Since we spend a lot of time talking about adding to your wardrobe, we’re taking this week to talk about how to make room in your closet for it all. Besides the studies floating around out there that show living in organized spaces makes us more efficient in all aspects of our lives, there’s just the practicality of the whole thing – in order to dress well, you need to know what’s in your closet and you should be able to feel confident in wearing any of it. We are all about building a modern wardrobe. And that means you’re mixing your mostly timeless pieces with some pops of seasonal fashion statements to always look appropriately fabulous. With the end of Summer drawing near, it’s time to make some room and get ready for Fall.
Just like in the first “Sex & the City” movie, cleaning out the closet can best be divied up in to a few categories. Pull everything out (yup, it’s the only way to really know what’s in there) and start separating in to a few key groups:
Group 1 “Keep”: It should be filled with stuff you love – your “go-to” pieces that make you feel confident. They fit you well, they feel appropriate for a lot of things in your life, and you build outfits around them. These are often timeless staples like timeless black work trousers, a classic pencil skirt, a pair of jeans that does just the right things for your butt…you get the idea.
Group 2 “Donate”: Stop hanging on to fabulous clothes because they are just “too nice” or you spent “good money” on them. If they haven’t seen the light of day in the past year, it’s time to donate them. If you’ve got clothes that just don’t fit right, just aren’t your color, or you’ve changed fields/companies and now dress differently for the office, donate them to someone who will love them. Check out
The Fashion Project, where they will provide a pre-paid label and donation bag for accepted brands (of the caliber we always talk about) and they will re-sell your clothes for you. 55% of the net proceeds from your sales will go to support a non-profit charity of your choice. Alternatively, you can donate any gently worn career clothes to non-profits like
Bridge to Success (in the Chicago area) or
Dress for Success (nationwide).
Group 3 “Toss”: This one should only be filled with clothes and accessories that didn’t make the cut for the above groups – they have stains or rips that you never got around to trying to repair (and therefore prove you don’t care about those items very much) or they’re fast fashion pieces that are just “over” (goodbye jeans with rhinestones on the pockets). You’ll feel freer without them and you won’t miss them – you weren’t wearing them anyway, remember?
Group 4 “Maybe”: This is the group that a more ruthless person might be able to put in one of the above groups right away, but you aren’t ready to let go. Bag these up and put them out of site for 2-4 weeks. If you didn’t miss them, move them in to your “Donate” or “Toss” groups. Hello, more room for the next group!
Group 5 “Add”: It’s the most fun and it comes once there’s room in your closet. Today (and ever week), we’ve got some top picks to get your closet looking just right. So check out a few of our top “Keeps” and “Adds” to ensure you have the best pieces in your freshly clean & efficient closet and check out the
Full Top 15 List in this week’s Fashion Finds. You’ll be dressing quickly, and with confidence, in no time.
If you like something, just click on the “Shop It” button to buy it from our suggested retailer. And let us know what you think through the comments section below and on social media. Happy organizing!