Closet Purge "Procedure"

[hz80408]

I really really really need to go a closet purge. We rent our place and I've one found downfall of staying in the same apt for 3 years (the longests I've lived in one place since moving out of my parents) is that crap is accumulating, including in my closet!

Does anyone have suggestions or general rules of thumb they follow for cleaning out their closet?

Like...haven't worn in a year/this season: get rid; etc?

[littlemermaid]

My closet is only big enough for 2 seasons worth of clothes so spring/summer and fall/winter. So when it's time to change over the clothes to the next 2 seasons if I haven't worn it then it gets donated and doesn't get put away for next year. You just have to look at your stuff and the stuff you enjoy wearing all the time are keepers, the stuff that you are iffy about or just don't enjoy wearing anymore donate.

[glw]

I empty my closet and all my drawers, then divide into "definitely keep, definitely trash/donate, and unsure."I put the stuff I'm not sure about (haven't worn in a while, but it fits and is in good condition, or not sure if it's out of style, etc.) into a bin in the attic for a while. A lot of the time I find that I miss an item and dig it out later. If it's in the bin next season, I get rid of it.

[Deleted]

Everything comes out. Good time to vaccuum the closet, etc. I try to go very quick on the first round -- definite "keeps" go back in the closet, definite "nos" go in the donate pile, and anything I have to stop and think about goes in "maybe".

Once my keeps are all back in and I take stock of what I have that I truly love, I go through the "maybes" more slowly, trying on as needed, asking hubs opinion, etc. I try not to keep more than a third of the maybes. If it's pilling, stretched, etc., it goes.

As for "haven't worn it in a year" I make a few exceptions since I SAH. I keep some special ocassion dresses or suits even if I haven't worn them in a year, as long as they still fit and I still like them.

I am so much happier after a big purge. I suddenly feel like I have more good choices once my closet has been edited down. I have all seasons in a single closet, and one bin of maternity/fat transition clothes in the storage room just in case.

[babygirlpriest]

Two suggestions:

1. Do you have a guest/spare bedroom? I move all my "on the fence" clothes into a spare closet. If after one season I haven't missed it/pulled it out, it get's donated.
2. Do the huge closet clean out like pp said. When you hang items, hang them backward. When you wear an item, hang it like you regularly would (hooking away from you). At the end of one year, everything still hung backwards gets donated.

[Deleted]

If you have a friend with a few hours to spare, I find that it helps to have an objective second opinion.

[hz80408]

Aug 1, 2012 10:37:20 GMT -5 babygirlpriest said:

Two suggestions:

1. Do you have a guest/spare bedroom? I move all my "on the fence" clothes into a spare closet. If after one season I haven't missed it/pulled it out, it get's donated.
.

We do; except that the guest bed closet IS my closet (H uses the master bedrooms). Our closets are tiny :-(

[Deleted]

Try on everything and rid of anything where the fit/finish is "off." Once all the crap is culled out you can assess the remaining pieces. I don't have a hard and fast rule about getting rid of something if I haven't worn it for a year, it just boils down to whether I still like it and whether or not I already have something to go with it.

[mrsacornblue]

I try to purge twice a year when I switch out seasonal clothes. Things I am sure of obviously go in the Goodwill bag. I will keep items I am unsure of but if I see they are not being worn or do not fit, I get rid of them. I tend to only make trips a few times a year to Goodwill so I have pulled a piece out of the bag a few times. Mostly, though if it goes in it stays in.