Decluttering a closet is often daunting, and it’s far too easy to postpone it again and again. Even when you finally dive into those hangers, going through your clothes can become overwhelming and sentimental.
Although you might want to throw in the towel and come back later, a decluttered wardrobe is such a relief. You can find exactly what you need, wear pieces you love more often, and enjoy the mindfulness that comes with having a clean closet. Plus, if you sell your clothes via ThredUp, you can use your cash or credit to thrift replacements!
Explore our closet organization ideas to learn how to declutter your wardrobe and regain control of your wardrobe.
Here are our top tips for organizing your closet.
The best way to declutter clothing is to do it in stages. Handling this task in one session can be overwhelming, especially if you have disorganized or overstuffed closets. Set aside a little time over the next few days and go through your outfits bit by bit.
Begin by targeting one type of clothing and work through it before starting another. This gives you a chance to look over the whole category before deciding what to get rid of—you may not want to part with your black leggings until you see you have five pairs.
Getting rid of clothes isn’t easy—how do you decide which ones are keepers?
As you go through your belongings, ask yourself about each piece. Is that jacket tight in the shoulders? Are those high heels painful? How long has it been since you used that purse?
It’s also a good idea to consider which sentimental items are worth keeping, even if you don’t currently wear them. Hang on to the T-shirt you got at your first concert, but give your jeans from high school a second life.
For a proactive tip, we recommend turning your hangers backward at the start of the new year. Each time you wear something, flip the hanger around to mark which clothes you actually use. And at the end of the year, donate the pieces that still have backward hangers. It’s a bit cliche, but it works!
Pro tip: If the piece is just a bit worn and you’d wear it if you mended it, buckle down and tighten that loose button.
Don’t let unseasonal items bog down your wardrobe and make you think it’s more cluttered than it is. Certain articles of clothing are only suitable for specific holidays, seasons, or events. It’s not like you never wear that floral-print spring dress—it’s just that you need to make room for fall sweaters.
Take time each season to move weather-specific clothing into storage, including sun hats, bikinis, and holiday sweaters. This organizes your closet and keeps these items in excellent condition until you need them.
Once you’ve decluttered your wardrobe, set your clothes free by selling them online. Sending preloved clothes to a consignment store is an excellent way to extend their life.
When you send clothes to ThredUp, we handle the hard work. You don’t need to take photos or keep your jeans until they sell. Just order a Clean Out kit, fill it with clothes, and ship it off. We’ll post pictures of your items and send shoppers their purchases. Even if your outfits aren’t the perfect fit for us, they’ll still get a second life through rescue boxes.
What if the items are too damaged to sell? Upcycle worn clothes by turning them into cleaning cloths or donating them to an animal shelter.
After downsizing, it’s time to reorganize your favorites. Take everything out of the closet and put it back in a way you’ll remember. Closet organization differs for everyone, so find a system that works for you.
For example, we like placing lesser-used pieces at the back, like date night dresses you only wear once a year. Toward the front, put daily essentials and sort them into categories—like tops, pants, and blazers—so they’re easy to find.
This is also a great opportunity to get new closet organizers to improve visibility and convenience. A shoe shelf puts your favorite ones within eyesight, and brightly colored hangers help you remember small tops that might get lost next to larger, long-sleeve shirts.
Once you tackle this job, your closet will no longer be stressful or overwhelming, so devote time to transforming it into a fun place to get dressed.
Add bright lighting so you aren’t digging in the dark, and thrift new pieces that suit your personal style so that every item authentically represents you. We also recommend freshening up your dresser by wiping it out with a cleaner and adding moth protection, such as cedar rings or lavender essential oil.
This is also a great time to build a capsule wardrobe. To create this simple clothing collection, follow a general color palette and style so you can mix and match pieces into near-endless combinations. This ensures you always have something fresh to wear without taking up too much space. And because you get more use out of each piece, building a capsule wardrobe is also a conscious habit that reduces your fashion footprint.
You don’t want to do deep decluttering every year, so create an organizing schedule you can stick to.
Set a phone reminder to check your closet once a month so you have less to look through. Or make a rule to don a less-worn piece of clothing once a week to see if you like the fit.
Some people also enforce a one-in-one-out policy, removing one item of clothing from their closet each time they buy something new. Doing so keeps your closet up to date for years to come.
Decluttering clothes may be time consuming, but an organized closet is a huge reward. You’ll have a clean, engaging capsule wardrobe and won’t need to waste time searching for what to wear.
After deciding which outfits to sell, turn your preloved clothes into cash or credit with ThredUp. Use a Clean Out kit to send your items to us, and we’ll take photos, write descriptions, and communicate with buyers. You’ll collect a payout for each sold piece.
Plan the next look you’ll add to your new closet with ThredUp.
