How to organize your clothes
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Before you start organizing you must ask yourself why. What is the goal of organization? Do you want to minimize your distractions, have more time for playing with the kids or maybe you just want to be able to find your keys in the morning. I got you! But I invite you to look further down the road and imagine your ideal life! If you want to stay organized for the long run you need a long term goal to be able to create everyday tidy habits. Some of my clients envision their ideal lifestyles such as traveling more, working less (or changing careers), going back to school or spending more time (really being present) with loved ones. Once you have figured out your long term goals and ideal lifestyle then you are ready to get started.
We start by organizing our clothes because we want to learn to make easy decisions before we make hard ones (It is easier to decide about a stained shirt than it is about grandmas old china). Making good decisions about your belongings will train your brain to make good decisions about your life.
Step 1: Gather all your clothes in one place (the bed or bedroom floor are great)
The reason we want to do this is to see how much we really own. For many of my clients surprise it’s often much more than they anticipated.
Step 2: Touch every single Item and ask if it sparks joy!
Yes I know it sounds cheesy, but we have been trained to make decisions based on other peoples opinion all the time. We have to re-learn to make decisions based on our own well being and happiness. So, if you touch your favorite shirt you will feel happy and warm and you will have an emotional reaction to it. Make your decisions based on how your clothes make you feel and if these items are something you would want to wear in your ideal life.
Related: Minimalist Closet: Practice Minimalism with Your Wardrobe
Step 3: Sort you items into a keep, donate or discard pile
If the answer to the question “does it spark joy” is yes, keep it. If the answer is no, make sure you thank the item (yes gratitude is important to let go and to appreciate what the item has done for and meant to you in the past). Then either donate it if it is in good shape or discard it if it is stained or ripped or too old to be reused.
Step 4: File fold your clothes to save space
When you are finished sorting, my advice is to fold as much as you can. Most modern fabrics don’t wrinkle anymore and folding will safe you tons of space. The neat thing with file folding is, that you can see every single item and are able to pull them out from the dresser, without making a mess. Here is a tutorial on how to fold your clothes vertically:
Step 5: Store items back in the closet
Folded Items should be stored in a dresser, from light to heavy. Lighter items such as bras, panties or socks should be stored in the top drawer and heavier items like jeans should be stored on the bottom. When hanging up items make sure o hang them up in an angle from long to short or sort them by color.
Step 6: Discard your trash and drop off your clothes donations at your favorite non-profit or second hand store
I recommend to make a donations drop of the same day you finished organizing your clothes, or the bags might be laying around in your home and becoming a nuisance for weeks. Also do not leave them in the garage or they might be forgotten forever. The sooner you can take the responsibility to donate/ discard them is when you have finished the clothes category of organization.
