How to Declutter your Closet
Have you ever opened your closet and immediately closed because you just “can’t even”? As in you can’t even tell what you have in your closet because everything is packed in so tightly that you can’t pull anything out without pulling everything out, and there is no way you are able to put anything else in? Or maybe you can’t even decide what to wear because you honestly can’t even tell what is in your closet. Perhaps – you’ve come to the realization that you don’t have enough closets and dressers for your clothes and it’s starting to stress you out, or you just keep turning a blind eye because it is too much to deal with.
This might be you. Or you just want to clean some stuff out before you move next month, before you welcome a baby you’re expecting, maybe you have someone moving into your guest room and you need to clean it out to make room for them. In any case – decluttering can be incredibly daunting, but once you’ve done it, it’s incredibly rewarding. There are studies that show a clean, organized space promotes creativity, productivity, and a general feeling of wellness.
If you watch Netflix, you may have seen a new show called Tidying Up. The host is Marie Kondo and she goes around and helps people and families learn how to let go of the extra stuff that is cluttering their lives and preventing them from truly utilizing their space. Many of her clients have a hard time letting things go because they find comfort in being surrounded by their things, or they place a sentimental value of items that others would consider to be trash.
As a culture, we view shopping as a pastime and many of us could look around the room we are in and find things we haven’t used in weeks, or things we bought but then never actually ended up using. It’s amazing how much stuff we accumulate. Think about it – how many boxes of storage do you have in your closets, under your bed, in the attic/basement/garage, etc.? My guess is every single one of us has a space in our homes that acts as a “catch-all” where we pile things up because we don’t have a place for them, but we can’t seem to part with them.
How do we move past that? How can we finally declutter our space to we can feel good about our homes while not feeling like we are punishing ourselves?
The Marie Kondo method teaches people how to live with less and create spaces that bring you joy. It’s a multiple step process, but she always starts with the clothes.
To start, you want to take all your clothes and pile it on your bed (or the guest bed or something) so that you can see just how many clothes you have. You take everything out of your closet, everything out of your dressers, everything. This will force you to look at and touch every piece of clothing. Marie Kondo has her clients pick up each piece of clothing and ask themselves “does this bring me joy?”
For some this may be a difficult concept, so if it is difficult you can pick up something that you absolutely know you love and pay attention to the feeling it gives you. Alternatively, you can grab something you know you want to throw out and pay attention to the feeling it gives you (or doesn’t give you).
Some people will often feel guilty for giving things away or for throwing something out, so Marie has her clients tell each article of clothing that they don’t keep “thank you” before it goes in the give-away or trash bin. This helps us say goodbye to our possessions while expressing gratitude towards clothes we don’t want anymore. You may not need to say goodbye to those skinny jeans, but for some people the guilt is real. Saying thank you helps remove some of that guilt.
If you watched Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life then you probably saw this method in action when Rory’s grandmother, Emily, starts cleaning out her house. Lorelai is concerned to see the dining room chairs being moved out, but Emily responds with “They don’t bring me joy!”
This is the attitude we are looking for when we declutter our closets. If something doesn’t bring us joy – it isn’t building a joyful space and we no longer need it. This isn’t a license to throw out all your vegetables – but it will help you clean out your clothes until you have items that bring you joy, and you remove items that bring nothing but anxiety by filling up your space with junk.
You can also help yourself by limiting yourself. Maybe you have 18 blouses – do you need that many? Or could you get away with only 7?
Anything that is stained, ripped, tattering at the edges or so worn you can see through it – needs to be tossed. If you have mismatched socks that you haven’t been able to find the mate for in 6 months – it’s time to let it go. If your underwear’s elastic is stretched out and useless, it’s time to let it go. Setting these initial rules can help you start and build momentum so you can tackle the tougher items.
Decluttering can be difficult, but just know that once you’ve finished decluttering, you’ll feel lighter and less stressed. Plus, you’ll be able to use all that space in that closet of yours and be able to see all your options when you go to get dressed!
I struggle with throwing out certain items to be honest. I tell myself that I should keep those old T-shirts because I will want something to do yard work, or paint in. Let’s be honest though – I have a drawer of those and I probably need all of one. We all have room to improve.
As always, I am but a work in progress.
Cheers.
