“1. Identify the essential. 2. Eliminate the rest.”

Today we’re going to declutter your closet. The decluttering of your home and life starts now! I’ve shared my experiences with minimalism and what it has brought me, and I’ve shared the foundation for optimizing your mindset to declutter your wardrobe. Now go get your garbage bags and get ready!

Laundry
In the previous post, I advised you to have done all your laundry, so nothing is hiding in the laundry basket. Take out all your clothes. Take them off the hanger, out of the drawers, out of the hallway closet. Every space in your house where clothes can be, bring them to one place. We want all the garments together to see how much we actually have.

Declutter your closet: Categories
We need all the categories when we declutter your closet: normal, every day, work,  evening, and gym clothes, socks, underwear, and swimsuits. The only categories you can leave for now are bags and shoes. We will come back to that after your clothes. We’re going to put all your clothes together in a pile, preferably in front of your closet. This might be on the bed, or on the floor. See where you can work best. Like I said earlier, we’re only going to focus on the positive – the items that you LOVE, those that make you happy.

Is this really all you need?

Piles and bags
Now you have this huge pile in your room. It’s a lot, isn’t it? Is this really all you need? You probably found a few items that you didn’t remember you had (or you thought you lost it) and maybe also some items with the tags still on.

We’re going to get through this pile. Open your first garbage bag and here we go.
Take the first item you see and hold it in your hand. Does it make you happy? Do you love it?
If yes – make a Love Pile. Also, take care of how you lay down your garment – with love, please.
If no – the garbage bag is the answer. 

The garbage bag has 3 different options: sell, donate, and throw away. It’s important you have these categories ready when you start. This will help you make the right decisions during the declutter process. If you sort this out later, there will be items that will be the “best” of the worst. This is a pile of garments that you don’t love, but when you go through this pile alone, you inevitably will have second thoughts.

I wrote a blog post on what to do with the unwanted things.

Surprise…
I want to make a small exception for you. This is only for you and just because you’re doing this for the first time. When in doubt, and ONLY when you’re in excruciating, sweaty palms kind of doubt, you can make a ‘Maybe Pile’. We will come back to it later. And then we have to be really strict.

It will be easier once we get to the garments that are damaged or have a stain. That T-shirt is made in such nice fabric? Well, you’re not wearing it now, are you? Give thanks for all the great times you had together and then it’s time to say goodbye.

This is the only way to be really proud of all the amazing garments that will be left in your wardrobe. You might be worried that there will be no garments left after this ritual. But I promise you – when you keep all the items you love, you have all you need.

Trying a garment while you declutter your closet
My mistake during this ritual in the past has been: trying a garment on when I was in doubt. I tried it on and thought; Ah, this is actually really nice. I added it back in the closet, still folded or hanging in the same way. Obviously, nothing really changed in the appearance of the garment in the closet space. After a few months, it was still in the closet, unworn. So in the next round, it would be chucked anyway.
I highly encourage you to not try stuff on, because it often does not change the way you see the garment in your closet.

The objective is to keep all the items you love and need

Declutter your closet
Decluttering your closet is a process; this is how we learn what works best. There is no wrong way to go here. It’s about intention. And our intention is to create a Conscious Closet with the items you love. And that’s a process. 

Although the objective is to do this properly in one go, I’m also still going through my garments, every once in a while. Sometimes I have a feeling that something just doesn’t feel right in my closet. I take everything out and yes indeed – I can toss 2-3 garments away…because I haven’t been wearing it, or another item took over, or the season changed and I noticed that a garment has been hanging there for ages. Or my body changed and I don’t like how this garment feels anymore…whatever the reason is – it’s all good. It’s a process of feeling love for your environment, your home, your closet, your things.

Love and need
The objective is to keep all the items you love and need. Have the intention to only do it once. I can promise you this: when you keep a garment because you’re in-between ‘like’ and ‘love’ – the next round this item will be one of the first garments to go. Save yourself the hassle and let it go now.

So now we have decluttered your wardrobe, and you have all the items you love and need.  Soon I will talk about which type of garments you need to have in your Conscious Closet. When an item is still missing from that list, and you can give yourself a ‘yes’ answer to the ‘do I need it’ question, then you can go shopping with a solid reason and goal.

The Maybe Pile
We have this Maybe Pile. This cannot be bigger than the other two categories – Love or the garbage bag (multiple categories). Preferably this pile does not exist. But for your first time, you might need some thinking time. And that is okay.

I have a few suggestions for this and you really have to find out what suits you best. As mentioned earlier, it’s best not to have a Maybe Pile, but if there were really sweaty palms involved – here are the rules:

1. Go through this pile again and make a ‘like’ pile (because it cannot be love), and a ‘doubt’ pile. Then think about several seasons, going on a summer holiday and your work. Have you covered all those functions in the love or like pile? When you feel you still need this item, you can merge it with your Love Pile.
2. Another option is to take some garments with you on your holiday that are ‘good enough’. I do this sometimes for a summer holiday as I travel super light with a small backpack, usually. You can wear it during your holiday and you can leave it there when you head back home. If it’s not worn out by the sun, sea, and sunscreen, consider donating it to a local charity before you head home. A nice way to use that garment to its fullest.
3. When you really cannot make a decision, you can fold these items nicely and keep them somewhere else, preferably out of sight. When you have a closet with multiple doors – keep them in the door that won’t open a lot. And put it somewhere high (or low) in a corner as if it’s not there. See if you can ‘survive’ without these garments. Pack the garments in a bag and give yourself 3 or 4 months (or anything that makes you feel comfortable). When the time has passed and you haven’t missed these items, you can just chuck it without looking at it again. This is a good sign! Since we’re not looking for something, it means we’ve got everything we love and need.

Recap step-by-step to declutter your closet

1. Take out all your clothes, from all over your home (including your laundry basket).
2. The objective is to keep all the items you love and need. 
3. Ask yourself: Does this make me happy? Do I love it? If yes – make a Love Pile
4. If no – the garbage bag is the answer, with three different options: sell, donate, and throw away.
5. Do not try things on. This will mislead your judgment.
6. BONUS: If this is your first time and in doubt, and ONLY when you’re in excruciating, sweaty palms kind of doubt, you can make a ‘Maybe Pile’

Enjoy decluttering your closet and share your experiences!
When you’re finished, it’s all about organizing to keep your closet space clutter-free!

The next step in decluttering your home: Cleaning out your bathroom.

How did it make you feel when you were dividing your clothes in yes and no? Did you need the maybe pile?

Thank you for reading.
We’re in this together.
~