It’s amazing what several days away from everyday responsibilities can do for my mental health. I took a very laid back approach to blogging and didn’t do any freelance writing over the holiday weekend and it felt great to feel wrapped up in family.
I know I have a lot of catch up work to do today, but I’m feeling refreshed. I think some of my refreshed feelings can be attributed to the time I spent going through my closet yesterday.
Closet Clean Out
Yesterday, when Ryan and I arrived back in Ocala, I was tempted to immediately dig out our Christmas decorations and go to town. Instead I forced myself to clean out my closet and get a little organized before decorating.
I am currently about three quarters of the way through The Happiness Project and ever since I read the section of the book where the author discusses the importance of addressing the clutter in her life, my closet has been calling to me.
I went through everything in my closet and dresser including my clothes, shoes, scarves and belts. When I say I went through everything, I really mean it. I was ruthless and ended up with two big piles of clothes to give away.
Nothing was safe!
I divided my clothes into two piles: One to take to Goodwill and another to hopefully sell to Plato’s Closet and make $5 for 10 articles of clothing. The big bucks!
I ended up running out of motivation to decorate for Christmas after going through my closet and putting away all of the autumn décor, so I’m saving that festive activity for this evening!
Workout + Breakfast
It felt good to do some strength training at the gym this morning. After I spent 20 minutes on the elliptical, I hopped off to finish up my workout with a total body strength circuit.
When Ryan and I arrived home from the gym, I took a hot shower and then made myself a plate of scrambled eggs with a toasted cinnamon raisin bagel for breakfast.
Nice and warm!
Question of the Morning
- How often do you go through your closet? How do you decide what clothing you want to give away and what clothing you want to keep?
When I found myself feeling wishy-washy about giving away a certain article of clothing, I took a cue from The Happiness Project and asked myself whether or not I’d likely elect to wear something else instead of that piece of clothing when deciding what to wear. If the answer was yes, into the giveaway pile it went!
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I definitely need to majorly clean out my closet! I try to do it every season and then I forget or I don’t feel like it. I need to just set aside time and do it!
Ah I hate cleaning out closets!! Good for you though! It always feels better once itz done!!
Oh, you mean the closet that attacks me every time I open the door? *blush* Would you like to come over and do mine now? 🙂 I just said the other day that’s my winter project after the holidays. As far as when to give away clothes? When they’re too big for me. I REFUSE to keep “just in case I regain weight” clothes in the house. No way.
This post is exactly what I needed to motivate me to clean the clutter in our condo. I have been wanting to go through my closet and bins and just de-clutter for a while now! I know it will help me feel less chaotic. That will be my task today! Have a great day 🙂
good luck! i felt 10x better once it was done!
I cleaned out my closet a couple of years ago when I moved other than that I have a really hard time separating myself from my clothes I just feel like I MAY want to wear that crazy sweater again one day!!!
I get very protective about my clothing when it’s clean-out time #hoarderalert
Okay, so I probably go through my closets a bit more frequently than the average bear. Type A to the core, I’m happiest when I’m organizing, cleaning something out, throwing something away, or giving a “used treasure” to someone who would use it more than I would. When it comes to donating, there are a few rules I go by:
-if I haven’t worn it in a year, it goes
-if it doesn’t fit, it goes
-if it does fit but it doesn’t make me feel amazingly awesome when I wear it, it goes
This helps me make room for the better things to come. 🙂 I guess that’s the “empty shelf” mentality.
Thanks for stating your donating rules.
I need to follow your last one. “if it fits but it doesnt’ make feel amazingly awesome I need to get rid of i’.
I have lots of stuff that fits me but I don’t feel amazing in it.
I am going to clean my closet and apply this rule. Thanks ! Haley.
No problem, Elizabeth! Yeah, it’s really important to make sure your closet is full of clothes that make you feel good when you wear them. Anything less is just taking up precious space. 🙂
I try to about twice a year, after summer and after winter. Basically if I did not wear it that season it goes!
ahhh i try to clean out my closet once in the winter and once before summer to try and weed out any stuff I dont wear anymore. The only thing I can’t get rid of is a lot of my college sports stuff..even though it just sits there I can’t bring myself to get rid of it. I need to do something special with it!
You should make a t-shirt quilt! You can send away for them online, and they’re kind of expensive, but a really nice way to hold on to clothes that have lots of good memories attached but that you’ll clearly never wear again.
The last time I did a major closet cleanout was in summer of 2011. It seems like a long time ago, but I got rid of a TON of stuff so I’m probably still good for a little while!
The best piece of advice I ever got regarding cleaning out my closet was: “If you are on the fence about it and choose to keep it… you must wear it within one week… and if you don’t, you need to give it away.” It works!
It also helps to put those items on hangers facing the opposite way so you know which items those were! 🙂
Love this idea! 😀 Thanks for the great tip!
Weirdly jealous that you did that…I typically go through my clothes about once a year, but I don’t think I do a good enough job of being realistic about certain things. My boyfriend looks at my closet and thinks I have WAY too many clothes (and he’s right) but I look at it and think that nothing really makes me excited to wear it. I need to whittle down…then I can justify buying more again 😉
Glad you had some great family time & are now feeling refreshed! I need to take a cue from you & clean out my closet, but I always hang onto things thinking that some day I may want to wear that, or if I just slim down a bit that may fit me again, LOL. Good for you on de-cluttering your life, now go enjoy putting out those x-mas decorations! At least you won’t freeze your fingers off hanging lights outside – I’m missing that part of FL right now!
I usually clean out my closet right before a move which has been about once a year or more for the past few years. A good tip I have learned is to hang up all your clothes with the hanger backwards, then in 6 months or so, whatever is still backwards (because it hasn’t been worn and rehung properly) has to go! It works well for items that aren’t seasonal. 🙂
My closet is due for a clean out too. I try to do it twice a year. I work at a university and for the first time, we are getting an extended holiday break (Christmas – New Years), I have plans to tackle my closet during my free time.
I don’t go through my closet nearly enough! I hate getting rid of old things, but I love bringing in the new…and my closet is bursting at the seems…it may be time to do a closet cleanout myself!
Ahh doesn’t it feel so good to clean out your closet? I don’t do it nearly enough, but I always feel so much better afterward. Speaking of which, I should work on that this coming weekend! Thanks for the motivation! 😉
You have inspired me and hopefully when I get home from vacation I’ll still feel motivated to clean out my closet.
I love cleaning out my closets. It feels so good to reorganize my things, and find space where there once was clutter. It’s refreshing!
I always have the worst luck at Plato’s Closet. I started taking my clothes to a local (nicer) consignment shop and have had a lot of luck with that! You don’t get your money right away (instead after it sells), but they give you 50% of what they re-sell your item for.
I’ve been purging around here too. But for me it’s been in my kids rooms, which is a difficult task because you have to admit that they are too grown up to ever need that View Master or Etch-a-Sketch again. Or the fact that my daughter has NEVER played with her Barbies and it’s time to admit that she never will. I find that giving them to a friend with smaller children than mine, and knowing they will still be enjoyed by someone close to your heart makes it easier. I should have NEVER watched Toy Story 3!!!
When I was losing weight over the last year, I was forced to constantly clean out my closet because nothing fit! Now that I am at a steady size, I haven’t done it in several months. There is something kind of freeing about getting rid of stuff you just don’t wear!
I’m doing a wear what I own challenge, which includes cleaning out the closet. If I haven’t worn it recently, I try to wear it and if I don’t like it/can’t find another outfit for it/doesn’t fit, it goes bye. Makes you also realize how much of the same stuff I wear over and over again!
I lost about 10 lbs a year and half ago, and recently took 3 garbage bags full of clothes to the Goodwill. Now that I’ve gained a couple pounds from eating out so much and working from home, I wish I would have saved some of them. It feels so good having a clean organized closet though.
I LOVE to organize! I think I could be a professional organizer, I love it so much. Anyway, here are my closet tips. I hang everything in color order and grouped together (jeans, pants, shirts, sweaters, etc). After I wear an item, I reverse the hanger. I keep it reversed if I wear it again. After 6 months, I pull out all the clothes that haven’t been worn. I know they haven’t because their hanger never got turned. Then I decide if I want to keep them or not. I hope this makes sense! 😉 Glad you enjoyed the Thanksgiving break.
That is brilliant. I wish I were organized enough to put that system into practice!
I try to do it a few times a year. It’s actually pretty easy for me because I’m a purger and I hate clutter! When it comes to clothes, if I can’t remember the last time I wore it, it gets donated!
I did the same thing yesterday — I was going to put up christmas decorations, but got some cleaning down first. It felt good!
I’ve had a pile of clothes ready to giveaway sitting in my apartment for a year… haha this is what happens when you don’t have a car to just take things places!
I love cleaning out my closet and do it several times per year. I know people who keep clothes FOREVER but if I haven’t worn it in a while, it goes in the donation pile.
I have thought about consigning clothes before but I always hear the same thing, that the shops pay so little that it isn’t really worth the effort.
By the way, is the layout of your blog different today or is it all in my imagination?
Since I usually pull things out sporadically, I’m not sure when my last big clean out was, but it sure feels good when it happens!
Good for you! I’ve been trying to work up the motivation to do the very same thing. I think seeing how much better it made you feel may finally encourage me to do it!
I’ve been wanting to read The Happiness Project – I bought it for my mom for her upcoming birthday so maybe after she reads it I’ll steal it, haha. 😉
I wanted to buy the Happiness Project last week when I was at the bookstore, but I was told not to because my family may or may not be getting it for me for Christmas! Hahaha! I can’t wait to start it though!! It seems very motivational!! (:
I just went through my clost! I think I go through it every season and If I didnt wear it during that season it goes. My husband isnt always thrilled to give stuff away. I think hes a hoarder! lol.
You should check out https://www.liketwice.com/ – It’s kind of like Plato’s Closet but online. I recently did it and made about $30 on 9 or 10 pieces of clothing. It’s super easy, and they’re great to work with!
awesome! off to check that out right now! thanks, sarah.
Great! I hope it works for you! 🙂
I just finished that chapter, and cleaning out my closet (and the rest of my apartment) is on my to-do list for this week. We don’t have a Plato’s Closet here, so I’ll be holding onto those clothes until I visit my grandmother in Daytona 😉
Just curious. Do you and Ryan eat the same things for breakfast?
sometimes, but not usually. he loves scrambled eggs, so if i’m making scrambled eggs, i’ll often make a big skillet full of them so he can have some too if he’s in the mood for eggs.
I desperately need to clean out my closet, as well–I’m running out of hangers! Another idea I saw on Pinterest is to turn all your hangers backwards at the beginning of the year. When you wear an item you turn the hanger to face the “correct” way. At the end of the year (6 months, etc), you get rid of any still backwards-facing hangers. I have yet to try it, but the idea sounds good. Also, along with Plato’s Closet, there is a new site I found called Twice Clothing. You can buy gently-used designer clothes but can also sell your own. They send you a shipping label so you aren’t responsible for paying for it! I might try that out as well. Not sure how well they pay, but it might be better than Plato’s!
I JUST went through my closet and had the exact same technique – one bag for goodwill, and one to sell to a store called Buffalo Exchange. I made $100 there… it was so exciting! More $$$ to spend on Christmas presents 🙂
I really really REALLY need to clean out my closet and get stuff to the Goodwill. I’ve been putting it off for so long. I have a whole box of shoes in my closet that I haven’t worn in years. It’s sad, but I haven’t worn them, so I really should give them away. :'(
I definitely need to clean out my closet. My usual approach to getting rid of clothes involves replacement: get a new sweater, get rid of one I currently have. I tend to go on clothes purges every few years, and I’m definitely due for one: I realized a few days ago that I’ve been wearing most of my winter clothes since my freshman year of college and haven’t bought much new since then…and that was 2008/2009). No wonder I’m ready to replace what I currently have!
oh gosh.. I’m so bad with giving away stuff..I get too attached lol But I usually give away stuff I never remember having hahaha
I usually do a good clean out twice a year… If something has permanent hanger marks, it probably needs to go somewhere else!
I was also inspired by the happiness project to do a deep clean this weekend! My husband and I donated 8 or 9 grocery bags full of items to the salvation army (keep in mind good will is for profit, the salvation army is not for profit). We felt great about it, but it was so weird, this guy had parked his car right next to the drop off box and was watching people as they took items out of their car. It seemed like he was trying to steal anything of value that people dropped off and his car was packed with stuff. No one at the store seemed remotely interested in doing anything about it, so that tarnished the experience a little bit, even though we were able to put our items into the bin so I don’t think he took them. Even if he did, at least they aren’t in my closet anymore! I have big plans to go through our spare closet on the next long weekend we’re in town!
Hi, I noticed you mentioned Goodwill is a “for profit” company? Where did you hear that? I donated to Goodwill earlier this year it was still a non-profit company at that time. Just curious if something happened and I didn’t know about it!! Either way, it’s great you donated so many items! There are so many people in need out there!
Hi, I have been told this multiple times, but I’ve been trying to find a good source for it and can’t, so perhaps I’m mistaken. Its a bit complicated because some of the goodwill stores or centers are definitely non-profit, but I’m not really sure if the overall Goodwill Inc. corporation is non-profit (they don’t show up on Charity Navigator, the best website I know for looking up the financials of non-profits and charities). I’m also not exactly sure what the relationship between the corporation and the individual stores/projects are. I know there was a scandal that they were overpaying their CEO ($800,000 or so) which is a no no for non profit status, but maybe they resolved that. Anyways, my intention was not to stop people from donating to Goodwill, but more to point out the Salvation Army is a really good option too. The clothes get to people in need one way or another, so like you said, it’s most important to donate at all! Hopefully I didn’t mislead anyone here!
Every 6 months or so my friends and I do a big clothing exchange. We all get together and give our old clothes to each other. It makes it way easier to get rid of something if someone I know is going to take it and wear it. Now when I clean out my closet I can say, I fee like so and so would appreciate this more than me. Plus, I get new stuff out of it in the end!
I usually end up cleaning out my closet quite frequently…especially when there is something else I should actually being doing, it is a great way to procrastinate and still be productive!
I started going through my closet before we moved. And I took my tips from Monica at RER. She said put all of the hangers in your closet backwards. When you wear something, you put the hanger back forwards. In 6 months (or a year depending on how many seasons you have), anything that is still backwards gets donated (or sold).
The Kidless Kronicles
I do it on New year’s Day each year, I make a donate pile and a maybe pile, the maybe pile I put in a bag and whatever is still in there in June gets donated becuase I clearly don’t need it since it’s been in the bag for 6 months. I try to tell myself that it helps my wardrobe from getting stale!
I probably clean out my closet every few months but I should be better about it. I could make some serious money for that stuff instead of throwing it into the piles at Goodwill. Sounds like a good day to me 🙂
When it comes to cleaning out my closet, I am always the worst about saying, “oh, well I MIGHT wear it or need to wear it at some point.” I have a hard time getting rid of things!
Have you ever heard of the strategy of turning your hangers backwards until you wear a certain article of clothing and whichever hangers are still backwards by the end of a certain time period, you get rid of those articles of clothing? I am thinking I might try it.
ahhh you read my mind Julie! I have a reaaaaaaaallllyyy tiny closet and since I don’t know where I should put all my belongings, I stuff them in there along with clothes that are hanging. Needless to say, I have been meaning to do something about it, but something about cleaning up clutter always overwhelms me! Hmmm I should just think of how refreshed you felt and JUST DO IT. 😀