Behind the closed door of my closet hides a world of possibilities. Give me a few hours to clean it out, and maybe I’ll finally become someone who has a wardrobe with elegant and coordinated neutral-toned pieces, instead of someone with four different black turtlenecks that I hate for four different reasons.
I know that decluttering can be really helpful. Having better and fewer options makes getting dressed easier, and being able to see what you already own means you’re less likely to overbuy. Research also suggests that clear spaces we inhabit can reduce stress.
And yet, there are shoes I love despite the pain they cause me, office clothes I’ve kept even though I’ve been working from home for four years, and an expensive and impractical dress that I can only assume I bought while in some kind of hypnotic trance.
Cleaning out your closet can be an emotionally intense experience, said KC Davis, a licensed therapist and author of How to Care for Your Home When Life Overwhelms You. Someone who grew up with scarcity might feel anxious about getting rid of something in case they need it later. Someone whose body has changed may find it difficult to part with sizes they may never wear again. But regardless of the guilt or pressure you feel about an item, she said, “there’s no reason to store it in your closet if you’re not really using it.”
I asked Davis, along with other professional organizers and stylists, how to overcome overwhelming feelings and make the cleaning process more rewarding.
### Have a vision in mind
Most people set out to organize without a plan, said Shaniece Jones, a professional closet organizer whose clients include singers Normani and Michelle Williams. “You don’t have a strategy, you don’t have a vision. You’re just like, let me get all these things out of here.”
Instead, take some time to think about your current style and how you’d like to change it, she said. In the days leading up to organizing your closet, take note when someone compliments what you’re wearing to help you identify pieces you may want to keep.
Jones suggested creating a Pinterest board with outfits that catch your eye, saving items in an online cart or wishlist, or flipping through magazines or catalogs so you have reference points when deciding what to keep or discard. “It’s easier to think, you know what, this piece doesn’t fit into this look I’m going for,” Jones said.
### Make reviewing what you have easier
Depending on the size of your wardrobe, a thorough cleaning can take up to four hours, said Chellie Carlson, a stylist based in Los Angeles. She recommends taking out one category of clothing at a time: tank tops, then short-sleeve shirts, and so on, starting with the category you wear most often.
While it’s okay to spread clothes out on your bed, Carlson said she preferred using a rolling rack (you can borrow one from a friend or neighbor) and hanging each category of clothing as you go. Creating that display “is so powerful that you can’t help but see it,” she said. “You might have five or six black blouses. What does that tell you? You need to stop buying black blouses.”
Then, going piece by piece, take each one off the rack to hold, touch, and try on, Carlson said. “Ask yourself, does this fit me? Does this feel good?”
[Experts say that recognizing that getting rid of things can be overwhelming. Carlson often hears the word “shame” from her clients, related to expensive items that still have tags or impulse purchases that they can no longer return.]
### What to do with the ‘maybe’ category
If you’re unsure about a piece of clothing, Mary Gonsalves Kinney, a stylist from San Francisco, suggested trying to create an outfit with it and other things you plan to keep. If you can’t do it, “it has to go,” she said.
Jones recommends “tagging” those items you still have doubts about with a safety pin. If the safety pin is still there the next time you clean out your closet, meaning you haven’t worn the garment in all that time, it’s time to say goodbye.
“It doesn’t have to be a one-time purge where all your decisions are final,” Davis added. You can put things that are very difficult for you to let go of in another place temporarily. Store them in the hallway closet or in a vacuum storage bag or box and review them in a few weeks. “You can still achieve the goal of a more streamlined and easier-to-maintain closet without feeling like, oh God, be careful not to make the wrong decision.”
Ashlee Piper, a sustainability expert and author of the book Give a Sh*t: Do Good. Live Better. Save the Planet, emphasized the importance of making a pile of clothes that need some fixing. If you still like a piece of clothing, but the zipper is broken, for example, “think, how can I make this item last longer?” instead of “Oh, it’s a bit worn out, I need to replace it.”
### Follow-up
For the pieces you’ve decided to keep, create a system that fits your routines, Jones explained. If you work out in the morning, put your workout clothes in the top drawer of your dresser or on the bar closest to your closet door.
To be able to review your wardrobe at a glance, Carlson said she likes to organize by category and then by color, for example: tank tops from light to dark, then short-sleeve shirts from light to dark.
For accessories and small items, resist the urge to buy fancy storage solutions, Piper said, and try to reuse things you already have, like shoe boxes. “A container is a container,” she said. “You don’t need to go out and buy a new one with the word ‘socks’ on it.”
And to make sure you don’t have to do this again for a while, don’t get rid of clothes and buy new ones at the same time, Gonsalves Kinney said.
“Once you’ve decluttered, try to wait a month without buying anything,” she said. “Then you’ll be shopping with intention instead of doing it recklessly.”
