Your closet, as much as you love it, is the messiest space in your house. I’m pretty sure that your closet has some clothes that you hope to fit in some months from now and some that you hope to start wearing soon despite knowing that you hate them. Beneath this mountain of ‘maybe’ and ‘someday’ items lies a tiny pile of clothes that are actually useful but always get overlooked.
If you disagree with me on this, answer a question with utmost honesty. How often does it happen that you open your closet to find something to wear but end up feeling puzzled because of the limited options? Even though there is a huge collection of clothes that you have accumulated over the years, nothing seems wearable because it either doesn’t fit you or it doesn’t suit you or isn’t loved enough by you.
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures.
Decluttering clothes is difficult even though you know that you are better off letting go of some of them. But no matter how difficult it gets, you need to be able to find a way to get rid of anything that isn’t adding value to your life or is not making you feel good.
Here, the solution is to sift through your closet and purge it down to only the items that make you feel good.
Still confused about what to get rid of? Here’s a list of items that you can toss away from your closet without ever having to look back:
1. Clothes that you’ve outgrown or the ones that don’t fit you anymore. Also discard items of clothing that are torn, stained or worn out. If there are clothes that you don’t like to wear for any reason, consider donating or giving them away to a friend or family. Here’s a detailed post on how you can ruthlessly declutter your clothes’ closet.
2. Shoes that are too worn out to be worn again. Get rid of any footwear that you haven’t worn in the last one year including the ones that are damaged and beyond repair. Also get rid of shoes that don’t go along with your personal style or don’t make you feel good. Here’s a detailed post on how you can declutter your shoes.
3. Accessories like scarves, belts, hats and hair accessories that are unfit for use. Get rid of over-stretched scrunchies, broken hair clips or any other torn/damaged accessory.
4. Jewellery, both cosmetic and precious, needs to be decluttered if it isn’t adding value to your life. Get rid of earrings that don’t have a matching pair. If there is an item f precious jewellery that is too expensive to maintain, consider selling it at a jewellery store. If you want to get into the details of purging your jewellery, click here.
5. Hangers and hooks that are broken, lose or have lost majority of their matches.
6. Socks that have been lying orphaned. Also get rid of the pairs that are either worn out or have holes in them. If you have too many socks of a particular colour, get rid of all but two.
7. Gloves that have either lost their match or are too worn out to be used again. Also get rid of the pairs that don’t make your hands feel warm enough.
8. Seasonal clothing items like coats and jackets that you unpack every winter but end up rotating on the same three pieces. Get rid of pieces you don’t like enough or intend to use in the near future.
9. Hand-me-down clothes that you inherited from your parents or grandparents but didn’t like enough to wear.
10. Discoloured or worn-out swimwear/bathing suits that you know you will never wear again.
11. Event-specific clothes that aren’t relevant anymore. If you had bought a tee on a whim at an event, there’s no use holding on to it unless you have already been wearing it at home. If there are coats or shoes that you bought for a specific event that happened years ago and haven’t touched it since then, get rid of it right away.
12. Old school uniforms that are no longer relevant.
13. Undergarments that have too many duplicates including the ones with holes. Also get rid of any underwear or bras that you have been wearing for more than a year (for hygiene reasons).
14. Handbags and wallets that don’t match your style or are stained/damaged/torn. If there’s a handbag or wallet that you haven’t used in the last one year, consider getting rid of it because you’re unlikely to use it ever again.
15. Poorly functioning storage items like drawer organizers, plastic bins and shelves that are either broken or of poor quality. If the tension rod in your closet is hanging loosely, get it replaced or tightened. Also toss away the hanging shelves and closet organizers that are too old or not sturdy enough to hold your stuff.
16. Items with a price tag. If you had bought an item on impulse years ago but didn’t care to use it all this time, it’s an indication that you won’t be using it ever again. Get rid of any item that you’ve bought in the last six months whose price tag is still intact. If you can’t muster the courage to get rid of it, promise yourself to use it immediately.
No one ever likes getting rid of clothes that were bought with their hard-earned money. While some clothes made you look good at some point in your life, others have emotional value attached to them. Even though clothes mean so much more to us than just a lifeless item, you are better off without the ones that are simply living rent-free in your closet and aren’t adding any value to your life.
I hope this checklist will motivate you to go through your closet right away and get rid of any item of clothing, accessories or footwear that isn’t making you rejoice.