While I realize that decluttering can be a time-consuming process for some (especially if you’re first starting out), it really does become easier with time the more you do it. It’s just like riding a bike or committing to get more reading done; if you flex that decision-making muscle more often, it’ll eventually become second nature to you. When applying this one habit to your closet however, the method can differ from person to person. Some swear by using Marie Kondo’s approach, while others may want to declutter their clothes seasonally, or once every two or three months. I personally am in the latter for the most part.
As the seasons change, it’s natural to want to go through your clothes and see what doesn’t fit or what doesn’t spark joy. This is probably the most common approach since before minimalism became mainstream. It’s simple and effective, and while I have tried using this approach, I’ve found that because I like to keep most of my clothes hanging (obvious exceptions are bulky sweaters, lounge wear, sleepwear, undergarments and my pants), I may come across a top that I’m not too sure about that’s out of season, and I don’t like to look at mismatched hangers or store it someplace else where I can’t see it. In this case, I’ll just keep the clothes I don’t want in my closet as is and come back to it in another week or two.
If I see something in my wardrobe that I know I don’t like, or if it doesn’t fit me right, I’ll go ahead and declutter it. One thing I like to do sometimes is this exercise of finding the root reason why I bought something, and asking myself these questions:
Does this still suit my personal style?
Does it still spark joy?
Do I like how it fits on me?
How does this piece make me feel?
Impulse purchases happen, and if the reason why I bought something is because of that sudden impulse when I found it at the time, then I’ll use that to help better my spending habits in the future. This can also be said for expensive clothing items, and while I can somewhat understand the hesitation of giving it away, I’d advise you to think about it from a different perspective. The money’s already been spent, and the action can’t be undone. What can I learn from this going forward, and how does this reflect the choice I made when the item was first purchased? Would I buy this again if I were to see this on the sales rack like I did the first time?
So while I don’t like to obsess over my clothes looking perfect or constantly curate my wardrobe, I do like to make periodic checks in between the different seasons, and once a certain season is over, I’ll evaluate all of what I have and make sure that I’m getting good wear out of what I have. With my love for fashion in general, it can be fun to style up certain pieces I haven’t worn in a while, and once I’ve found enough outfit combinations, I’ll try using my own pictures for inspiration if I get bored or feel stuck on what to wear.
I’d say my biggest tip for closet decluttering is knowing what your style is. I’ll be covering this in more detail in a another post later on, but to put this simply, once you’ve weeded out what you don’t love or what doesn’t make you feel good, you’ll begin to see which clothing items spark the most joy or what you do wear the most, and you can build upon that. I hope that these tips are helpful to you, and if you have any further questions, just leave a comment down below as I'd love to help.
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