Closet purge, round one - YouLookFab Forum

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Closet purge, round one

Mander

(website)

Veteran

I have been thinking about a serious, hardcore closet purge for at least a year now if not more. I'm overwhelmed with clothes and my closet is really too small to put everything away, so I end up piling things on the floor or in laundry baskets (see photo -- what a disaster!). In September 2010 I did the turn-the-hangers-backwards trick and now I can see that I have tons of clothes that I haven't worn in a year at least, and if I'm honest, probably longer than that. I did a quick tally of things yesterday just to get an overview, and let's just say it's not pretty. At least 100 items, most of which I haven't actually worn in a year and a bit.

This doesn't include formal dresses, sleepwear, regular t-shirts, close-fitting long sleeved t-shirts that are specifically for layering in cold weather, camisoles, jeans that are too big but don't yet have a replacement, summer stuff in a suitcase under the bed, and the items that are currently in the laundry. Or the things that I have already decided to donate but have not actually managed to get out of the house. Or the "maybe" items. I couldn't bring myself to count the shoes.

Yikes. I decided I needed an intervention. So last night I went through the closet and pulled out the dress I never wore, the suit I got in a swap, and everything that is primarily pink, yellow, or orange, as these are really not my colors. Next I need to make the hard decisions, like pruning out my white button-down shirts (I have 6, with minor variations and different sleeve lengths) and deciding how many "business" items to keep, since I'm not currently employed.

I have also decided that for my birthday gift to myself I am going to remodel my closet. I'm tired of the standard "one pole, one shelf" design, which makes it really difficult to see the items on either side, and makes it easy to lose things on the floor. I have an idea for the design I want, and I think I can even do most of it by simply re-using materials from around the house. But the first step is to get rid of this extra stuff.

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17 replies

Latest reply was from Jonesy

krishnidoux

Veteran

Good for you! You will not regret it. It's an ongoing process, but you'll see, a little improvement goes a long way and yields fun as well as work.

In your frenzy, may I suggest investing in a couple of plastic stackable bins in which to store rejects for a season or two, in your storage area, before getting rid of them altogether. It might be easier to completely purge your closet if you know you don't necessarily need to pay for entire replacements.

Allison

Good for you you will feel so much better when you can see everything you have and I think you will find it easier to make outfits! I have found that the Flylady's system for cleaning and organizing works for me. She suggests to work in 15 minute spurts to get big projects done. Little by little so you don't get overwhlemed/ overtired....

Anonymous

Good luck! Let us know how it all goes.

abc

Veteran

I redid my closet in the last place I lived and it made a huge difference. You will be able to see what you have, get organized, and overall feel happy when you go to the closet instead of overwhelmed. Do it, you won't regret it!!

If you decide not to redo the closet using materials from around the house, I went with Closets by Design (no affiliation here, just a happy customer). Their cost was just a bit over the DIY cost a la Home Depot and I got the white laminate instead of white coated wire (personally do not care for the wire closets). When they did the design they calculated how much they increased my capacity and it was almost DOUBLE what the original one pole one shelf design had. So just think, you can fit twice the amount of stuff inside

http://www.closetsbydesign.com/bedroom

Good luck purging your closet!

Anonymous

Wishing you lots of fun and laughs in your closet purging. May all your decisions be wise and generous.

Mander

(website)

Veteran

Ah, I drool over those fancy closets! I'll have to look at them for inspiration, I think.

What I think I am going to do is re-orient the pole so that I end up with three short poles running back to front (two for short items on one side of the closet, and one for long items on the other). I calculated that by doing this I will end up with 75" of hanging space, versus the 44" I currently have! And if I move the existing shelves, which are impossible to get to, higher up the wall I can make better use of the empty space near the ceiling.

Of course, getting rid of some the excess clothing will help a lot, too!

Mander

(website)

Veteran

And now I have listed 10 of the nicer things on eBay! I'll give it a week and see if anyone wants them, and if not they will go to the charity shop.

Wishful thinking, but it would be nice if I could make enough money to buy my funky red shoes... <<wistful sigh>>

Deborah

Veteran

Mander, good on you! I have been slowly working through my closet since I found YLF. I have been going slowly and removing things a few at a time. Tonight I tried on and photographed 3 special occasion dresses with the end result being they are going on EBay and then the Op Shop if they don't sell (like you, I'd love to get some money back if I can):). I am feeling so liberated and organized and can make a selection from my wardrobe confident it works and looks good thanks to YLF. It has eliminated the stress of getting dressed each morning. So don't feel you have to do it all at once, and if it's hard to part with something I have a spot where I keep them, I revisit them and then mostly I let them go. Have fun.. You won't know yourself. I realised through all of this I would rather have less clothes that ALL get worn and enjoyed than have heaps that clutter my wardrobe and are the source of disappointment. Let us know how you travel.

Lisa

Veteran

Congrats on your closet purge. I've been undergoing a closet purge for almost a year now myself. I have plenty of items that have sat unworn for months and months. Slowly they are making their way out of the house. The hanger flip helps me out a lot. I really get to see how much I wear within a season using the hanger flip. I'm a bit shocked at how little I really wear on a daily basis compared to what I own. I also started purging items by colors. I started with warm versus cool first. And now I am moving on to colors that do no tremix with many or any of my toppers (cardigans an dblazers). Keep up your good work!

grewitch

Congrats on the closet reduction! I did that when I moved back from MN and found I hardly miss anything at all. I now use a spare closet in my spare bedroom to store things that I don't wear that I might want again, if I don't use 'em in 3 months they go to Buffalo Exchange and if they don't sell I take them to the clothes swap.

Good luck, can't wait to watch your progress.

bella

(website)

Veteran

Sorry to hijack your thread but Lisa's closet purge makes me think we might be due for another CT clothing swap since quite a few of the beloved items in my closet came to me by way of Lisa!:)

HelenInCanada

Veteran

I must do this too. It's so hard for me, though since my whirlwind brain begins imagining occasions where I MAY ONE DAY MIGHT POSSIBLY need this item, so into the "Undecided" pile it goes...and before long, my Undecided pile is just enormous and needs to be miraculously stuffed back into my closet! Argh. So...either I need a supreme deluxe fancy schmancy walk-in closet, or I need to simplify before I drown!

I HAVE had some success recently pruning for charity donations or female family - anything way too tight or "just not me" gets put into the offering. Round one. Very pilly/worn/old items go into the trash. Round Two. Damaged items get assessed for whether I can personally mend them, or if they are worth the extra tailor cost. Round Three. So...yes, slowly but surely progress can be made. And stay away from the shops until the process is done, or nearly done!

Mander

(website)

Veteran

Ah yes, there is the whole "stop shopping" problem....

I think one of the things that has been most frustrating lately is that I have tons of clothes, but not the clothes I want to wear. So for instance, I keep looking in the closet for long-sleeved soft knit tops or button-down shirts now that fall is here, but I hardly have any of these items. What I do have is tons of 3/4 length tops in that funky textured stretch rayon which should be nice but feels odd on my skin, and a bunch of un-ironed 3/4 sleeve shirts. For some reason it seems that plus-size manufacturers have been stuck on the 3/4 sleeve length for the past few years, so even though this type of sleeve annoys me I have many tops like this. So I keep trawling the charity shops for things like nice feeling long-sleeved tops. But hopefully if I find nicer things it won't be so hard to get rid of the so-so things.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Mander, I'm excited for you! I think my alternate career personality is a professional organizer (go figure that out -- artist/professional organizer!). I've been doing a major closet overhaul over the last few months, and I think we're going to have a closet design company come do our closet too.

Over the last couple of years our laundry room shelf/rod assembly has broken out of the wall and crashed to the floor, and so has the one in our family room closet. I figure the assembly in our bedroom closet (same stuff) is living on borrowed time. I hate those wire shelves anyway! I'd also like to get an alternative to the one-pole, one-shelf arrangement, but we really do need some consultation because our closet is oddly shaped -- there's a beam running through it, and the ceiling is vaulted.

Be sure to share the final results with us!

Mander

(website)

Veteran

I looked into the wire shelf type stuff and the adjustable bracket systems, but I'm not sure that they can withstand the weight of a real wardrobe, rather than the sparse and perfectly organized "display models". My plan is to use the ugly 3/4" diameter solid wood poles that are currently holding up the office curtains as clothes rods. They should be plenty strong given that they will only be 25" long (provided they are anchored to the wall correctly, of course). I have new curtains and curtain poles all ready for the office, I just have to get around to actually making the swap. Maybe by the end of this week?

JennyAnne

(website)

Veteran

Good luck! You can do it!

Jonesy

Veteran

You are *so* on the right track! Just think of how good you will feel once you have accomplished this incredible feat :). I cleaned out several large garbage bags full of stuff from all of our closets a few months back, and it gave me such a liberating feeling!