One Game-Changing Tip For Clothes Decluttering You Need To Try

Today I will be sharing with you, one of the easiest ways to stay on top of what clothes you are actually wearing vs. the ones that are just taking up space. This one hack is so easy and effective that even a small child can do it. The best part is that you do not need any fancy materials. All you will need are clothes hangers and a box. The hangers will be for your clothes (of course) and the box will be used to place the clothes that will either be donated or sold.

Let's Get Right To It

Before I start, I need to let you know that I did not come up with this idea on my own. I want my blog to be a credible resource so transparency and integrity are very important to me so I will tell you how I stumbled across this hack.

I was searching YouTube for either closet organization or closet decluttering ideas (I can't remember exactly) when I came across this woman's video. I liked what she said (and she did state that she got the idea from someone else as well) and arranged my closet according to her suggestion immediately after her video ended. The hack I will be sharing with you is what I learned from that video and what I use till this very day. I did tweak it to fit my lifestyle and what made sense to me and this blog post will reflect that.

Setting Up The System

To set the decluttering system up, all you will do is turn all the clothes hanging in your closet in the opposite direction of the way that you normally hang them, if they are already hanging in the closet (see pics below).

Hook facing the wall is the way I hang all of my clothes.

For me, this would be the opposite way of the way I normally hang my clothes.

Once you go to hang your laundered items back up in the closet, you will then hang them back in the direction you normally do. After a while of using this technique, your clothes hangers should be going in two different directions (see pic below).

This is key because the direction of the clothes hangers guides you in setting up a realistic decluttering schedule and also quickly gives you a view of what you have and have not worn. I have two suggestions that make using this technique even more effective:

1. For the first two weeks, just focus on being consistent. Since you will be replacing your clothes back on the hangers in the original direction, there is nothing else for you to do focus on.
   

2. When you do hang your worn clothes back up, hang them behind the ones not worn yet. Do not hang them in the midst of the ones not worn as a way to simplify the process of decluttering the unworn items.

Regarding your decluttering schedule, as I already mentioned, set one that is realistic. For example, I declutter my closet of unworn items either when the season change, or after a year has passed. However, one year is what I give myself to wear something in my wardrobe and if I have not worn it within one year, it gets donated. What helps me not get attached to my clothing is one of the rules established in the Marie Kondo method which is to ask yourself if your belongings spark joy. So, for me, whenever I come across a personal belonging that is not serving me any longer but I attached to it, I stand in front of it or hold it and ask myself if enjoy wearing this item. The minimalist in me do not desire to keep anything that I am not going to use or repurpose. Let's say I come across a top that has not been worn, if I look at that top and I don't feel some kind of excitement about wearing it, then I will either intentionally wear it just so I can confirm how I feel when I wear it or just place it in the donation box immediately.

How To Use This System If You Store Your Clothes In A Dresser

If you normally keep your clothes in a dresser, you can still benefit from this decluttering system. When I would utilize a dresser to store my clothes in, I can't count how many times I would come across unworn items simply because they were out of sight. I would never rotate my clothing in the drawers so that everything was being worn. I made the decision to hang all my clothes up in the closet and only use a dresser for undergarments and socks.

My suggestion is to take all the clothes out of your dresser and hang them up in the closet. Doing this will help you come across and pull out any clothes that have been forgotten about because it became lost amongst the clothes you wear all the time and placed in the front of the dresser drawer. Hanging them up in the closet will also simplify your decluttering process.

Once you have pulled a garment off its hanger to wear, do not hang it back up after you launder it. Simply put it back in the original dresser drawer that was initially housing it. This is the only thing done differently from the individual that store their clothes in the closet on hangers.

Conclusion

I really hope that this hack will remove the overwhelm in decluttering your closet and simplify the process. Keeping something that is just taking up space unnecessarily when somebody else could really be enjoying it just doesn't make sense in my little minimalist world. If you do decide to try this decluttering technique, please let me know what you think about it and if it has benefitted you in any way. I desire to hear your feedback.

Until Next Time...