Happy Leap Day!
I don't really understand why we have Leap Day, but it's here again after a 4-year hiatus. I mentioned yesterday that I wanted to do a post on closet organization and paring down, and since today would be March 1st, AND the fact that it is supposed to 60 here today (???), I thought today would be good. Spring is coming, my friends, and though there will still be some chilly days ahead I'm sure, but why not do a little Spring Cleaning????
I've had a couple boxes of clothes in my basement that I've tried to get rid of by letting girls in Delta look through it when I was moving out of the house last year and also taking it to Plato's Closet. They took about 7 things, which didn't help me much. So, they have been sitting in my basement since then, waiting to be donated or just thrown out. But I can't throw anything out because some of the clothes are really cute and in really good condition! I just don't wear them anymore!
After I cleaned my room, I decided it was time to go through my closet yet again and weed out a few more things. Not only will I have more space, but now that I work at The Limited, there are certain things I can't wear to work and thus won't be wearing much of at all anymore. Yes, I did manage to find many things that I a) haven't worn in over a year, b) haven't worn in the last year, or c) bought them within in the last year and have only worn them once or twice! Pathetic. So, I took 'em out.
If you're anything like me, however, getting rid of clothing can be difficult. Not only is there the amount of money you may have spent on something, but there's some kind emotional attachment between a girl and her clothes. And you think, "Well, I may need this for that one specific outfit that I just might wear one day." So, you keep it. And it sits there. And you STILL never wear it.
So that being said, don't just go crazy and start throwing things out, you don't have to do that. But have a thought process when going through your closet! Here are some tips for getting down to what you need:
1. Go through your closet and try on things. If it doesn't fit perfectly, you're never going to wear it, even if it's cute. You will want to keep it because it's cute, but don't fall for its charms, because something that doesn't fit YOU right should not be in your closet. Trust me, because I've done this. And I never wore said item of clothing. Just give it to someone else and buy a new version of it that fits you!
2. Automatically take out anything you haven't worn in over a year. That seems impossible, but trust me, you know you have a few things you keep that you think you'll wear one day but you never do.
3. For anything you have worn in the past year but maybe only a few time (and therefore you are on the fence about it), have a good friend come and help you make your decision. Chances are, they know exactly what you wear and therefore know what you don't wear. Your friend can give you an outside perspective and really let you know what you wear and don't wear. If you're with them a lot and they have never seen that certain blouse or skirt, maybe you never wear it and therefore should get rid of it.
4. Really think about what you wear now and not what you wore a few years back and still hold on to. I tend to gravitate towards skinny jeans, simple tees and pretty blouses, and blazers. I am obsessed with blazers. They are the only jackets I really wear. So I had to get rid of some other really cute jackets that I had but never wore because I always reached for that blazer.
5. To save space, buy "hanging shelves" from Walmart or Target. I've had mine since I moved in to my freshman dorm, and boy did I need it then, and I've needed it a few more times since. It's a set of vertical cloth cubbies that can hang on your closet pole, and really really helps if you have a small closet. I have jeans folded in one cubby, other bottoms in others, and sweatshirts folded in the others. That way, all of my nice tops and skirts and such can be hung up in the rest of the closet!
6. Another way to save space and de-clutter your closet is to take out seasonal items and store them somewhere. When Spring is really here, I am going to store my puffy jacket, pea coat, and winter scarves and hats in a box and put it in my basement because I don't want to have to shove them aside whenever I'm trying to find something to wear for warmer weather. I'll probably put my sweaters in that same box, too! And same for when it's cold again - switch out your shorts, tanks, sundresses, etc for those sweaters and jackets, and everything will be much simpler and easier when you're getting dressed.
7. For shoes, either get a shoes rack to sit on the bottom of your closet, or one that hangs over your door. I have stuff on my door, so I just line up my pretty high heels and boots at the bottom of my closet so I can see them, and store flats and sandals and the heels I don't wear as much in a 3-drawer bin that sits next to my desk. If you can, put shelves in your closet as a better way to display them. I would love to put a big shelf above my closet rack, but I'm too lazy, haha.
8. When you've weeded out what you don't want or need anymore, organize your closet in sections. I did it by the article of clothing (dresses, skirts, sweaters, etc.) and then by the color of those items within that category. For dresses and skirts I did it a little different. I organized my dresses by what kind of occasion I'd wear them for (cocktail, formal, casual) and I organized my skirts by the volume and length of the skirt. So that means full, knee-length skirts together, pencil skirts together, shorter full skirts together, and then short and tight skirts together. Voila.
So yes, I did follow my rules and was able to weed out some super cute cardigans that are basically brand new because I've worn them about 5 times put together but could never get rid of them because I just love cardigans. Which is why I bought them in the first place, because yes, I do wear cardis a lot. However, I don't know why I bought a light orange one like the one I had from h&m. I never wear orange. I guess I just thought I needed one in every color of the rainbow?? Who knows.
This wasn't a huge pare-down because the bigger one was last Fall. There were some seriously cute things I decided to get rid of, and even though some of them were still in boxes in my basement, I never actually wanted to wear them even though I had the opportunity, so I knew my decision was right. I had some more friends come by my house to look through my boxes of clothes and was able to get rid of a lot of them that way. I don't mind donating them, but I love that I can actually see them being worn on other people! That makes me feel better about getting rid of my clothes because I know someone who needs them and wants them is wearing thiem. Today, I will be taking the rest and donating them to people that need them even more then my friends and I do.
So I challenge you to do some Spring Cleaning and go through your closet! Trust me, it will make your life easier because you won't have as many things to decide on when you're trying to figure out what to wear. Your clothes won't be crammed together and you'll actually be able to see all of them!
I hope this post helps someone... good luck cleaning your closet! :)
I don't really understand why we have Leap Day, but it's here again after a 4-year hiatus. I mentioned yesterday that I wanted to do a post on closet organization and paring down, and since today would be March 1st, AND the fact that it is supposed to 60 here today (???), I thought today would be good. Spring is coming, my friends, and though there will still be some chilly days ahead I'm sure, but why not do a little Spring Cleaning????
I've had a couple boxes of clothes in my basement that I've tried to get rid of by letting girls in Delta look through it when I was moving out of the house last year and also taking it to Plato's Closet. They took about 7 things, which didn't help me much. So, they have been sitting in my basement since then, waiting to be donated or just thrown out. But I can't throw anything out because some of the clothes are really cute and in really good condition! I just don't wear them anymore!
After I cleaned my room, I decided it was time to go through my closet yet again and weed out a few more things. Not only will I have more space, but now that I work at The Limited, there are certain things I can't wear to work and thus won't be wearing much of at all anymore. Yes, I did manage to find many things that I a) haven't worn in over a year, b) haven't worn in the last year, or c) bought them within in the last year and have only worn them once or twice! Pathetic. So, I took 'em out.
If you're anything like me, however, getting rid of clothing can be difficult. Not only is there the amount of money you may have spent on something, but there's some kind emotional attachment between a girl and her clothes. And you think, "Well, I may need this for that one specific outfit that I just might wear one day." So, you keep it. And it sits there. And you STILL never wear it.
So that being said, don't just go crazy and start throwing things out, you don't have to do that. But have a thought process when going through your closet! Here are some tips for getting down to what you need:
1. Go through your closet and try on things. If it doesn't fit perfectly, you're never going to wear it, even if it's cute. You will want to keep it because it's cute, but don't fall for its charms, because something that doesn't fit YOU right should not be in your closet. Trust me, because I've done this. And I never wore said item of clothing. Just give it to someone else and buy a new version of it that fits you!
2. Automatically take out anything you haven't worn in over a year. That seems impossible, but trust me, you know you have a few things you keep that you think you'll wear one day but you never do.
3. For anything you have worn in the past year but maybe only a few time (and therefore you are on the fence about it), have a good friend come and help you make your decision. Chances are, they know exactly what you wear and therefore know what you don't wear. Your friend can give you an outside perspective and really let you know what you wear and don't wear. If you're with them a lot and they have never seen that certain blouse or skirt, maybe you never wear it and therefore should get rid of it.
4. Really think about what you wear now and not what you wore a few years back and still hold on to. I tend to gravitate towards skinny jeans, simple tees and pretty blouses, and blazers. I am obsessed with blazers. They are the only jackets I really wear. So I had to get rid of some other really cute jackets that I had but never wore because I always reached for that blazer.
5. To save space, buy "hanging shelves" from Walmart or Target. I've had mine since I moved in to my freshman dorm, and boy did I need it then, and I've needed it a few more times since. It's a set of vertical cloth cubbies that can hang on your closet pole, and really really helps if you have a small closet. I have jeans folded in one cubby, other bottoms in others, and sweatshirts folded in the others. That way, all of my nice tops and skirts and such can be hung up in the rest of the closet!
6. Another way to save space and de-clutter your closet is to take out seasonal items and store them somewhere. When Spring is really here, I am going to store my puffy jacket, pea coat, and winter scarves and hats in a box and put it in my basement because I don't want to have to shove them aside whenever I'm trying to find something to wear for warmer weather. I'll probably put my sweaters in that same box, too! And same for when it's cold again - switch out your shorts, tanks, sundresses, etc for those sweaters and jackets, and everything will be much simpler and easier when you're getting dressed.
7. For shoes, either get a shoes rack to sit on the bottom of your closet, or one that hangs over your door. I have stuff on my door, so I just line up my pretty high heels and boots at the bottom of my closet so I can see them, and store flats and sandals and the heels I don't wear as much in a 3-drawer bin that sits next to my desk. If you can, put shelves in your closet as a better way to display them. I would love to put a big shelf above my closet rack, but I'm too lazy, haha.
8. When you've weeded out what you don't want or need anymore, organize your closet in sections. I did it by the article of clothing (dresses, skirts, sweaters, etc.) and then by the color of those items within that category. For dresses and skirts I did it a little different. I organized my dresses by what kind of occasion I'd wear them for (cocktail, formal, casual) and I organized my skirts by the volume and length of the skirt. So that means full, knee-length skirts together, pencil skirts together, shorter full skirts together, and then short and tight skirts together. Voila.
So yes, I did follow my rules and was able to weed out some super cute cardigans that are basically brand new because I've worn them about 5 times put together but could never get rid of them because I just love cardigans. Which is why I bought them in the first place, because yes, I do wear cardis a lot. However, I don't know why I bought a light orange one like the one I had from h&m. I never wear orange. I guess I just thought I needed one in every color of the rainbow?? Who knows.
This wasn't a huge pare-down because the bigger one was last Fall. There were some seriously cute things I decided to get rid of, and even though some of them were still in boxes in my basement, I never actually wanted to wear them even though I had the opportunity, so I knew my decision was right. I had some more friends come by my house to look through my boxes of clothes and was able to get rid of a lot of them that way. I don't mind donating them, but I love that I can actually see them being worn on other people! That makes me feel better about getting rid of my clothes because I know someone who needs them and wants them is wearing thiem. Today, I will be taking the rest and donating them to people that need them even more then my friends and I do.
So I challenge you to do some Spring Cleaning and go through your closet! Trust me, it will make your life easier because you won't have as many things to decide on when you're trying to figure out what to wear. Your clothes won't be crammed together and you'll actually be able to see all of them!
I hope this post helps someone... good luck cleaning your closet! :)
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| Lesser-worn items (nice dresses) are kept in the back. |
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| My hanging shelves and pretty shoes all lined up. |
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