Many people don’t see any value in decluttering their clothes. They feel that clothes are an inevitable part of their life and it doesn’t make any sense to sort them through and get rid of some only because they haven’t been worn in the last few months. Even though this is partially right, the importance of decluttering clothes shouldn’t be overlooked.
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Regardless of how important or useful a clothing item has been to you in the past, remember that you’re living in a world that is constantly evolving. Your taste, preferences and style change with every passing day which makes your old clothes run out of trend.
And who would know this better than me?
When I moved out of my home for higher studies, I remember buying a couple of loose-fit jeans and a few tops and jackets that were a size bigger than mine. I wasn’t too much into wearing trendy clothes back then and liked sticking to the garments that made me feel comfortable. I lived in these clothes for the next six years before moving on to slim-fit jeans and body-hugging tops. Even though my personal style had entirely changed, it took me 2 more years to get rid of the old clothes because I didn’t want to be wasteful.
The benefits of decluttering clothes are immense some of which can’t be felt directly. Here’s a few benefits you can gain right now from decluttering your unused clothes:
1. Easier To Manage
When you don’t have a mountain of clothes to deal with and everything in your closet is nicely organized, it becomes easier to manage it without feeling overwhelmed. Having less clothes means that you don’t have to spend an entire day cleaning and tidying up your closet.
Moreover, when your closet is stuffed with too many clothes, you are likely to rotate on the same few pieces that catch your attention first. But when you prune down the unwanted and unloved items out of your closet, you give the remaining clothes an opportunity to be appreciated. And remember that these are the clothes that truly add value to your life.
2. Eliminates The Stress Caused By Unused Clothes
If you haven’t decluttered your clothes in a while, chances are that you have a large number of unworn pieces laying hidden at the back of your closet. Many a times, these unworn clothes create unnecessary stress in your life. Not only these clothes make it difficult for you to dig through and find pieces that you love but they also demand care and maintenance despite being of zero value. They take up your energy, time, space and money that could have better been spent doing things that bring you joy.
3. Unworn Clothes Can Earn You Some Cash
Many people these days are willing to buy second-hand clothes (if they are of good quality and in a good condition). Many thrift stores accept clothing items that are trendy and high in demand. Even though you won’t be able to resell clothes for the amount they were originally bought at, it’s still better than letting them sit purposelessly at the back of your closet.
During my childhood, I saw my mom trade many of our old clothes for utensils. Each member of the family would put together all their unworn and unloved clothing items and our mom would take them to a place that worked on the policy of ‘Clothes for utensils’.
I know that it might seem stressful to make efforts to sell your clothes, and many people would rather choose to donate or toss them in the trash. But let me tell you that many clothes carry a great resale value in the market and you can easily earn some cash by leveraging this opportunity. If nothing else, you can use Facebook Marketplace to sell many of your old clothing items.
4. Makes You Appreciate The Clothes You Love
Imagine how your wardrobe would look like once you’ve purged it down of every unworn and unloved piece of clothing. It will only have clothes that you love wearing every day. You’ll be able to take better care of the clothes that you now own even if they are less in number.
A small wardrobe allows you to appreciate what you own besides helping you plan your future purchases in a better way. For instance, if you’ve gotten rid of 4 pieces of unworn jeans and are now left with 2 more, you’ll be able to track how the retained pieces are serving you. You may either choose to add a couple more of trendy pieces to your jeans collection or make do with what’s already there.
5. Saves Time In The Morning
When you have less clothes left in your closet, it becomes easier to organize them in a way that every piece is fairly visible as soon as you open the closet to dress up in the morning. You won’t have to waste your time digging through a pile of clothes to find that one wearable piece of clothing.
An organized closet means that you have separate piles of jeans, trousers, tops, pullovers and jackets to look through and don’t have to spend an eternity to decide what to wear because everything is on display. Add to it the time you would be able to save on ironing your clothes because they’re nicely arranged now.
6. Saves Space And Storage
Now this is a no-brainer. Less clothes means that you don’t have to clutter your closets with extra shelves and organizers. And if you have a small home where there’s a dearth of space, decluttering your clothes can be of great value.
I hope these benefits inspire you to go through your closet really soon and purge it down of the clothes that aren’t making you feel good about yourself. Besides that, these benefits will also motivate you to be mindful about what clothes you choose to buy in future.
Can you think of any other benefits that can be gained from decluttering clothes? Feel free to drop a comment below or write me at hello@theaestheticabode.com.