How to Declutter Your Closet

 

I bet the majority of us have been there. Unless you are a super neat freak or a legit minimalist, we’ve all struggled to fit everything we want into our closets. If you’re there right now, don’t worry as this post is about how to declutter your closet properly and have your things in a more reachable place. 

 

Our closets get full so quickly. Living in the current age of mass markets and consumerism, it’s just so easy to have so much more clothes and apparel that you don’t really need. 

 

We are all influenced to a certain extent by advertisers and popular culture that we are unaware of our belongings and their purpose. Hence, within as little as a year, we could gather so much new stuff that we don’t really need. 

 

Where does all of it go? Of course, it’s our poor closets that don’t have the space for all of it. And within a few months, our closets are just so full that we don’t know where everything is.

 

The idea of decluttering and organizing your entire closet can seem a little daunting at first but with the right approach, it can be done in a way that helps you own less, give more, and have space for the most important things for you.  

 

Why you should declutter your closet

 

Before you start decluttering your closet, think about why you should do it. This will help you make better decisions on the things to keep and give away or sell. When you have good reasons for things, you tend to take it more seriously and stick to it long term. 

 

Here are some of the reasons to consider.

 

For convenience

 

When your closet is so full that you don’t know where everything is, it can take up so much time to find and rearrange your closet. It can pile up all the folded clothes and take up valuable space.

 

Imagine running late for a meeting and not knowing where a certain dress, tie, or accessory is. You would have to go through plenty of folded clothing and other items to get to it. And will have to rearrange the mess sometime later. How easy would it be to have it in a place where you can access it fast?

 

Peace of mind

 

Another thing is just the simple peace of mind. There’s a lot to be gained from being at peace in your mind. You can be your best self when you’re at peace. 

 

Having not to worry about a messy closet is just so much worth it just as it is. 

 

Maintain Cleanliness 

 

Things last longer when maintained well and stored properly. By keeping your valuable clothes and accessories clean and well-stored, you can maintain a clean closet that helps you dress properly and feel good about yourself. 

 

It also helps to keep your bedroom and other parts of your home clean and tidy which is just so important.

 

Now that we’ve looked at some valid reasons to declutter your closet, let’s learn the process and get started. 

How to declutter your closet

 

Remove everything in your closet

 

If you want to declutter your closet properly, it’s very important to remove everything inside and sort them out before deciding what goes back in again. By removing everything in your closet, you get to see how much stuff you own, and what you use and don’t.

 

Assess the available space

 

When you’ve removed everything, take time to access the total space available in your closet and compare it to the amount of things you own. Most likely you will realize that there’s just no way to store all of it in an organized way inside your closet. 

 

That should make it much easier for you to plan out the closet when you’re putting everything back. 

 

Add more dividers or drawers

 

This may or may not be possible. So if your closet doesn’t allow it, you can skip this step. But if it does, then great. Think about where you can add more shelves to create more compartments and make it easier to organize by categories. 

 

I found it useful to add 3 levels of shelves to the bottom half of my closet to make 3 big compartments where I was able to store all my folded clothes, socks, and some other stuff that I use like meditation and yoga mats, etc. 

 

Categorize 

 

Now that your closet is empty and improvised for more organized storage, it’s time to go through all the clothes and other stuff and start categorizing them. 

 

I find it helpful to keep it simple and first have 03 categories. Use frequently, use occasionally, and don’t use. Once you’ve done this first step. Then you can further categorize into different types of clothing, accessories, etc. 

 

Keep the seasonal stuff in separate boxes

 

The next step is to get boxes and place all your seasonal stuff like winter clothing, beach wear, stuff you use for festivities, etc into boxes. Once done, pack it well so that it doesn’t get dirty, and name it so that you can easily access it later when you need it. 

 

If you have a storage room in your home, that’s where the boxes can go, or you can also store them above the closet or under your bed.

Donate or sell whatever you don’t use

 

Now comes the part that makes a lot of people unsure and uneasy. A lot of us tend to develop some sort of attachment towards the stuff we own over the years. So it may be a little difficult to let go of them.

 

But think about how little or no use you have for those things. There are so many people who need them and could use them better. So decide on what things you want to sell and donate the rest. You’ll feel better later. 

 

Rearrange the closet with your reduced belongings

 

If you’ve come this far, give yourself a pat on the back. You’ve done the hard part. Now it’s just a matter of rearranging your closet and storing them in an organized and usable way. 

 

I like to keep all my evening and formal clothing that I regularly wear in hangers. Fold the home clothes nicely and store them by category (eg: t-shirts, pants, shorts, underwear, etc). Keep the regulars more accessible and the irregulars a little behind so that you cause little to no friction in accessing things later. 

 

Make a decluttering schedule

 

No matter how well you declutter, over time you are going to own new stuff and make things a little messy occasionally. So make decluttering a more regular thing like once a month or so depending on how much time you have. 

 

Take the time to fold messy clothes, throw away any labels or boxes etc you have kept lying around your closet, and put an effort to clean a little bit whenever you see them. This way, there’s much less to sort out the next time you declutter your closet.

 

I hope these steps have helped you put decluttering your closet into perspective and make it something you enjoy doing. If you have any more ideas, I would love to hear them in the comments.