Tis' the Closet Cleaning Season
Tis’ the season for spring cleaning! Is it just me or does anybody else feel a great sense of joy and productivity from sorting through closets and drawers? Just me? Ok then. It’s been proven that clutter can cause an individual stress and anxiety. And maybe that’s why decluttering gives me a sense of relief. I function so much better in a clean and organized environment. The thought of having a lot of material items actively stresses me out. Unfortunately, my need to declutter is halted by two factors:
Number one… I’m EXTREMELY nostalgic. Everything I own immediately gains sentimental value the moment I bring it into my possession. I wish I could change this, and I’m working on it. Obviously an old foam board model I did while in college can be thrown away, but for me it holds memories and hard work. So it sits at my mom’s house collecting dust. And I can’t get rid of it even though I will literally never do anything with it again. A sweater that I got for Christmas while in high school clearly needs to be held on to because I once put together a cute outfit with it. I am also the queen of “one days.” One day I’ll wear this again or one day it’ll come back in style. You won’t wear it again. It will come back in style, but in a new form. Just get rid of it. Easier said than done for this gal.
Number two… I LOVE to shop. Whether it be clothes shopping or home decor shopping, heck I even love grocery shopping. I’m constantly styling new outfit ideas in my head and all I ever want to do is find the pieces to complete these outfits. And luckily lately most of my purchases have been thrifted purchases, so they are more inexpensive (and better for the planet). But I’m still adding to my ever growing closet, which drives me insane.
I won’t lie, lately I’ve been doing a lot of shopping, but I also been doing a lot of purging. For some reason for me it’s been getting easier and easier to let go of clothing. In the past week I’ve put together three trash bags full of clothing to be donated or taken to the consignment store. Hurray for purging! I’ve been obsessively cleaning out my closet, and once I got started I couldn’t stop. Here are some of the tips and tricks I’ve been using to help me purge:
If it doesn’t bring you joy, get rid of it. I’m serious. Every item I contemplated getting rid of, I’d look at it and ask myself if I felt the same way I felt when I bought it. If I didn’t, it went. To go along with that, I also asked myself if I was shopping now would I buy it. If the answer was no or iffy, it went.
If isn’t in style anymore, let go. And this doesn’t just mean if it isn’t a fashion trend anymore. I mean yes, there are some trends that have come and gone (and should stay gone, ie. cold shoulder tops). But this also means if it isn’t your style anymore. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve held onto something because it’s cute and in great condition but just isn’t “me” anymore. My style has evolved and my closet should reflect that.
Get rid of anything stained, discolored, torn, worn in, or ill fitting. Let’s be honest, anything stained or discolored is not meant to be held on to. It is not magically going to be perfect again one day. And if you’re like the rest of us, anything torn that you plan on patching is going to spend 4 months minimum on a random shelf until you either actually fix it or just toss it out of laziness. Anything that doesn’t fit your current body correctly should go. If you don’t 100% love the way you look in a piece, it wasn’t meant for you.
Use the buy one toss one rule. Everytime I bring home a new item I toss an old one. And by toss I don’t necessarily mean throw away. Most of the time it goes into a sell or donate pile.
Sell stuff! Nothing has been more motivating to me to get rid of clothes than the thought of making a little cash back from them. I use Poshmark to sell my clothes majority of the time. But every few months I make a run to either Buffalo Exchange or Plato’s Closet in hopes that they’ll buy some pieces. While the cash out isn’t spectacular, I typically use forms of store credit to add to my wardrobe.
