Is your cluttered closet causing you stress, anxiety and wasting your time? I’ve been there, and maybe you can relate. You’re getting ready to go meet up with a friend, and you’re trying to find your favorite sweater to throw on for the perfect, casual-but-cute look. But between the 5 camis hung on the same hangar and the plethora of oversized sweaters in the same shade, you just can’t find your favorite sweater anywhere. Now, you’re sweating and throwing clothes around, making a bigger mess and running late. If this sounds like you, it might be time to figure out how to downsize your wardrobe.
I know how frustrating-and dare I say stressful – having a packed closet can feel. But don’t worry, girl. After this post, you’re going to feel relieved and free of the clutter of your closet because you’ll learn my 8 simple steps for how to downsize your wardrobe, which will allow you to save time and energy.
Whether you’re full-on embracing the minimalist lifestyle, or you’re simply making a conscious decision to remove dead weight from your closet, these tips are here to serve you.
How does downsizing your wardrobe improve your life?
Are you wondering if downsizing your wardrobe is actually worth the couple of hours out of your day or week? Well, let me tell ya. It is WORTH it.
It’s worth it when you’re not scrambling to find an outfit. It’s worth it when you’re not filled with dread every time you look at your chaotic closet. It’s worth it when you’re not holding onto old things that just aren’t true to who you are anymore.
It creates more space for you to be you. Downsizing your closet by removing old, outdated, or out-of-place items will give you more room for what fits who you are now. That’s more room for clothing that reflects your personality.
It will save you time. I can’t be the only one who wastes tons of time looking through my closet, right? By getting rid of things you don’t want or need, you no longer have to sift through all that extra stuff to get to the clothing/things you really want.
Clean space = clean mind. You’ve probably read this quote before, but it’s true. The less cluttered your space is, the less cluttered your mind is. Decluttering clothes and other items from your closet will help you clear your mind to be able to pursue what you really want–even if that’s as simple as knowing exactly what outfit you’re going to wear today.
How often should you downsize your wardrobe?
So you know that downsizing your closet is going to bring you clarity, peace, and save you time. But how often do you have to do this? Well, it depends on your shopping habits and lifestyle!
Keep in mind: this isn’t a post on how to create a capsule wardrobe, or a 100 piece wardrobe, or anything like that. When learning how to downsize your wardrobe, don’t overcomplicate it from the get-go by trying to decide exactly how many pieces of clothing you want to own.
So to answer the question how often should you downsize your wardrobe, it depends on your shopping habits. If you buy new clothes every season, try downsizing your closet every other season to get rid of old seasonal clothes and make room for your new seasonal clothes.
If you rarely buy new clothes, you might not need to do it so often. Downsize your closet every year or so, just to clear out the cobwebs. You can also downsize your wardrobe based on your feelings. If you feel cluttered, don’t wait til next year/season. Do it now!
Downsizing your closet doesn’t necessarily mean you need to do a full cleanse. It might just mean donating a few tops that don’t fit you any longer, or a pair of jeans you didn’t wear as much this year as you did last year.
How to downsize your wardrobe without being wasteful
Are you hesitating to downsize your closet because it might mean throwing away a bunch of perfectly acceptable clothes? If you’re trying to eliminate wastefulness in your life, good on ya! I see you over there, repurposing old household items and using empty wine bottles for candle holders and flower vases.
Don’t worry; I’m not suggesting you just throw everything away! There are a couple great ways to downsize your closet without being wasteful.
- Donate your clothes to a Goodwill/Salvation Army
- Find a local clothing drive
- Keep a sweater or two, or some extra shoes in your car to give to people who are homeless standing out in the cold
- Get a few like-minded people together for a clothing swap!
- Make some extra cash by selling your clothes on apps like Poshmark, Offerup, Facebook Market. If you live somewhere with a Buffalo Exchange, you can bring a box of old clothes there too, and they might pay you money for them!
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How to downsize your closet in 8 steps:
Step 1: Toss the odds-n-ends
This is the easy part of how to downsize your wardrobe! It’s kinda just like cleaning your car. Get rid of old shopping bags, random socks, receipts, nick nacks that you got for presents that really have no room in your closet, etc.
While getting rid of these things might just be scratching the surface, you might be surprised at how much clutter you’ve got hidden away in your closet. Sometimes our closets are like the chair in our room where we toss all our clothes. The closet just becomes somewhere easy to “store” things that we really don’t need.
Step 2: Gut instinct/Maria Kondo method
Next, pick up each piece of clothing items and pay attention to your gut emotional response. If it makes you happy, keep it for now. If it makes you feel a bit icky, toss it.
For example, if it’s associated with a bad memory, consider getting rid of it. If it belonged to your ex or was a gift from someone you’re no longer friends with, toss that sucker!
Pro tip: Before getting rid of it completely, ask yourself if you have a friend who might like the item, and if you’d be okay with seeing that friend with your clothes. I had a housemate who once gave me a new pair of Stance socks that his ex-girlfriend had left at the house and never opened. I also had a friend give me a coffee mug I LOVED that she didn’t want anymore, because it had been a gift from a friend she wasn’t close to anymore.
Be gracious with this process! While learning how to downsize your wardrobe, you might as well take it as an opportunity to bless someone else.
Step 3: Get rid of what doesn’t fit
If it doesn’t fit, or flatter you, toss it. Some things might technically be the right size, but if you feel like it makes you look blocky, or just doesn’t quite fit your shoulders right, tell that ish bye.
Try on anything you’re not sure about. Maybe even wear it for a day to see if it’s comfortable or if you feel confident in it. Then, decide at the end of the day if it’s a keeper or not.
Pro tip: Don’t guilt yourself about things that don’t fit anymore! Our bodies change all the time, and that’s not a bad thing. You think I can still fit into my jeans from high school? Not a chance haha. Our bodies change and fluctuate. Don’t force yourself to keep something that doesn’t fit comfortably anymore just because you used to fit into it.
Take this as an opportunity to purge your closet of anything that makes you feel less than absolutely beautiful!
Step 4: Figure out if you wear it often enough
This is the tough one. We have tons of clothes we love the looks of, we just don’t ever wear them. Or we might wear them once or twice. If you’ve only worn an item once or twice in the last year, it might be time to throw out.
Keep in mind, you might own a couple dresses that you really only need for special occasions. Those probably don’t get worn as much, and that’s okay! You don’t have to get rid of them if you know that you love wearing it every time there’s a wedding or a cocktail party. Just make sure you don’t own 8 Special Occasions Only Dresses that are taking up space.
Step 5: Consider your lifestyle and taste
Considering your lifestyle is a great tool to really help downsize your closet. For example, did you used to have a desk job, but now you work from home or you changed careers? Donate the blazers and slacks.
Or maybe you used to dress super casual and only wear the basics, but style has become more exciting to you lately. If you own 6 black t-shirts, pick out your favorite one and donate the rest. That will create room for you to buy more creative and trendy pieces to fit your new style going forward.
Step 6: Determine each item’s “matchability”
You’re going through your closet, absolutely rockin’ this whole “downsizing your wardrobe” thing, sifting through graphic T shirts, camis, distressed jeans and other casual wear. Then you find that pair of sleek, black high heels with the pointy toes. Beautiful, elegant and likely to kill you if you actually tried to wear them out.
Okay, I’m talking very specifically to myself here, but you can probably see the issue. Those shoes don’t really go with anything in my closet. And they don’t really match my style either.
When you’re learning how to downsize your wardrobe, ask yourself: Does this item match the other things in my wardrobe? Maybe you bought a rockin’ sequined skirt, buuut the rest of your wardrobe is more casual or just doesn’t match. You might want to sell that beautiful skirt online.
Basically, ya wanna get rid of the outliers in your closet. Another option is to buy a specific outfit just to match that item (but don’t do that until you’ve completely downsized your closet.) You don’t want to get swept up in buying new things before you’ve even downsized your closet.
(Guilty.)
Step 7: Toss the “loved too well” pieces
Before keeping a piece of clothing because you love it, double-check its current state.
Is it stained, torn or just worn out? Toss it! You don’t need to hold onto worn out things.
If you’re like me, you might struggle to get rid of old clothes because you’re afraid you won’t get new things, or you won’t be able to afford new clothes. I’ve learned those thoughts come from a mindset of lack, and that doesn’t serve you. Come at this process from a mindset of abundance, and your life will start to reflect that.
Step 8: Organize what’s left
Organization is going to be key to not only give you a good visual of how much stuff/clothing you have, but it will help you feel more clarity and peace. Part of downsizing your closet is keeping your belongings organized so your space feels less chaotic.
At this point, you might be in need of some closet organizers. I’ve personally found an over-the-door shoe organizer to be especially helpful for me. Like a lot of women I know, I’ve got a good amount of shoes that need to not be strewn about on the closet floor, but I don’t want them squished in a box either. This shoe organizer has saved me both space and preserved the quality of my nicest shoes.
You can also check out this Amazon bestseller shoe rack. If you’re in need of an overall closet organizer, this one on Amazon looks particularly promising and affordable!
What to do with sentimental clothing that doesn’t make the cut
A big end goal for downsizing your closet is to make space for clarity, but also for things that make you happy and are “you.” So if you’ve got a sentimental piece of clothing, you can still repurpose it in a way that will be true to you and bring you joy.
Note: Don’t do this for more than a few items! If you find yourself wanting to keep a dozen or more “sentimental” pieces of clothing, it’s possible you’re just finding excuses to keep clothes. Be honest with yourself and ask, Is this really something that deeply matters to me? Or is it just hard to part with comfortable clutter?
If you find an item of clothing you don’t wear but really want to keep because it’s from someone you love, you can do a few things with it:
- Do a photoshoot wearing that piece. When you’re done, give it to someone in need. You’ve got those photos to cherish forever!
- Cut it up and use it as a pillow case or a tote bag. There are tons of youtube videos demonstrating how to do this! Check out this one here.
- Upcycle it into a new clothing piece. Cut the sleeves off of old t-shirts to make a cute tank top, or trim off some of the length to make a crop top. This article from Well + Good is especially helpful and will inspire you to get creative with your old clothes.
- Cut off a piece of the cloth and frame it. Or add it to a shadow box!
What to do with seasonal clothing
Are your ski pants, puffy winter jackets, wetsuits and swimsuits taking up a chunk of space in your closet? Seasonal items are needed, of course… But during the months you don’t need them, they can put a damper on your closet downsizing process. If you have certain seasonal clothing or hobby clothing taking up space, I’ve got a few simple suggestions and tips for clearing up room.
Thanks to this article from Organized Interiors for educating me with a few of these awesome storage tips!
- Try a storage system
- Pack them up in airtight plastic containers and keep them in your garage or under your bed. I use bed risers for more storage space under the bed.
- I also store clothes in my large suitcase if I know I won’t wear them during that season.
- Don’t use cardboard boxes. They can be damaged or chewed through by mice. Use plastic storage containers, and label them.
- Be careful not to overstuff boxes as that can lead to wrinkles and mustiness .
- Don’t hang delicate, knit pieces or they’ll lose shape.
Credit to this article from Organized Interiors for inspiring some of the tips in this bullet list for what to do with seasonal clothing!
More fashion related posts for you to enjoy:
Conclusion: How to downsize your closet in 8 simple steps
There you have it, folks! These simple steps should have your closet free of clutter, unwanted and outdated clothing, bringing you a new sense of harmony and peace of mind. You now have the space you need to let in the new, and to maintain a feeling of orderliness.
Is your wardrobe a little too empty or sparse now? For great online shops for budget fashion for women, check out my post How to be Fashionable on a Low Budget. And if you found this post helpful, please share it on Pinterest! : )
Til next time, you hot tamales.
Love, hugs and good vibes,
<3 Sav
