So today was the day I finally decided to tackle my closet! I did some reading on the Project 333 blog and one thing I found there was a link to this article which had great tips to declutter your closet as well as other rooms around the house. The article suggested taking all of the clothes out of your closet and sort them into piles-I love it, I don't love it but I still want to keep it for some reason, donate and trash. So I pulled all of the clothes out of my closet and found this:
Oh dear! I do not need this much clothes! And this isn't even everything. Winter clothes were packed up in two boxes in the bedroom. Evening wear was in the guest bedroom closet with the costumes. Outwear was in the hall closet. And there were even a couple of things laying around the sewing room for one reason or another. Plus, I had a stash of things I was thinking of letting go already but hadn't had the guts to say goodbye yet.
So I did a really quick first sort. Alas, the biggest pile was the I don't love it but I still want to keep it for some reason pile. Why did I still want to keep all of this stuff? So I pulled that pile back on the bed and sorted by type of garment and went through it again. It was hard to let go of a lot of me-mades but I'm tired of so much clutter in my life. If it's not working for me, it had to go. Sort, sort, sort. Bye, bye, bye.
Here's the final donate pile. I've been feeling lately that my wardrobe needs a bit of a shift. I still love vintage but especially for work, I really need some nice modern pieces so out went lots vintage me-mades that I didn't absolutely love. I tried to be a bit conservative with the donate pile because a) I've only been in Florida two months so I'm not sure how the rest of the year will make me want to shape my wardrobe and b) I'm sure I'm going to wake up one day and really miss my vintage so I kept more than the in the moment purging Stephanie really wanted to keep.
And, seriously, I'd rather have just a few pieces that I love that I wear all the time rather than a mountain of things I'm meh about that get worn once or twice a year because I have so many things.
Three garbage bags full of stuff to go to Goodwill! Eeep! I also threw a few purses in there but shoes, hats, and accessories didn't even get touched!
Then I got to load all of the keep stuff back into the closet. And I had space for everything! My fall/spring weight jackets got upgraded from the hall closet to the actual closet. Florida appropriate winter clothes got hung up and the in case we visit Ohio in the winter clothes were boxed up and stored in the back of the closet.
This rack contains my more modern work appropriate pieces. Plus, check out all of those empty hangers in the back! Yay!
Straight in the back are my more casual vintage dresses. Fancy things are still in the other closet because a lot of them have significant sentimental value and I was tired by this point.
On the other side, my hubby has the top rack so I put all of my vintage blouses, skirts and pants.
Ahhh. My closet feels so much nicer now! It's going to be much easier getting ready for work and other functions because everything is sorted by style rather than type of garment. The closet clean out has also brought some gaps to my attention so I'll be working to fill those up and also replace a few things that are getting sort of sad looking.
I love this! I need to do this as well. There are so many things in my closet that I want to keep because I paid for it with my own money or I will fit into it one day or it was a gift or whatever. But since I don't have a dress code at work my normal uniform is jeans and a hoodie. Not half of my closet even sees the light of day. I need to clean out the clutter.
ReplyDeleteI did this before I moved into my place last year and somehow I still needed two closets to fit all my clothing. >.< I just can't get rid of stuff, I love it all!!
ReplyDeleteOhhh doesn't it feel so much better when everything is sorted and purged. I am going to be doing spring cleaning soon and I have things to purge not only from the closets but also the kids toys and things in other areas of the house. Ohh I cannot wait to get it done hahah
ReplyDeleteGreat job! I need to do this too. What really helped me was pretending I was going on a trip and making a giant "chart" on the floor with my clothes. I had to make up outfits, and I tried to keep the same basic garments in an outfit rather than mix and match so I don't end up with a ton of shirts, for example (or the excuse to always be buying more shirts!). However, something like a cardigan I made sure it went with more than one dress because I will wear it several times before laundering.
ReplyDeleteThen I pretended like I really was going on a trip and thought to myself, what would I ACTUALLY wear. That made it easy to purge some of the grungier looking things as well as some of my nice but too nice to have in my everyday wardrobe things.
I try to remember that a lot of women back then really could fit most of their clothes for a season in a large suitcase or a small closet, so if they can make it work, so can I.
I'm about to do that this weekend! The Great closet purge is about to begin!
ReplyDeleteWow, everyone's getting super busy with the wardrobe clean outs; it's making me itch to see what I holes I need to fill in my wardrobe and what I need throw out! ❤
ReplyDeletexox,
bonita of Lavender & Twill
Way to go!!! There seems to be a powerful movement afoot in the vintage community to purge, sort, declutter, and downsize and/or streamline people's wardrobes this year. I think a lot of us having been buying and buying for ages, but not doing as much actual wearing and are realizing that, while fun in the moment, that isn't always practical, economical, or all that enjoyable sometimes in the long run. It's far better to have, say, 50 pieces you love and wear often than 500 that are just gathering dust, no matter how cute/pretty/genuinely old they may.
ReplyDelete♥ Jessica
Wow! You did a great job! I wish my closet clean out had been as productive as this! Good for you!
ReplyDeletexoxo
-Janey