The Closet Purge-Part One

Lisa

Hi,

So I've been reading some past posts about closet organizing and weeding out. And I am in need of doing both. Saturday I went out with the hubby and some friends to dinner and a play. I ended up wearing a "work" outfit for lack of finding items to wear. http://i798.photobucket.com/al.....G_2665.jpg

This would usually bring me to the mall by the very next day to find a suitable "going out" outfit.

But the light bulb went off and I spent hours reorganizing the closet. In my ideal world, I'll have all my items in one closet, but for now, I moved out all fall/winter items and hung up EVERYTHING in the closet. The only items not on hangers are work out clothes and tank tops and plain t-shirts I layer with.

I tried to organize tops, shirts and t-shirts by color, while scarves, dresses and jeans are near the back. Not sure what to do with those yet. I flipped all the hangers and plan to spend from now til Labor Day seeing how much I really wear. Then I'll swap them out and try to do the same for fall/winter.

The closet is deep, but narrow, and hubby has the other side of it, but for better or worse, here it is.

http://i798.photobucket.com/al.....G_2667.jpg

http://i798.photobucket.com/al.....G_2668.jpg

By the time I finished, I couldn't believe I was complaining I had nothing to wear! So this had me wondering:

-Have you ever purged your closet like this?
-How long did it take to assess how much of your clothing you really wear?
-Were you ever able to get all your clothes in ONLY the closet? (if you have 4 season weather where you live)
-Do you have any pictures of a more well organized closet you can share?

Thanks for the feedback and for looking!

15 years ago

General

13 replies

Latest reply was from Lisa

Sarah

Veteran

Hi Lisa,

This is so cool!

I'm heading out the door for a hike and will write more later. I did purge my closet a couple of years ago. It was a long but fun project. I actually took over the former bedroom of my older son. (He had been gone for 6 years so it felt ok.) I put in an Elfa system. I took some pictures the other day but haven't posted them yet. I'll write and post the pix again this afternoon.

Sarah

15 years ago

Alecia

Veteran

I am constantly in purge mode. I have found that having fewer things I love to wear makes a lot more sense than hanging onto stuff that's kind of ho-hum just in case. It was kind of hard at first because I felt a little constrained but as you build on the stuff that's great that gets easier. I have also learned a lot about mixing and matching my clothes and the importance of accessories. Those make your wardrobe go so much further. It's so nice to have fewer of those days when you don't really like your outfit. I'm not sure I can really say how long it took me to get to this point.

I don't have space to have both my summer and winter clothes in one closet. I have do the season swap.

15 years ago

Traci

Veteran

A trick I've always wanted to try is to flip all of your clothes hangers around in the closet. Then, as you wear an item and return it to the closet, you flip it around. After a while, you can easily see which items you haven't worn at all.

I can't wait to see how this project progresses for you. I'm always envious of people with very small, precise and beautiful wardrobes, yet who manage to not look like they're wearing the same thing every day.

I also struggle with the work clothes vs going out clothes issue. Even if I really like a work outfit, I don't want to wear it for going out b/c it starts to feel like work clothes to me. I'm trying to figure out ways to make small changes that will help me feel like I'm shifting gears w/o needing two separate wardrobes.

15 years ago

Louise

Veteran

Gosh you look ,like you have mountains of clothes. I second Traci with turning the coat hangers round to see what you actually wear.
Here's my wardrobe http://i594.photobucket.com/al.....LF/003.jpg this is the double door section there is also a single door section with jackets/ coats in. All my tops, jumpers, underwear, gloves etc are in a 5 drawer chest of drawers. This combination holds all my clothes winter and summer though I do use most of my summer clothes in winter just layer them with long sleeve t's, cardis and boots x

Edit- I'm also trying to only buy things I LOVE therby cutting down on clutter x

15 years ago

Vix

Veteran

I'm a closet purge/wardrobe analysis convert so the below is loooong, sorry!

Since I'm not much of a planner/organizer, I find the process VERY tedious. I'm an impulse shopper at heart, dangit.

I have to say the front-end work has definitely has helped me stay "on track" with my limited new items, making sure they both work with what I actually have AND help kick things up a bit.

1a) MINIMAL: About 5 years ago a close friend gave me a [lack of!] style wake up call, and once I came to terms with what she said I basically started building a wardrobe from the ground up. I saved a few things that still fit and were in-my-opinion classic (or alterable).

1b) PURGING + PLAYING: Since then, I try to purge 2x/year. [Fall/winter and spring/summer]. I don't have a trend-focused style, but if I did I think I'd be doing this much more often, gah.

Anyway, I toss/cut up for rags anything that is worn out/stained/unfixable. I try on EVERYTHING left -- a plus to having a smaller wardrobe! -- and donate things I'm ready to let go of or that don't fit as well as I'd like.

Then I try to make lots of "no-brainer" outfits out of what's there because I love being able to grab-n-go. This is the part that takes forever and feels stupid, but saves me so much trouble, ha. I'm willing to think on the front end but haaaate standing in front of the closet wondering what I should wear...it's just not fun for me.

If I buy something new after this, I force myself to go through and try it on with *anything* that might work.

1c: PURGING + ANALYZING WITH BUYING IN MIND: When doing my seasonal purge last fall, I realized 4 or so years of careful buying had left me with mostly black, brown, or grey "business" solids -- and very little color, pattern, or interesting business casual/casual wear.

With limited money for updating, I focused on adding the latter...tough because I will always gravitate to black like a bee to honey!

1d PURGING + ANALYZING, THE COLOR VERSION: I kept putting off my spring closet purge because the weather was crappy...and I was sure I "knew" my smaller wardrobe inside and out...and I'd already used up most of my limited clothing budget.

BAD IDEA, ha.

For the first time in a while had such a problem getting dressed -- things didn't work out the way I'd thought, or I was missing a key item. When I finally did the purge this spring, I did the usual but divided stuff by color, too. Including scarves, jewelry, and shoes.

While this extra step made me realize I could *still* benefit from more color/texture/pattern, I challenged myself to wear more color-with-color vs color-with-neutral.

Turns out I had a LOT more combinations to wear than I'd thought!

*******

2-4) I wear it all, so N/A. Most of my clothes are 3- or 4-season; I put the out-of-season stuff under the bed or out of sight. My closet is so tiny (I supplement with drawers) that it's not interesting enough to photograph!

I did take pics of all my "color clumps" so I would have a record of the gaps and a reminder that buying more black was (probably!) unnecessary.

15 years ago

Scarlet

Veteran

In the house where I was a teenager (and later there again as a grad student) I had a double-size closet fitted out by California Closets (or some similar thing). It was a dream. I could always see and find what I wanted because there was enough space to be organized. Now I live in Germany with a tiny wardrobe, in the furniture sense of the word--there are no built-in closets here, don't ask me why--but lots of clothes. I live in perpetual chaos, pretty much. I can't help you except to say California Closets was awesome.

15 years ago

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

It's about time for me to go through my closet again and re-organize for warm weather (now that it has actually hit). I am keeping my wardrobe on the small side, and I turn it over fairly quickly due to weight loss (not yet at my goal). It's not huge ordeal, but I have really limited space and so I need to utilize it the best way possible.

15 years ago

April

Veteran

Lisa, I loved hearing about your purge since if I ever leave my current profession, I would dearly love to be a closet organizer! Thanks for sharing.

I used to have a big walk-in closet, but gave it up last year when I turned over my old bedroom (which encompasses the whole second floor of my small house) to my teenaged son. Now I have a modest "step-in" closet, and yes, I do have things elsewhere. The things that really can't be worn in winter or summer spend that season in the big closet upstairs, and jackets and shoes have been put in a closet very near my bedroom.

I tend to purge on an ongoing basis rather than all at once, and I take the better items to a local upscale consignment shop. I actually need to stop doing that quite so often, because I often jump the gun and consign things when I should have just been more creative about how to wear them.

Keep us posted on how many of your hangers get turned around in the next few months!

15 years ago

Lisa

Veteran

Thanks for the feedback! So I see this process can be done, and I look forward to checking in on my progress at the halfway mark.

Sarah-Hope you have a great hike. I look forward to your closet photos.

Alecia-Yes I expect this to be hard. I'm sure it's going to be tough for me to actually get rid of items at the end of 3 months even after I'll have seen how little I probably really wear. And you are right, accessories seem to be key to changing up a look, something I will need to learn about when my wardrobe is pared down.

Traci-Yes my hangers are flipped and I'm ready to go. I am also hoping to have a more cohesive wardrobe rather than a capsule wardrobe with items unevenly worn (ie work outfits worn way more than play outfits)

Louise-A closet like yours is my goal. Streamlined and efficient. Yes, I currently have far too many clothes. Sigh, but I do love them.

Vix-I think my closet gives away that I'm an impulse shopper. Hopefully kicking that habit will be a side effect of the closet purging. Your process is very helpful, and I had to laugh at 1b) PURGING + PLAYING: because I'm known to write lists of outfit combinations on a sheet of paper that hangs from a hanger in the closet. Then I just use that to plan an outfit for the day. My husband has is own list and his pants labeled since he can't tell black from navy for some reason (he's not color blind) and can't match up his tops and pants without his cheat sheet.

Scarlet-Closet organizing will be right on the heels of closet purging, but since I share the walk in with my husband he may not be so willing to drastically reorganize the space. I am hoping to add subtle changes once there's more room, boxes, better use of the existing shelves etc. But I've seen some of the California closet photos, they are wonderful!

Chewyspaghetti-Are there any space saving tips you have found from dealing with limited storage? You play great with accessories in your posts, something I am going to learn how to do.

April-Thanks for the pictures, I am hoping to streamline my closet in a similar fashion.

15 years ago

Sarah

Veteran

Hi Lisa,

It took me forever to finally get my pictures off the camera. Sorry about that.
Here's a few photos of the room going in a circle. The shot by the window is awfully dark.
http://s1006.photobucket.com/a.....550.jpg%26
We have four seasons so I have to store some things in another spot. I recently took out winter boots and tops.
For me, being able to see what I've got means I wear more of the clothes I own.

Sarah

15 years ago

Lisa

Veteran

Sarah-I LOVE that closet! Especially the butterfly by the table with the mirror. Thanks for sharing! Now if only I could kick the hubby's stuff out of our's I'd be able to take over the whole thing and really set it up nice.

15 years ago

Sarah

Veteran

LOL!!

I read a tip recently about always getting rid of a pair of shoes when you got new ones. The author said she was going to have to quit doing that soon or her husband would run out of shoes! Too funny!

15 years ago

Lisa

Veteran

Sarah-LOL, that's great! Hmm, wonder if I can try that.

15 years ago

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