Cleaning out your closet

[jadoreyoumore]

Anything I haven't worn in two seasons, I throw in a bag and give away. Things I didn't wear in the past 6 months (for reasons besides weather), I attempt to create three looks with, and if it's impossible, I toss it. Shoes, I'll toss if I haven't worn them in a year, or if they look beyond repair. I check all my staples to find signs of wear and damage and debate what repairing/tailoring would cost versus replacing. Also, anything that no longer fits, I get rid of rather than letting it clutter my closet with a glimmer of hope that I might be that size again. Basically - it's closet genocide but after some major damage control, I have an excuse to go shopping again!

 

[SirSunday]

^sounds like a great tip for spring cleaning - one that i'll have to do as i haven't purged my wardrobe lately

 

[jadoreyoumore]

haha yes I avoid doing it too much because I always go trash happy and get rid of a lot of things without thinking about it (and regret it later!) However, I just did a major purge and I feel a million times better

 

[fashionista-ta]

I'm continuing to clear out magazines ... the goal is one a day. Last week I hit 10

 

[salomelovesjohn]

I'm not the most organized person, but my closet is super organized! Every season, I go through my pieces and decide what is wearable, what needs to be tailored, and what needs to go to the Salvation Army/Goodwill. Then, I organize according to Colin Cowie's system. It's as easy as 1,2,3.

What is that system??? I'm curious.

 

[SirSunday]

^yeah...i'm not familiar with it either, any info/clarification would be appreciated

I'm continuing to clear out magazines ... the goal is one a day. Last week I hit 10

i'm horrible at that...i have stacks on the floor in my home office...and they're just so comforting to have i did however purge a lot of paper, receipts, and old books (gave to charity) this past weekend. this week i'm looking to purge my winter wardrobe that did not come out of the wardrobe or closet this season...it'll be interesting to see how much this will end up being!

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ Well, it's very sad ... pretty much for 20+ years, magazines came in but did not go out I was thinking of selling my house, and when the realtor (I know her) came by to take a look, she was like, You have *got* to do something about these magazines So now I'm working on it, but it's going to take awhile to reverse the trend. I've thought of several subscriptions I do not need to renew ...

 

[salomelovesjohn]

^^
How many years of magazines are we talking about? I would maybe just throw out an entire year's worth and see how I felt. You know I'm like you - I used to have tons of scraps of paper and magazines and memorbilia and then I tossed it. My place is cleaner and I don't miss it. Honestly. Its like a load was lifted.

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ I did throw out (recycle) a bunch ... Vanity Fairs with non-interesting covers, probably years' worth of those, and all Lucky 2005 and before ... I am discovering that fashion mags 2004 and prior don't have much to offer And in fact their trend info is about opposite current reality But the interviews, etc. are still interesting ...

I hear ya, I'm working my way up to something more drastic ...

Strangely, books are easier for me to get rid of, because each one is about one thing, and I remember what it is ...

 

[salomelovesjohn]

^^
I have books upon books, the ones I can't get rid of are my art books and my harder to get novels that I've already read. Things that aren't at the library.

It probably would be interesting to see what fashion mags said, and realize that you can usually just buy something hoping to get 2-3 seasons out of it, if that. Well at least in my opinion.

 

[snowqueen]

pile it high and wide i figure.. i am a messy person by nature.. doesnt bother me .. more important things in life i figure.. i dont have time to be tidy

 

[chessmess]

I love CLUTTER

But recently my mother (must have been taken over by aliens) has completly de cluttered my room! and she keeps tidying it up!
It's crazy.
I love paper clutter!

i knwo what you mean
i used to love clutter too
i loved my room having that undone look
but then
one night
at 2:00 in the morning
i liquidated it....

it feels much better tbh.

 

[fashionista-ta]

^^
I have books upon books, the ones I can't get rid of are my art books and my harder to get novels that I've already read. Things that aren't at the library.

It probably would be interesting to see what fashion mags said, and realize that you can usually just buy something hoping to get 2-3 seasons out of it, if that. Well at least in my opinion.

What's making it easy for me to get rid of a lot of books is that I'm realizing I'm a different person now (OK, maybe the same person at a different stage ) than I was when I loved those books. They just don't fit anymore ...

I also got rid of a big box of professional journals & books that I wasn't using (to a good home).

My experience has been that if you really buy the very best of a trend, you'll love it whether everyone else thinks it's hot or not ... OK, that may be dependent on not caring what everyone else thinks The other thing is, if you have a compact wardrobe and really wear everything, and you buy at the leading edge, you wear it out by the time the trend is fading ...

 

[Ghost]

I Make My Bedroom Free Of Any Unnecessary things that we usually are attached to mentally.
some tips: most important...Just be decisive...
throw away old and even books that you don't use and will not use at all
don't buy and store up things for future use ...new notebooks and pens.....
throw away unused cosmetics
stop collecting free items like scrapbook that are given out in certain activities in sch. You will find them becoming rubbish soon

this is how it goes
Think -> don't use + won't use -> throw away or give away....don't give them space..BE MEAN

my bed room is empty as a cell and it really clears and relaxes mymind
if you think it's too empty, add a medium sized potted plant or a dog or a cat....it willl liven the whole energy

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ I haven't experienced any emptiness, but then I do have 3 dogs

I love to see a beautiful expanse of empty hardwood floor

 

[ClosetCupcake]

How stuffed are all of your closets? I constantly feel like I have too much, and that I must minimize my wardrobe to fit into one large suitcase at all times - a mindset which has become obsessive, especially after having to evacuate my home because of the San Diego fires.

 

[Belowen]

I hate clutter.

As for my closet, I go through stages when I want to reorganise, or I feel like I have too many items that I don't wear anymore. So I do a huge clean out & either give things to my sister/mother/sister in law, or donate them to charity. I'm also at the stage of buy something/throw something out. I like that concept. But I never throw anything in the bin that can be recycled/given to others.

I have also discovered that it's hard to throw away my fiance's clothes because he seems to have this unconscious awareness of every item he owns. And he will somehow need something that he hasn't worn in 2 years that I've given away, about 2 weeks after I've disposed of it, lol.

 

[fashionista-ta]

I can totally believe that, Belowen

Cupcake, my closets aren't stuffed, but my main one is full. It's not a big closet by any means ... it's a small hall closet. I also have overflow in another closet. I need to pare down the overflow, there are some things back there I won't wear again, plus a few things I'm keeping for sentimental reasons.

On my day off I donated 6 shopping bags of clothes & shoes & two boxes of magazines, and my storage room feels completely different with that stuff gone, you can walk in & breathe ... Still more to go, but between that & what I did at Christmas, I think the majority of what I need to get rid of is gone. Except magazines ...

 

[Bel]

My new system is for every item I buy, I get rid of something similar.
However, I still have too much stuff, and that's not decreasing clutter, just keeping it from increasing.

When I pack for college I'm going to sort through everything I'm not taking with me, and get rid of most of it. If I can go five months without an object, I probably don't need it at all.

I am actually kind of excited.

 

[fashionista-ta]

Just wanted to note that I am still keeping up with my new system. I do something every morning and night. I have a basket and a chair in my spare room. In the basket are papers I need to sort through.

I have a mail slot in my front door, and a basket for paper recycling in my living room next to the sofa. After I get home & let the dogs out, I toss the day's mail onto the sofa & quickly sort thru it. Catalogs go in the catalog basket; magazines go to the table; credit card offers go into the junkmail shredder by the front door; and things that will take longer to read go to the basket mentioned above.

On a morning or evening when I have a little time, I set the timer for 6 minutes, grab the recycling basket, and have at it. When I finish, I dump the basket in the recycling bin. If I'm really pressed for time, I discard at least one item from the basket.

When I have more time (like on weekends), I go thru & discard a magazine.

I'm making steady progress thru my backlog of paper, and get rid of a stack of magazines each month ...