Home & Garden, Lifestyle

The Ultimate Guide to Decluttering Your Closet

Briana Hernandez · Published on 2019-02-26

It’s never too early to indulge in spring cleaning fever! But if you’re intimidated by that hot mess of dresses, shoes, bags and bulky outerwear you’ve got in your closet, just relax. Like any massive project, decluttering your closet works best when you have a plan before diving in. Here are seven tried-and-true tricks to help you get your closet reorganized and fashionably efficient, plus a few essentials you can get with Cash Back at Rakuten to get to the job done right.

1. Host a Clothing Swap

One girl’s “leave it” is another girl’s “love it.” Kill two birds with one stone and invite your besties over to take some gently worn items off your hands while you help yourself to some of theirs. It’s a fun (and cheap!) way to kick-start your spring wardrobe.

2. Take It One Section at a Time

Rather than pull everything out of your closet and find yourself instantly overwhelmed, work on one area at a time. That way, you can even spread the project over multiple days. Maybe start with shoes first, then the top shelf, then the bottom drawer and so on. Baby steps, ladies.

3. Apply the One-Year Rule

If you haven’t worn a piece in a full 365, consider getting rid of it. If you never got the itch to mix it into your outfits that whole time, chances are you never will. Say buh-bye. Also, try hanging all your clothes in one direction. As you wear things, put them back hanging the opposite direction. These huggable hangers will help all your clothes stay on the hanger and off the floor. In another year, you will easily see what stay haven’t worn so you can get rid of those items too.

4. Put Things Away in Groups

After the big purge, restock your closet by grouping things into categories. All sweaters go in this drawer, all dresses hang in this section, etc. These drawer organizers are a dream when it comes to organizing your dressers, expanding all the way to 18” so you can customize the configuration. Another option is to group by color. Consider your thought process in putting outfits together and do what makes sense for you.

5. Get a Belt Rack

Even if you don’t have a lot of belts, this hanging belt rack is great for hanging bags and scarves that would otherwise likely take up floor space.

6. Store with Space Bags

If there are some items that need to be taken out of your seasonal rotation and are taking up precious real estate right now, get some large space bags to vacuum pack these pieces. It’ll keep them safe from moisture and dust, and most importantly, it will shrink them down to size.

7. Basement Storage with a Bag of Chalk

If you’re storing clothes in a chest or basement, put a few pieces of chalk (it doesn’t have to be colored) in a cloth bag to add to your clothes. This will soak up excess moisture in the air and keep your clothes fresh and dry.

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Briana Hernandez

Briana is a shopaholic whose newest obsession is matching top-and-skirt sets (but she also can’t resist a good jumpsuit). She loves rock music, horror movies and is an all-around pop culture junkie. She is, without fail, always down for karaoke. Her blog, Mamafierce, is a chronicle of personal fashion, body positivity and the adventures of motherhood. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, three-year-old son and tortoiseshell cat, Divvy.