Tips for Organizing Your Clothes
Parting with some of our clothes is difficult for many of us to do. Clothing is very personal. Each article comes with a proverbial price tag that reminds us of how much we spent acquiring it. Some remind us of occasions we wore them to or events we participated in to earn them such as races or sports teams. I won’t debate how much clothing one should keep, as that amount differs by each person’s idea of ‘enough’ and the size of the space they have to store it. Instead, here are a few tips and tricks for deciding what to keep and how to prevent your closet from becoming overloaded:
The dollar test. I’ll be the first to admit that it’s painful to go clothes shopping with me. Why? It’s not that I have a very fine taste in fashion, it’s that I scrutinize over each piece of clothing before I make a purchase. My rule is that I have to believe that I will get one use per dollar I spend on any given item. One of my only exceptions to this is for formal dresses. Your exceptions may be different. The key to remember about this test is that a $120 pair of jeans is not a bad purchase if you’ll wear them twice a week for about 14 months. This is an exceptionally better deal than buying a pair of $40 jeans that you only wear twice because you’re not that crazy about them.
One-in-one-out. Another reason I have a hard time shopping for clothes is that I’ve implemented the one-in-one-out rule. Simply, I’m not allowed to add any hangers to my closet. Therefore if I buy something new, I have to get rid of something I already have. This rule helps with two things. First, it helps you determine whether you like something enough to get rid of something you already have. Second, it prevents your closet from expanding to the point that you can’t squeeze in anything else.
F.F.S.T. Unfortunately, I don’t have a cute acronym for this. These letters stand for the questions you should ask yourself when determining whether or not to keep an article of clothing. Ask yourself, “Does it fit? Does it flatter? Is it stained? Is it torn?” If the answer to either of the first two is ‘no’ or the answer to either of the last two questions is ’yes,’ then it’s probably time to say goodbye.
Backward hangers. I like this trick, because it doesn’t lie. To implement this test, take everything that’s hanging in your closet and turn the hook of the hanger backwards so that the tip faces toward you. Next, mark your calendar for six months to a year (depending on where you are in the seasons) to review your hangers. Every time you wear something and go to hang it back up, hang it normally with the tip of the hanger facing away from you. When time is up, go back and see which hangers haven’t been turned forward. This can is a great indicator of what you’re actually wearing. Consider letting go of the items that haven’t been worn.
Time-out area. Still having a hard time parting with certain things you haven’t worn in a long time or aren’t sure that you love? Create an area or find a bag to store items to be kept in ‘time out.’ This is the space to keep clothing that you think you might be able to let go of, but you’re not quite ready. After a month or so, if you haven’t gone to the bag to look for anything, take the items to your local charity.
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Kind regards,
Jen Starbuck
Organizing Consultant | |
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