constantly flicking through items you dislike. (And if you’re having a really hard time getting rid of items, check out my list of excuse busters below).

3 – Get Rid of What You Don’t Want

Trash items that have holes, stains, etc. Unless it’s an item that you LOVE and it has something like a small tear that a tailor could fix, put it in the trash. (And don’t procrastinate getting those items to the tailor!)

Donate items that are good quality. Consider checking out local non-profits that give the clothes to those who need them versus selling them. They usually have a special need for professional clothes, warm clothes and pajamas.  (Side note: I find great joy in knowing that I am donating items to give them a ‘new life.’ I may not have a need for a certain suit anymore, but knowing that a woman who is getting back on her feet could wear it to a job interview makes me happy to part with it.)

Sell or swap items that are still in great condition. EBay is a good place for selling name brand items and ThredUp is another new option for earning some cash for used clothing.  And if you want to really have fun, grab a few bottles of wine and have your girlfriends over for a swap party!

Excuse Busters

Do you have a bunch of excuses of why you “need” certain items (even though you don’t LOVE them)? Check out my list of Excuse Busters below:

Excuse Solution
I don’t like it, but its trendy. Don’t wear clothes you don’t like. Period. (Unless it’s a bridesmaid dress or a uniform for your job.)
I “might” need this in the future/I “might” wear it some day/This would be perfect for a trip that I “might” want to take next year. If you don’t love it now, get rid of it. Let’s be real – 99% of the time, when the time comes around that we thought we would wear something, we go shopping for new items anyway.
I paid a lot for it. Unless you bought it recently (in which case, return it!), donate it. If it’s been a while and it’s still in good condition, try selling it.
It’ll fit when I lose 10 pounds. Don’t keep any clothing around that makes you feel bad. And bonus: when you lose 10 pounds you can buy all new clothes!
It has sentimental value (my mother bought it for me, I wore this on an important day, etc.). It’s important to remember that clothes don’t hold memories, they’re merely a symbol of the memories in our hearts. Snap a quick photo on your phone of the item so you’ll have it to look at later if you want to go down memory lane. 😉

PS – I drew inspiration for this post from Marie Kondo’s book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. If you haven’t read it already – check it out! It’s a great book to help guide you in your organization of not only your closet, but your entire house.

Comment below and let me know if these tips are helpful!

And if you’d like more useful style tips, be sure to sign up for my email list where I send out new style inspiration every Sunday night.

xo, Caitlin

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