No one likes the feeling of having a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear. Many people think that the way to solve this problem is to simply go out and buy more clothes, picking up whatever looks cute when you go out. I actually don’t think that solves the problem, I think that causes the problem. If you want to open a closet and see plenty of options for things to wear, you have to be very intentional about it. The first step is to minimize.
So here a few things to remove from your closet to get started:
1. The items that don’t fit. When we lose or gain weight we tend to hold onto our old clothes “just in case.” Do yourself a favor and remove these items. They’re just taking up precious space.
2. The items you no longer like. We all seem to hold onto several clothing items that we know we don’t like. Maybe your style changed over time, or maybe you picked up something that you didn’t like just because it was on sale. I used to do that a lot too. We do we do this to ourselves? If you feel bad that you’re “wasting” clothes that you spent money on by not wearing them, don’t worry about it. Life is too short to wear clothes you don’t like.
3. Items that don’t flatter your body. It might be the shape, it might print, it might be the size. Whatever the reason, if a piece of clothing doesn’t flatter your body, get rid of it.
4. Items that just don’t match anything. Every now and then I’ll buy a skirt or a pair of shoes and never wear them because I can’t find anything in my closet to pair them with. If this goes on for too longer, it’s probably time to let go.
5. Remove any broken or unwanted hangers. I actually stumbled onto this tip while reading Living Well Spending Less. It made me realize that one thing that I really hate about my closet is all of the extra hangers, the dry cleaners hangers, the plastic hangers from the store, etc. It just make everything look so disorganized. So I’m going to follow her advice and invest in a nice set of hangers when I get the chance. I think some nice wooden hangers would improve the feel of my closet drastically 🙂
“But if I get rid of all of these things, I won’t have anything left!”
I know that feeling. If you get rid of all these items on impulse, you may regret it later, right? Let me just tell you this almost never happens, and even if you end up with just a few items left in your closet, you’ll be surprised to find that no one will really notice. Even if you wore say, the same 8 items over and over again for a month, it’s unlikely that anyone will notice. People really just aren’t that observant.
One thing that can help you get started is to fill a bag with all of the items mentioned above, and just put the item out of sight somewhere in the house. If you decide that you need something in the bag, you can always get it, but chances are that you’ll just forget about it after a while. When you finally do see and remember the bag again and you never missed it, that’s your cue to donate it.
TIP: Hold on to a few comfy tees and sweats even if they aren’t your favorite (as long as they’re comfortable). This way, on the days you stay in, you can wear your less-loved clothes and you can save your favorite pieces for days you’re out and about. If you hate seeing these items in your closet, try finding a drawer for them to live in.
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I hope you found these tips helpful! 🙂 If you liked it and want to read about Step 2 next Thursday, just follow me here on WordPress, or sign up with the email subscription button on the right and you’ll automatically be notified every time I make a post 🙂 Have a great day! -Tyler
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One Little Black Dress 
