Closet Clean Out: 7 Questions to Help You Declutter

The other day I was getting dressed for work and I said to myself, “Wow, I bought this shirt in 8th grade.” Uhhh, I’m 23 now. Yeah. I think it is time to get rid of some things in my closet. So a few weekends ago, I washed all my dirty laundry and spent my Saturday in my room doing a closet clean out session.

I started by just shuffling through what I had hanging up. Asking myself when was the last time I wore this? And then putting things in the donate pile…or the trash pile, if my answer was last year, or I’ve only wore this once because I needed a red shirt, or oh wait this has a stain. Bye. Get rid of it.

I like to tell myself that there are pieces in my closet that I simply forget about and just need to put back into my weekly/monthly rotation, but that rarely happens. If I can’t make an outfit (really multiple outfits) with a piece, it needs to go. I promise you won’t think about it after its gone, and your closet will look a lot better too.

For now, I just went through all my winter shirts/sweaters, my dresses, skirts, and pants. I’ll get to some more of my summer pieces later. As I’ve transitioned into a full-time adult, so much of my closet consists of things that I wear to work, and I find myself only purchasing things that fit within my work dress code. For me, this means lots of cardigans, a turtleneck, oxford shirts, cotton long sleeves, the occasional v-neck and a few “silky” blouses.

Somehow I made it through winter with only 3 pairs of pants that actually reach past my ankles….crazy I know. I wore a lot of chino capris and just walked really fast so my ankles didn’t freeze…I should probably invest in some more for next year.

Anyways, on days that were slightly warmer (so like three days this winter), I got a chance to wear a skirt or a dress with tights. I have really taken the time and money to invest in quality skirts. So I kept all of mine. I have about 4 pencil skirts, 4 casual skirts that are a little shorter and good for summer, and one vintage midi skirt that I got from my mom!

By the end of my closet clean out, I had two bags of clothes to donate, and it feels so good to have a more organized closet. I hadn’t worn a lot of these pieces in awhile and didn’t feel like they were quality pieces I needed in my wardrobe going forward. Honestly, I feel like my personal style is changing a little bit, so this gives me a good place to move forward with as I find new pieces that better fit the look I’m going for.