How to Declutter your Closet

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It's day 13 of neatntiny.com's 30-Day Spring Tidying Challenge! If you're just joining us, check out the link above explaining how it works and the links below for what we've covered so far:

WEEK 1

Day 1: Kitchen Counters

Day 2: Under the Sink

Day 3: Dining Area

Day 4: Cutlery & Utensils Drawers

Day 5: Tupperware Drawer

Day 6: Remainder of Kitchen Drawers, Cabinets & Pantry

Day 7: Fridge & Freezer

WEEK 2

Day 8: Front Entryway

Day 9: Mudroom/Back Entry

Day 10: Catch Up

Day 11: Powder Room

Day 12: Living Room

Today we're organizing the walk-in closet/master bedroom closet!

If you haven't already, please subscribe for a free, printable 30-Day Spring Tidying Challenge schedule!

Below are my suggestions for how to declutter the bedroom closet:

1. Clear all clothing off the racks and out of the drawers.

2. Clean. Sweep or vacuum the floor. Wipe down flat surfaces.

3. Decide which clothing/accessories to keep. If you decide to undertake the closet without your partner's help, I'd at least get their input for this part! Don't want to be throwing away anyone's favorite-but-very-worn-out shirt!

Closet Decluttering Tips

- If you haven't worn it in over a year, you're not likely to wear it again.

- It may be tempting to hold onto things 'just in case,' but the more clothing you have, the more difficult it will be to see (and appreciate) the clothes you actually want to wear!

4. Divide everything from the closet into four groups/bins:

i) belongs in the closet

ii) belongs elsewhere in the house

iii) fit to donate/sell used

iv) garbage/recycling

This is a good time to take a long, hard look at all of the clothes you're getting rid of. Are there any that you hardly wore? What can you learn from your mistakes? Remember this the next time you're out shopping.

Every time I purge my clothes, I learn something new about what not to buy in the future!

5. Return the items you've decided to keep to your closet. Organize.

- Group clothes in ways that make sense to you (i.e. by season, by color, by function--work vs. casual, by type---blazers, sweaters, sleeveless, etc.). This will make it easier to find and return clothes to their rightful spots.

You can check out my closet organization tips in these two previous posts on: walk-in closet organization and closet organizers to maximize closet space .

Shop Closet Organization

Amazon Basics Expandable Closet Organizer ($86.31, Amazon.com).

Set of 10 Space-Saving Hanger Organizers ($9.99, Amazon.com).

6. Redistribute the items that belong elsewhere in the home.

7. Donate. Take the boxes designated as 'to sell/donate' and put them somewhere out of sight, but accessible (i.e. mudroom or basement). You'll continue to add to these each day for the rest of the month, with the casualties of each day's tidying task. At the end of the month, you can make a trip (or several) to your local donation bank and/or go on an online selling spree.

8. Dispose of and/or recycle items from the designated garbage/recycling bins.