I Am Sorry Mum but Tonight, I'm Cleaning Out My Closet ~ Jeny's Closet

Eminem has seen this coming.

A couple of weeks ago I had my mum rang me and when I answered she screamed “Your closet is broken!”

It seems that the pole that was holding my clothes broke into 2. My closet which has served me for only 2 years collapsed at the insanely amount of clothes I have that seems to pile endlessly on top of one another. I have since cleaned up my closet and replaced the pole but told myself to start a habit of cleaning it every 6 months.

Though I like to think myself as a neat freak or an extremely organized person, I am far from it. When I am pressed for time, I’ll grab the first top I see from the pile and by the same manner grab whatever clothes strewn on my bed and chuck them in my closet. It is an endless cycle.

Now cleaning up your closet can be intimidating and many would dread the idea of spending the afternoon going through your clothes but trust me, it is extremely fun. I find it therapeutic plus I’ve uncovered a few dresses and blouses never worn along the way. I am pretty sure if you ebay some of your clothes it would have come up to a nice dough on the side. Just a thought.

So let’s start cleaning out the closet of the literal kind!

Editing your wardrobe.

Take a look at your closet — is it stuffed full of clothes you don’t wear? Do you have trouble picking out what to wear in the morning? Are there clothes you don’t fit, don’t like, or can’t wear because they are stained or torn? How about your clothes drawers? Overstuffed?

If so, your closet may be in need of editing. Most of us are in this category. And even though I tried to simplify my clothes, I need to go through my closet to see if there’s stuff in there I no longer wear. I pull out a bunch of things and put them in a bag to trash or sometimes donate them to my sister. When my closet is simpler, my mind is more at ease.

To edit your wardrobe, here are some simple steps:

Pull out all the clothes from your closet. Put them on your bed. Now go through this pile, one item at a time, deciding what stays and what goes. Follow these rules:

If you haven’t worn an item in months, put it in the donate pile. There’s a reason you don’t wear that item — you’re probably not going to wear it again for a long while, if ever.
If you no longer fit an item, donate it. Yes, you plan to lose 5 kg to fit into that outfit. Well, when you do, go to the thrift shop and get some better-fitting items. Until then, they’re taking up space in your closet.
If an item is stained or torn beyond repair, donate it. If you can repair it, put it in a bag and take it to be sewn tomorrow (or do it yourself). If that bag sits in your house or car for more than a week, you’ll probably never do it, so donate it or toss it. For myself, I often keep stained or torn clothing, if I really love an item, but I only wear it around the house. I save the good clothes for company. :)
If an item is out of style or doesn’t match anything else you own, consider donating it. OK, if you really love it and still wear it, go ahead and keep it. Butterfly bell-bottoms? You’re still cool.
When in doubt, donate.
For seasonal clothes, Where I live, there’s always tropical goodness year round, so this isn’t an issue.

If you still have a lot of clothes left, consider the following:

Keep clothes that are of the same color scheme, and toss the rest. This way, everything matches, and you don’t have to worry about what goes with your blouse. Neutral colors like tan and white are great, with some color tossed in. I avoid bright colors, especially those that bleed in the wash. I don’t like to worry about that.
Keep clothes that are simple in design, and can be paired with anything. Jeans are a great example (not the kinds with bells and whistles, the simple kinds). You can put just about any shirt with jeans, and you’re good to go. Shoot for this kind of philosophy. Don’t have pants or a skirt that can only go with one or two other items. Be able to mix and match with ease and without some kind of complicated chart.
Make comfort a priority. Looks are important, but comfort is more important. You want to be at ease in whatever you wear, so keep that in the forefront as you edit your clothing.

Hang the clothes back in the closet nicely, in some order. Pairing by color is nice, and has an especially nice effect if you use the same color hangers. If you have fewer clothes, they look much nicer in the closet.

Repeat this process with your clothes drawers. Throw out the torn underwear and stained socks. Once you weed out a lot of the stuff, fold them neatly and put them back in your drawers nicely. Again, fewer clothes look much nicer in your drawers. If you have time, organize a sale or ebay or you can even do a swap with your friends. That way you'll get fresh edition of clothes without spending pennies.

Edit your wardrobe every 6 months or so. It’s best if you refrain from buying too many more unnecessary clothes, but I know some of you are shopaholics, and even the rest of us accumulate stuff over time. Make this a regular event, and you’ll keep your wardrobe nice and simple.

I still need to edit my wardrobe, though, on a regular basis. I know it’s time when it’s hard to find stuff, and when I look through my closet and find lots of stuff I rarely wear.

Simplify your wardrobe, and your life will be much simpler and stress-free. It’s wonderful. Give it a try!

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