About twice a year I go through my own closet to purge and reorganize. My closet begins to look cluttered, disorganized and just plain messy, as you can see above.

Purging the closet speeds up my morning routine because it’s easy for me to tell what I’d like to wear when everything is so visible.

Now, on to how to organize, and what to keep, donate or sell.

Organize

I did a bit of research to discover that my current plan isn’t working for me, even if I did have less in my closet. This is what I learned:

• use all of the same type of hanger
• hang everything including jeans
• designate a work out clothing drawer or basket to keep those outfits completely separate
• box up winter boots to take the completely out of rotation in the summer months (and then swap the boots for sandals in September, so they’re put away nicely too)
• hang like with like – by clothing type, then by colour
• if you have a special occasion section, keep it tucked in the far back (unless you’re wearing special occasion wear very regularly)

I’m not finished with my summer closet cleanup yet so I’ll have to show you the After pic when I’m ready. (Promise I will.)

Purge

Make two piles: Donate and Sell. As you’re pulling things out of your closet, ask yourself two things “Does This Make Me Feel Beautiful and Confident?” and “Have I Worn This In The Past Year?” to determine whether you really need to keep this item and let it take up space in your closet and in your life.

Sell

Facebook buy and sell groups are very common and easy to find (just search for your city name plus ‘sell’ or ‘swap’) it’s very simple to sell the items you think are worth selling versus donating.

If you don’t have time to take photos and list all your items, simply drop them off at your nearest consignment shop and they’ll either pay you upfront or call you with your balance according to their individual schedules. Be sure to call ahead, most high end consignment shops need to book you in for an appointment and look through your clothing and accessories to see if they’ll accept them. This is the quickest way to make an easy buck for those designer jeans you bought in the wrong size last season, or that preloved designer handbag of yours.

Some of the brand names and designers that sell well: Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Tory Burch, J Brand, Seven For All Mankind, True Religion, Lululemon, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, and so forth. You get the idea.

Donate

Donate anything you don’t think you can sell or don’t want to take the time to list and sell. Just be sure to throw out the stained or damaged pieces first.

Value Village has locations all over Canada for you to simply drop your items at. They even have a stamp ‘rewards’ program where you earn free stuff! Plus you’re helping them donate to local and national non-profits at Value Village.

* Sponsored by Value Village. All opinions expressed (and the messy closet) are my own.

 

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