There is a certain satisfaction in decluttering clothes. You can quickly take your closet from a chaotic mess to an orderly, serene place. I have personally decluttered my closet many, many times. I declutter in hopes of making my wardrobe more sustainable, minimalistic and less consumerism based. There have been mistakes but I hope that I have learned from them. Now when I declutter there are certain questions to ask when decluttering clothes. These questions make the process easier and more efficient. These questions also keep me from decluttering things that I may actually need or want later.
My Experience Decluttering Clothes – My Spring Challenge
This past Spring I decluttered about 75% of the clothes in my closet. I lived off of a small sampling of the clothes that I owned for the entire spring. This list consisted of:
- 1 pair of jeans
- 2 t-shirts
- 4 tank tops
- about 8-10 dresses for various occasions and various lengths
- 1 pair of overalls
- 3 bike shorts to wear under dresses and around the house
- 1 pair of wool leggings
Previously I had begun to feel anxiety when looking at my clothes. There were certain things that I wanted to wear all the time and other things that I only wore because I felt that I had to. For this challenge I focused on keeping those things that I felt drawn to wear continuously. I asked myself the questions to ask while decluttering clothes and efficiently chose my keepers.
Outcome of the Declutter Challenge
What I found from this arrangement was that I felt so much more peaceful when looking for things to wear in the morning before work. I am a teacher. I make about 1000 decisions a day and what to wear was no longer a difficult one! There are certain clothes that I am allowed to wear to work. These are jeans and a t-shirt, a dress with sleeves, overalls with a shirt or dress tucked in. However several of the dresses I kept were sleeveless and not allowed to be worn to work alone. During the challenge I also bought 1 3/4 sleeve cardigan and a flowy oversized shirt. These could be worn over my dresses to give them sleeves.
I loved the creativity I felt in rearranging the pieces in new ways. I deliberately buy items in colors that complement each other and are combinable. There were some items that I kept in my small wardrobe that I did not wear at all. One was a dress that I had bought at Ross. I think I avoided it because it was too short to wear at school and has elastic arm bands that I find annoying.
Seasonal Items + I Am a Seasonal Item
Another thing I noticed was that I gravitate toward specific items during different times of the year. I live in Texas which, one could argue, has seasons (other than just heat). Therefore I have a specific rotation of clothes that I exchange out for each season. I keep these clothes under my bed in IKEA zip containers. It’s more than just that the clothing items are seasonal. I myself am seasonal. Summer Travel Rachel is a very different person than Spring Teacher Rachel. Spring Teacher Rachel is barely surviving. Summer Travel Rachel is THRIVING.
Now that I am in my summer era I am finding that my spring clothes are going to have to be reserved for the classroom. Summer Rachel loves hippy, bohemian clothes, ALL tank tops, NO SLEEVES AT ALL. For the first time ever I feel drawn to the sari wrap skirts I bought over a year ago and never wore. I have completely avoided the overalls for months. I am now feeling the draw to declutter the spring items to make way for summer me.
The perennial favorites are:
- Madewell crop tanks (j’adore but no longer available)
- Flowy Mexicali Blues Penny Lane Pants
- Wool& Maggie and Camellia Tank Dresses
- Pyne & Smith Dresses
Questions to Ask When Decluttering Clothes
So without further ado these are the questions that I ask myself when decluttering (and buying) clothes. These questions can help clarify whether it is worth holding on to an item for another season. They can also help clarify if you need to buy a particular item as well. By being intentional with the things that you buy you can sometimes avoid having to declutter them from your closet later.
1. Does the Item Fit Me Well?
It is important to hold on to items only when they actually fit, and fit well. If the item does not fit well you will not end up wearing it often enough to justify keeping it. I discovered this with two dresses I bought from Ross this Spring. Although they are cute one feels slightly too tight and the other has elastic on the arms. I knew I hated elastic on the arms but I bought it anyway because it looked cute on. Regardless of them looking good on, I have worn them each exactly once the entire Spring.
2. Is the Item Appropriate For Places Where I Go?
When choosing to declutter items from your wardrobe you need to ask yourself whether or not the item can be worn to places you typically go. Of course we all hold on to some items that might be worn to specific places for special occasions. But there are other items that we think we should like to wear but we don’t because they are not appropriate. To use a previous example, I found that I could not wear the Ross dress to very many places. I could not wear it to work or to church because it was too short. For that reason I found that I never reached for it (as well as the armband elastic). If you are holding on to things that look cute but can’t feasibly be worn, it’s better to show them the door!
3. Can the Item Be Combined With Other Things in My Wardrobe?
The best clothing to hang on to while decluttering is clothing that is versatile. These items can be used in many different situations. They can also be combined with other pieces from your wardrobe. When thinking about whether to declutter an item one important question is whether it can be combined with your other pieces. If not, you may do better by decluttering the item unless it is a particular favorite. The clothing in my wardrobe all combine with a particular palette of colors and therefore they all combine. This makes it easier to use the clothing item and means that it will get more use over the long run.
4. Are the Colors and Fit Flattering on Me?
In addition to fit you should also ask yourself whether the piece of clothing uses colors and fit in a way that are flattering on your skin tone and figure. I have had to declutter items for precisely this reason. There is a certain shade of peach that I love, but it does not look good on my olive skin tone. This makes it to where every time I wear it I feel unhappy in it. Items like this need to be decluttered. Do not hang on to items that make you look washed out. Other items I have hung onto in the past have been things that I like on the hanger but on my body not so much. These items tend to hang out in my closet waiting to be worn meanwhile I never pick them.
5. Do I Actually Like This Item?
This question may seem obvious but I have noticed many occasions in which I bought clothes that I thought I would like, but didn’t. Ahem. Quinn Pants. I am trying to be conscious of specific clothing rules when buying clothes. I have noticed, for instance, that I don’t usually like black bottoms. In the case of the Quinn pants black was the only color left in my size and rather than wait for another color, I bought the black. The result? I have tried to like these pants for over a year but I just don’t. If you always hang on to things you don’t love just because you paid money for them you will not have space for things you do love.
Conclusion
By asking yourself the five questions it will become absolutely clear which items you should declutter and those to hold on to! I also recommend separating your wardrobe like a capsule wardrobe, by season. Set some seasonal clothes aside so that you do not become overburdened by the clutter of having clothes for all seasons available at once. Think about yourself and what you need for each season.
Now tell me, do you have any decluttering tips that I did not mention? Drop me a comment below and share the wealth! Thanks for reading!
