How to Give your Closet a Good Spring Cleaning

It’s that time of year when you may be feeling the itch to break out of your winter wear and into some spring dresses … if you can find them! If that’s the case then it may also be time for some spring cleaning. As someone with a serious shopping problem, I know a thing or two about cleaning out. Here are some tips on how to give your closet a good spring cleaning. 

Take Everything out of Your Closet

You won’t be able to properly clean out your closet if you can’t see everything you have. Because I have a toddler that likes to help me, I actually do this in phases. I’ll take out all of the clothes, then purses, then shoes, etc. But before I move on to the next phase I’ll go through each piece to take a wardrobe inventory, asking myself several questions:

• Is the item in good shape?
  • Anything with holes or looks worn out needs to go (unless it has some sentimental value)
• When was the last time I wore/used it?
  • If it’s been more than a year, it probably belongs in the discard pile
• Will I wear it in the near future?
  • If  I don’t see myself wearing it within the next year, it will probably end up being donated.
• What kind of sentimental value does it hold?
  • There are some items in my closet that I haven’t worn in years or isn’t in the best shape, but it holds some type of sentimental value like my prom dress or the dress I wore to the Academy Awards in 2011. Those items are not going anywhere.
• Is it a wardrobe staple?
  • Sometimes I’ll hold onto items that aren’t my favorite because they are a wardrobe staple that can be paired with something else in my closet. I have a bad habit of buying these elaborate pieces and then I have nothing neutral to pair them with. 

Shop

Fill the holes that you either found (usually for me that’s a lack of basic staples) or just made by tossing worn items in your wardrobe. This is also your opportunity to grab a few new items that are trending for the season/year. 

Invest in New Hangers and any other Organization Equipment

Get low-profile, non-slip hangers that match and then make sure to invest in some stuffed hangers for sweaters. Wooden hangers are good for blazers and other structured pieces. You can see some of my favorite closet organizing products below.

Organize

Once you have donated or tossed everything you want to clean out and stocked up on organizational tools and new pieces, it’s time to get everything back in your closet and arranged in a way that will help to maximize the space available as well as your time when you get dressed. I like to arrange my clothes by items (dresses, pants, skirts, shirts, sweaters, jackets) and then within those “categories”, I group them by color. That’s what works for me. Feel free to try it out or experiment and find an organization system that works for you.