I don’t know about you guys, but every time spring comes around, I get this natural urge to clean and organize my home. I’ve been tackling areas around the house one by one for a few weeks now, and a few days ago I decided to take on the closet. I managed to get rid of two large plastic bags worth of clothes, and about six handbags (this was very hard, I’m totally a handbag girl), and I was super proud of myself. My closet is all refreshed now and there’s room for a couple of new items, which is always a good thing. Today I thought I’d share a checklist with you that you can use when cleaning out your closet.
First, pull everything out of your closet. Clean all surfaces with an all-purpose cleaner, and vacuum the inside of drawers. It’s a hassle, but it really needs to happen at least once a year.
Now that the cleaning is done, it’s time to thoroughly sort through your clothing. With every item you pick up, ask yourself these questions:
– Do I like this item?
– Do/will I wear this item?
– Does this item flatter me?
Be 100% honest with yourself. If the answer is no to any of these, re-think whether you want or need this item in your life. If the answer is no to two or more of these, get rid of the item. If the piece is still wearable, give it to a friend or relative, or donate it to a charity. If the piece is broken or badly stained, recycle it.
– Is this item suitable for the season to come?
If the piece is out of season and you won’t be able to or want to wear it, store it away for now. This will create more breathing space in your closet and help prolong the life of the items you’re storing. I personally love using those vacuum bags that suck the air out of your clothing and make it easy to store lots of items very flatly (you can fit loads of them under the bed), but you could use plastic boxes or any other type of storage you have available.
If you love and wear the piece and it is in season, it can go back into your closet.
– Fold sweaters, T-shirts, jeans & shorts
– Fold your underwear (trust me, it makes all the difference)
– Hang dresses, coats, blazers, and any other items that can’t be folded
When hanging up items, decide on a system you find practical. I like to hang my items purely by colour since I have a small closet, but if you have a large walk-in closet I can imagine you’d like to hang your clothes by type (dress, top, jacket, etc.) or type and colour. A gradient from light to dark or a rainbow looks cute and also makes the closet look more organized and easy on the eyes.
And that’s it! Your closet is now ready for spring. It’s quite a tough process, cleaning out the closet, a lot of decision-making is involved and I often find myself pretty exhausted by the end of it, but looking at a clean, organized closet full of ready-to-wear items is so rewarding, it makes the whole thing totally worth it. Good luck!
Loved this, you definitely should do more of these articles!