Spring Cleaning Part One: Closet Clean Out
In my family I am notorious for constantly going through my own closets and the girls' and editing. I hate hanging onto pieces that no longer fit well or that we just don't wear. I seem to always have a donation or giveaway bag going. While I am always doing micro clean outs, twice a year I like to do a major closet purge. This usually coincides with the changing of the seasons and happens both as the weather starts to cool in the early fall and as it warms up in the late winter. For those of you about to embark on a Spring Closet Clean Out of your own here are some of my best tips and tricks!
Decisions, Decisions
When cleaning out my closet I literally go through every single piece I own and evaluate it. To make this less overwhelming I will do a few sections each day. The first day I may tackle my tee shirts, the next day jeans, the next short dresses and so on. My closet is organized by type of item which makes it very easy to break it down, divide and conquer.
As I go through each section item by item I pull out anything that falls into one of these categories:
Items I have not worn in a year or more
Items that no longer fit well or flatter me
Items I have duplicates of or something else very similar to
Items that are torn or stained
Once I have pulled out all of the items in question I will look through them a second time. For items I have not worn in over a year I will usually put them in my discard pile (more on that later) unless I have a very, very good reason for not wearing them for a year. A pandemic would be a good excuse to hang onto a favorite party dress that got neglected this year! Items that no longer fit well or flatter me go straight into the discard pile. No hanging onto something in hopes it might fit someday. I am almost 40 and have had two babies. I am realistic about what my body is now vs. what it was 10 years ago. Items that I have duplicates of or I have in similar styles I try them all on, keep my favorite and put the others in the discards pile. Items that are torn or stained either get put aside for the tailor/dry cleaner or get put in the discard pile.
My process for sorting through the girls' closets is very similar. I go section by section and pull items out to consider. My categories for the girls are:
If the item no longer fits or will certainly not fit by the same season next year
If the items it worn out or stained
Once I pull out the girls' items in question I look them over carefully. Anything of Hermione's that is too small or won't fit by the same season next year (and is in good condition) gets put aside for Portia. Anything of Portia's that is too small or won't fit by the same season next year gets put into the discard pile. If an item is worn out or stained it get's put into the discard pile.
Passing It On
Once I have made my discard piles I then go back and decide what I will do with the items I am getting rid of. Most of my items that are in good condition that I am getting rid of I pass onto my BFF. We have very similar style and it always makes me happy to give things a second life with her. If something I am getting rid of is of particularly high value I will sell it (I use TheRealReal) but more often than not my BFF gets it!
For Portia's clothes in the discard pile if they are in good condition I will pass them onto one of a few friends who have daughters a year younger than Portia. It makes me so happy to see other little girls I love enjoying Portia's clothes. If the clothes are slightly worn or stained I will give them to my housekeeper who brings them to her church for their rummage sale. If they are very worn or stained I bring them to the Greenmarket fabric scrap collection pile.
What I Keep No Matter What
I am not a very sentimental person when it comes to clothes but there are a few items in my closet I will always keep no matter how worn or ill fitting they are. The items that I never discard but also rarely wear are:
- The grey tee shirt I labored in and wore to the hospital when both girls were born
- A monogrammed button down shirt that belonged to my late brother
- My Hillary Clinton 2016 "I'm With Her" campaign tee shirt. Even if the election didn't go our way voting for a woman for President is something I will never forget!
