Spring Cleaning: The Closet Edition

Spring cleaning. If it doesn’t light you up the way frolicking in Central Park amidst the cherry blossoms might, you’re not alone. I freakishly enjoy the catharsis that comes from whisking dust bunnies away from closet corners, tossing away sad, flimsy hangers, and finally giving those unreasonably high-heeled boots the boot (AKA sending them off to The Real Real because those were some nice boots).

If your floor has now become part of your closet and your outfit of the day is whatever shirt is on top of your floor pile, don’t despair! A spring closet clean out is in order, and it’s more attainable than you think. All you have to do is break it up into manageable chunks (whenever someone tells me to ‘chunk it’ I think of Chunky Monkey ice cream, maybe that’s just me).

Without further ado, here’s how to turn your closet into the closet of your dreams:

Set the mood.

To really get yourself into a positive state of mind, get those Spotify playlists lined up, light a nice little Diptyque candle, float some some palo santo around the room, whatever makes scents to YOU. Also critical: a big bottle of water to keep you hydrated and energized. Now’s the time to grab some extra large garbage bags and post-its/sharpies for labeling each bag as ‘donate,’ ‘maybe,’ ‘consign’, and ‘toss’. 

Pull *everything* out and lay it all out. 

No need to throw everything on the floor. Got a bed? Good. Put all your clothes on the bed, and then your shoes on the floor (not the bed, obvs).

Before I continue on, a note on removing clothes fully from your closet: you have to take them off the rack, remove them from the hanger, and really feel how they feel. Does this mohair sweater look like a dream but feel like an inferno of fire ants on my back? Is this plush white H&M sweater actually a Monet? (Monet=looks really cute and cozy from afar, but up close looks like Mount PILLier.) 

Don’t be afraid to try things on, too! If you spend more time staring at those skinny jeans you bought five years ago than actually wearing them, it’s OKAY to consign/donate them. Just try them on, confirm they’re too small, and be done with it. You’re just making space for a new future pair of jeans that will be even more flattering than the last pair. 

Create piles and sort.

Now for dividing and conquering. Sort clothes into ‘toss,’ ‘donate,’ ‘consign,’ piles and, if you’re the sentimental/indecisive type, a ‘maybe’ pile too. (I always find that by the end of a closet cleanse, I’m either too tired or too jazzed up by how good my new closet looks to go rifling through the ‘maybe’ pile again.)

For unworn clothes with an expensive price tag (and in some cases, with the literal price tag still on it), don’t fret about saying ‘goodbye.’ Thank them for showing you that this particular color/style doesn’t work for you! The good news is that consignment sites like The Real Real are there to scoop up your stuff, give you some money in the process, and pass along this item to an eager future recipient. 

For clothes that have holes and stains that are garish and are literally on the front of your shirt, give ‘em a tossy toss. Other clothes that are in perfectly fine condition but simply no longer serve you can totally serve someone else. Place these in your donate bag to be whisked away to your local thrift store, The Salvation Army, or the Goodwill.

Move winter clothes to storage. 

If you live somewhere with seasons, this one’s for you! Otherwise, if you happen to live where it’s warm year-round, lucky you––no rearranging necessary. But if you don’t really subscribe to seasonal storage and would rather keep everything out altogether, that’s a great option too.

Seasonal storage can look different depending on how much extra space you have. If you’re *blessed* with storage space above your closet, place your winter sweaters/pants here (consider keeping summer dresses in your closet as is, so they don’t snag or crumple). 

Hiding clothes under the bed works too, so long as you don’t stuff everything to the gills, which will make it painful to take everything out again next winter.

When it comes to containers, you could opt for the simple yet dependable latched bin, or spring for zippered linen bags (I’m a big fan of these Muji linen storage bags as well as these bags by the Laundress, since they’re breathable and nice to look at). Just make sure to measure everything beforehand so it fits in your designated space! 

Organize the keep pile. 

Now for the fun part! For all your wares that made the cut, now’s the time to return them to your closet. Do you want to ROYGBIV everything out or are you good not doing that? The choice is yours. Just make sure to keep your clothing categories separated for easy access and removal. I subscribe to the Kon Mari method of categorizing my clothes, then organizing them by height, which creates the visual illusion of more open closet space (this means dresses first, followed by skirts, blazers, and then blouses).  

Fill in the gaps.

If after everything, you’ve found you need some backup organizing accoutrements, now’s the time to fire up your Amazon account or get thee to The Container Store. Need more hangers? These are great. Need a bra organizer? This one is great. Need shelf dividers for your sweaters or purses? This one is also great. Think an expandable dresser organizer could keep all your t-shirts in order? This one always does the trick.

Get your donate/sell/toss clothes outta there ASAP.

Bring your donate bags to your local thrift store or Salvation Army ASAP. And in the meantime, tie them up real tight with a knot, so you’re not tempted to rifle through everything last minute and have clothing donator’s remorse. If you have a Real Real account, send for that consignment kit ASAP (or use an empty box you already have on hand) and print out one of their shipping labels so you can get those clothes shipped out and priced up ASAP.

Yay! You’ve done it. Now that you’ve organized your heart out, go relax and bask in your new closet glory. Take those before and after pics, send them to friends, or just collapse in a heap of exhaustion because closet organizing is a marathon/heavy duty stuff, no matter what they say. 

Happy spring cleaning!