Clearing Closet Clutter

I'm almost ashamed to admit how many bags of clothing will be getting dropped off at Goodwill tomorrow. I have 8 30 gallon black trash bags filled to the brim with clothing, shoes, purses, bags,and outerwear.

But I made a conscious decision to get rid of things - it doesn't hurt that I'm eventually planning a move across the pond to the UK and need to scale down my possessions to cut down on shipping costs. And things like clothing can always be replaced. I actually have a pretty good start on a new wardrobe waiting for me at Tim's, too when you consider what I left at his house.

I have a very small bedroom at my mom's house. It's about 10 feet x 12 feet. I have a single 4-drawer dresser, a tall narrow dresser in my closet (6 drawer), a 3-drawer plastic chest of drawers, a 4-drawer cardboard chest of drawers, wall pegs for sweaters and coats, and dressy clothing is stored in the spare room closet. To the right of the dresser in my closet is shoe storage. I just measured, and the floor space measured 14 inches by 18 inches. Shoes are stacked at least two feet high in this space. High heels I wore once, old platform shoes, multiple pairs of boots, flats, flip flops, slippers, and Mary Janes. My collection of handbags was no different. One of those large Rubbermaid rough totes was crammed full with messenger bags, clutches, shoulder bags, tote bags, etc. Everything was overflowing, and I had so much clothing I had things permanently stored in a laundry basket, and coats and sweaters piled over the back of a dining room chair.

Before I started sifting through everything, I set a few goals for myself. My first goal was going to be removing all the clothing from the spare room closet and then thin down the clothing from both closets to needing only 12 inches of hanging space. Two of the drawers on my 4-drawer dresser were broken, so I decided to throw them away and use the gap as a storage space for my laundry basket. I also planned on eliminating both the cardboard drawers and the plastic drawers. This would leave me with only 8 drawers to work with. In addition, I decided I was only going to only keep as many sweaters and jackets as I had pegs (10).

I started with the extra closet and removed all the clothing that no longer fit. I even got rid of dresses I had strong sentimental feelings for. I had photos of myself in the dresses, and it wasn't as if I was ever going to fit into some of them again. Then, I took a look at what was left hanging, and removed any clothing I didn't like. I continued this pattern with the closet in my bedroom, all of the chest of drawers, and the laundry basket. This filled a good number of bags, but I still wasn't satisfied. I remembered the six-month rule I had read about in a magazine. The rule tells you to go through your clothing and separate any clothing you haven't worn in six months. One article I read instructs you to automatically get rid of those items of clothing, another article suggests keeping them for another six, and then if you still haven't worn them, toss them.

Between two international trips, I hadn't been home in eight months. I decided to combine the two rules, since nearly all my clothing not in my suitcases hadn't been worn in over six months. If it was something I thought I'd still wear, or wore a lot before I went away on my trips, I kept it. Everything else got tossed into the black bags. I emptied out all of the drawers and put all of my remaining clothing on my bed and started sorting it - tank tops in one pile, short-sleeved shirts together, skirts, pants, pajamas, etc. Everything got its own pile. I went through each pile one last time and tossed anything that was worn out or stained (and therefor wouldn't be accepted by Goodwill), and carefully thought about each article of clothing and if I really would wear it again in the future. For example, I own a lot of babydoll style graphic t-shirts. But while I was away, my style changed away from that type of shirt, and even from wearing shirts with graphics or phrases on them, so I wound up adding nearly all of those shirts to the black bags. On the other side of the coin, I also own a lot of pajama pants and lounge pants. I like being comfortable if I know I don't need to leave the house, so I kept nearly all of them. I also went through the items I had multiples of (such as plain black t-shirts and white tank tops) and kept one or two of the nicest looking.

Before I started putting things away, I needed to go through my purse collection. I found a plastic box about half the size of the rough tote and decided I was only going to keep however many would fit into the smaller box. I made an exception for backpacks and messenger bags, but I still scaled those down as well. If any of my tote bags were of an appropriate size to be used as shopping bags, I added them to the pile of bags we keep in the kitchen. Otherwise, they all went into a black bag. In the end, I kept only 5 purses, 3 messenger bags, and one backpack. The smaller plastic bin even had room left in it!

Three more items remained. Shoes, swim wear, and underwear. Once again, I set myself with a limit and limited myself to 12 pairs of shoes. I carefully went through and threw out worn out shoes first. Then, I applied the same rules I applied to my clothing - if it didn't fit, or if I didn't wear them within the past year, I gave them up. I also only kept one pair of each style. Swim wear was just as easy. I set myself a number of suits I would keep (I picked three) and kept eliminating until I only had that number of suits left. Underwear cannot be donated unless it is brand new, so in this case, I had to throw things out. I hated doing it, but I threw out anything that had holes in it, or was worn out. I also went through my bras and if they had bent wires I tossed them out, too.

This left a very large pile of clothing on my bed that all needed to be put away. I started with the 4-drawer (now 2-drawer) and put in it the clothing I wore frequently - my pajamas and lounge pants. I also included a few shirts that were designated as pajama tops, and the thick socks I sometimes wear around the house. Both drawers still have plenty of room in them. Then, I started sorting things into the upright. Short-sleeves in one drawer, long-sleeves in another, tanks in a third. Underwear and bras went into the fourth, and socks and pantyhose into the fifth, leaving the sixth drawer empty. The cardboard drawers were empty, so they went into the recycling bin. The plastic drawers are also empty, so they will either be used for something else, or sold/given away via Craig's List or a yard sale. Even as I was putting clothing away, I was finding more items to add to a donate pile, and I wound up with another black bag full of clothing for donating!

I originally though this task was going to be one of the worst things I'd have to do, but split over three days, it hardly took any time. Maybe about 8 hours in all. Now I just need to stack all the bags in the car and go deliver them to Goodwill. Sure, I could have held onto some of the nicer items and name brand stuff to try to sell on eBay or Craig's List, but in the long run, I think it's better to donate things to people who need them.

My next tasks? Consolidating my bookcases and my craft supplies. I'll let you know how it goes.