This is the 2nd part of my Witch’s Cottage Fall Clean Up series! Today, we will be focusing on the smallest and hardest room in the house to clean. The closet! One of my best friends has accepted that laundry is her Achilles heal and has a clean laundry basket as well as a dirty laundry basket because she knows she will not hang anything up after it has been washed. Living that way stresses me out and closet organization and clean out is important to me. It is great way to feel a breath of fresh air when you are able to donate or sell 2 or 3 boxes of unused clothing.
Pull out everything from your closet all at once. And I mean everything. Including non clothing items that do not belong in your closet. Don’t go through everything on the hanger. Put it all on your bed and go through each item one by one so that you have to make a decision and physically hang it back up, not just glance and say I like it and I’m keeping it. Put 4 boxes (or piles) in front of the bed; a box to donate, a box to throw away, a box to repair, and a maybe box. Keep the maybe box the furthest away from you and use it sparingly.
Go through each item one by one, try it on if you haven’t worn it in a while, and if it is a keeper, hang it back up. My mom said something to me once that really stuck. If it doesn’t wow you, don’t buy it/ keep it. I get a lot of complements on the way I dress and a lot of that has to do with going back to what she said. Does it make me say wow? Do I feel attractive in it? If the answer is no, I toss it or don’t buy it. Just because it is on sale and good deal does not mean it needs to go home with you.
Don’t get me wrong, I have some athleisure wear just like everyone else but I also actually work out multiple times a week. Other than my workout clothing, I only have 4 T-shirts, 4-5 casual shirts, 5 sweatshirts/ hoodies, and the rest are nice looking shirts that are a bit dressier and look super cute. If casual is more your style, then make sure they are pieces you wear. A lot of people have entire racks of T-shirts and only wear the same 8 or 9.
It feels good to see the space in your closet and actually be able to look at the items hanging instead of shoving them tightly to one side just to see the image on whatever item you are trying to look at. Not only that, only keep clothing items in your closet. There is a lot to be said for clearing out your closet! Because if your closet looks like Howl’s bedroom, you will never find anything….
That is where this list comes in! Without further ado, the top 7 items to pull from your closet and hopefully clear out a ton of space for you in the future!
- Clone clothing- anything you have multiples of. You don’t need 4 little black dresses. You don’t need 7 pairs of almost identical black heels. You don’t need 18 holiday sweaters. And you certainly don’t need 200 T-shirts. Options are important, but having more than 3 of the same piece is just excessive.
- Pieces you have never worn or only wore once. If it has a tag and it’s been more than a year, toss it. Also, if you have lots and lots of an item but you are partial to certain ones, get rid of the rest. This would be like someone who collects tank tops and has every color of the rainbow but only wears the pink and black one. All the others just sit there and make the closet look bright and cheery but worst of all, it just takes up space.
- Comfort clothing- house clothes you have had forever that you wear when you are at home that you wouldn’t be caught dead in outside. Or would rather fight someone than let them post a picture of you wearing it on your Facebook. Stains and holes galore. Keep one or two if you must but there is no reason to dress like a hobo at home. Comfortable: yes. Hobo: no
- Bad outfits- outfits you wore all the time, but now hate, or outfits you would never wear again if your life depended on it. Don’t let sentiment stop you. If someone bought you a cute scarf and you haven’t worn it in 5 years, they will never know if you got rid of it or not since it never leaves the closet anyways. Toss what doesn’t serve you.
- Anything that doesn’t fit you ~now~. I know a lot of people want to hold on to items so that when they lose weight, they can wear them again, but that just takes up unnecessary space and you will go shopping in the future anyways. You know you will. Toss it unless you are super close to achieving your goal. This also goes for your style. If you rocked a more goth or punk look in the past (guilty….) and now you are rocking a more feminine aesthetic and don’t plan on dabbling, just get rid of it. 10 pairs of black pants can be styled with cute blouses but 10 pairs of spiky wrist cuffs and a studded vest with chains are probably never going to come out again. I know some clothing is expensive and it bothers you to get rid of them, but cluttering your closet isn’t going to make that piece worth the money either.
- Stained or damaged pieces. Again, sentiment tends to have us hold on to these pieces or we are loathe to toss something that cost a lot of money. But ask yourself, what is this piece doing for you? Are you getting your money’s worth by letting it sit in your closet? No. Toss it out so items you do wear have more visibility and space to breathe. And any clothing that needs buttons sewed on or hems redone, just bite the bullet and do it. Sewing a button takes all of 1 minute. Drop the rest of your items off at a tailor shop to get them rehemmed properly so that you are able to wear them again.
- Anything remaining that you will probably never got around to wearing but you keep it anyways. This includes your holiday wear, gifted clothing, items you meant to donate in the past but never did, items you borrowed from a friend that you are no longer friends with and don’t want to wear, etc.
So there you have it! 7 Items you need pull out of your closet to give you space back! And remember to be ruthless when you go through your closet. With the holidays coming up, you will likely purchase a few pieces, be gifted a few pieces, and go to after holiday sales. There is no reason your Witch’s Cottage needs to look like a hoarder’s mess! Get in there make some space!
Personally, I encourage donating the clothing when finished because that way you do not have a chance to look at it and have second thoughts after it goes in the box vs. a yard sale where you can change your mind after seeing it displayed while people browse through. Not only that, I only keep clothing items in my closet. I’ve seen closets with random boxes, a vacuum, extra pillows, and other excessive items that don’t ever get used. The closet is a highly traveled space, especially if you change more than once a day like I have to, I do not recommend having non clothing items stored there; that goes especially for a vacuum which is literally a dust trap.
Once you are finished cleaning out your closets, I always recommend going in and cleansing the space. I was not idle while writing this post and I now have a nice little pile of items to go into my donate bin. Once you are finished with your clothing, wipe down the walls with a lavender or cedar water to discourage pests, dust shelves with some orange oil to keep your clothing items fresh and clean, and vacuum the space to give it a new face. Get in there and be a witch on a rampage and good luck!
From our altar to yours, with love from the sea,
