Closet clean-out challenge

If there is one thing I don’t do often enough it is clean out my closet. I think I have only done this twice in the last SIX years! I need to get better at doing it every spring or every fall – so that is why I wanted to share this closet clean-out challenge. The best part is – you don’t have to do much extra work.

I think most of us collect clothes we think we will wear, or fit into at one point, or wanted to fit into but never lost weight. I can tell you honestly I am much more excited about my clothes now that I have gotten rid of all the clothes that I know I won’t wear or don’t fit me because I don’t have to worry about “sorting” through them to find a pair of pants I want or being worried if they don’t fit me.

If you know your general size, I would go through and get rid of (donate) or put into storage the clothes you know won’t fit you or that you won’t wear. It will make this challenge much more efficient. If you don’t have the time or don’t want to do that – it’s ok.

To get started here are the basic steps:

SORT YOUR CLOTHES AS YOU WEAR THEM

From day to day as you wear your clothes, you will put the ones you have worn in a different place than the ones you haven’t worn.

HANG HANGERS BACKWARDS

If you hang your shirts, you will hang them back up – but turn the hanger so it is hanging backward. This will let you know which shirts you haven’t worn yet.

PRE-SORT ITEMS YOU DON’T WANT

With your sock, underwear, belts, hats, bags, etc – do the same. Or as you are going through things looking for something to wear – if you find something you know you won’t wear or don’t want – have a garbage bag or a box handy and just throw it inside. Then when it’s full you can sell the clothes or donate them.

DO THE CHALLENGE WITH YOUR KIDS

This is also great for your kids to do. Young kids grow out of their clothes so fast and this gives you a chance to really see what they are wearing (if they actually hang their shirts up – haha). With kids, I like to do it the other way around on the hangers. Put all of them back to start with and then as they wear them and hang them back up – they will put them in the correct way. That way they don’t get confused or forget.

Turn your hangers backwards as you wear your clothes to know what you are and aren’t wearing

This doesn’t mean you can’t wear something twice before you have gone through everything. This will probably take a few months unless you want to dedicate some real time to just going through everything. Be patient with it. The process works and makes it so you can do just a little bit each day and still make progress.

Have you tried this closet clean-out challenge before? Did it work? What else have you tried?

Here are more cleaning and organizing posts I think you will like:

Organizing and Cleaning Tips for the Kitchen

Organizing your office: My experience and why it went faster!

How to organize your house without feeling overwhelmed

Spring cleaning made easier

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