Cleaning out your Closet: 5 Tips & Tricks

Spending time around the blogosphere this time of year is really funny to me. The endless lists of top 5 this-or-that to let go of in the new year, 10 bad habits to break this year, 7 green smoothies to add to your New Year cleanse! Etc. etc.

In some ways I love it - because I think it's always a good thing to aspire to improve. The reason I personally don't click on many of those posts? The un-realistic side of it all, knowing I have my own way of working towards my own goals. Yet here I am throwing another of these posts into the mix! I wanted to share this because I think that these ideas on how to clean out your sartorial excess are good for any time of year, and these tips and tricks are effective, quick, and easy to accomplish!

1. Invite a friend! My personal favourite way of going through my closet? Inviting a friend or family member to help out! Sure, doesn't sound like the most exciting thing to invite someone to ("Hey you, come help me clean my closet, it'll be a bonafide BLAST!!") but adding in the incentive of letting them have their pick from what you don't keep is definitely a bonus. Make it an opportunity to spend time together, and treat them to dinner or lunch afterwards too!


2. Use a pretty ribbon. The whole "how often do you actually wear this" technique has never worked for me, because I save certain pieces for special occasions, events, in case of interviews, etc. I also just don't keep track of what I do and don't wear very often. However, this idea shared on A Beautiful Mess of using a ribbon tied to where you hang your clothes to help you keep an eye on what you do wear makes total sense! I don't hang all my clothes, but it would totally work for my dresses and blouses that I do hang!


3. Get rid of what doesn't fit. It sounds simple, but it's not necessarily something we accept and I think it's my number one issue within my closet! I often tell myself 'I can wear this if I belt it', but I don't always feel like wearing a belt. Or the good ol' 'I'll alter it to make it fit!'. I don't really have time for that, and seeing as sewing isn't my top hobby, when I do have time I'll do something else. These clothes get forgotten in my 'sew later' pile and end up at the bottom of my closet in a bag, never used.


4. Capsule Wardrobe. Have you heard of this Capsule Wardrobe trend? If you think you're up for a more drastic and structured closet-cleanse, this might be for you! I really like the idea of it, but I don't know if I could peraonally follow such a structure for my clothing. But maybe I'm just being a big wimp!


5. Take it easy. No stress! Don't pressure yourself to get rid of your clothes if you don't feel you want to. If you're happy with the rainbow of patterns and array of accessories you have - keep them! Minimalism is 'in' right now, so it's easy to try and fit yourself into it. Maybe you'll become a less-is-more type in the future, maybe you won't! Some days I ravage through my closet and get rid of half of it, but the other 360 or so days of the year I can't be bothered. It's aaaaallll good!


Bonus trick: If you take a picture of your closet (like I did for this post) you will definitely feel like doin' some re-organizing and folding!

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For further reading, I really liked these posts from some of my favourite bloggers about changing up their wardrobes:
- Bridget Anne from Deer Circus always writes beautifully, even about purging her closet!
- I've always admired Carly's style, and love her views on clothing which you can read HERE!


What are your favourite tricks for closet purges?!
xo