Is your closet a mess? Do you only wear a few items over and over?
Most of us actually only wear about 20% of the items that are in our closet (and drawers, etc) and the rest of the 80% only gets a few minutes of airtime each year.
Purging your closet can be a hard thing. There’s lots of guilt when it comes to getting rid of items in your closet whether it’s from the money spent or the fact that you no longer fit into a specific size.
But as I always say…when you get rid of an item that causes you to feel guilty, that feeling of guilt goes away with the item! If you don’t see it anymore you won’t feel guilty! Trust me on this.
Today I’m going to share 10 things that you should purge from your closet today. And no, it’s not going to start with skinny jeans (because honestly if one more person tells me to stop wearing them… I kid, I kid), we’re going to talk more general, less specific.
Let’s get to it.
10 Things to Purge From Your Closet
1. Things With Tags
Anything that still has the tags on that you’ve owned for at least 6 months. If you didn’t like it enough to wear it within 48 hours after purchasing it, chances are you’ll never be excited to wear it.
2. Things That Don’t Fit
Anything that hasn’t fit for over a year. Don’t hold on to items for the body you wish you had, dress for the body you actually have!
3. Anything That’s Uncomfortable.
If you don’t feel good in it when you put it on (it’s too tight, too itchy, etc) get rid of it. I don’t know about you but I don’t like to spend the day wishing for something more comfortable.
After having kids my body fluctuated and changed a lot. Even though my youngest is just 4, I just now got rid of all of my extra small sports bras. Pre-kids this is what I wore and even though my chest is smaller than before I had kids, my rib cage is somehow bigger so any sport bra that’s an extra small just hurt after wearing it for a couple hours!
Same thing goes for clothes that just don’t feel good on. If you can’t wear it longer than a couple hours because it’s too itchy or the elastic hits in all the wrong places or you just don’t feel good in it, give it away.
If you have clothes that you immediately feel uncomfortable in when you put it on, get rid of it.
4. Stained or Damaged Clothes
If you’re anything like me, when your kids ruin or stain their clothes past being worn, you get rid of them. Yes, we keep a couple items for spare clothes to keep in the car but as a general rule we get rid of them. They have plenty of clothes to wear as is!
What about you? When you stain or damage your clothes, do you hold on to them? I used to keep a whole bin of clothes for painting or doing dirty work (gardening, etc) but then I realized two things.
One, I rarely paint my house so I don’t need multiple clothes for painting. One set works just fine! And two, I can wear workout shorts or leggings and a washable top when I’m outside gardening or doing yard work. I don’t need designated clothes for these activities!
Treat yourself better than you treat your kids. If you have an item that is stained or ruined bad enough you wouldn’t wear it out in public, get rid of it. You’re worthy enough of comfy clothes that are in good shape.
5. Your Pile of Dry Cleaning Clothes
When my husband worked in corporate America, we had a bi-weekly dry cleaning service pick up and drop off clothes and it worked great! I never had much but whenever I did, I put it in with his work clothes.
When he quit his job we quit the dry cleaning service. And with that, went away all of my opportunities to get any clothes I need dry cleaned actually cleaned! We just got rid of a large bag of dry clean only shirts that don’t get any wear these days and it felt so good!
What about you? Do you have an ever growing pile of clothes that you need to bring to the dry cleaner? That pile needs to go!
If you’re dead set on actually getting them clean so you don’t need to purge them, give yourself 24 hours to take it to get cleaned.
This is a good time to really think about whether you’re actually a dry cleaning gal or not. I know that I’m not a “dry clean only” kind of gal. I have started doing a bit of dry cleaning at home which can be sufficient but I also don’t really buy any dry clean only clothes in order to not have to bring them to the cleaners!
6. Your Pile of Clothes for the Tailor
We are all guilty of this one. I have a dress I’ve owned since I was pregnant with my daughter who is now SIX YEARS OLD in a pile waiting to be brought to the tailor. By now it’s out of style!
If you bought something that needs to be altered, don’t take the tags off until you actually bring it into the tailer! If you haven’t brought it in within a week, return it.
Same rule applies to this as it does for the dry cleaner. Give yourself a (short!) deadline to get your clothes into the tailer. If you pass the deadline, get rid of the clothes.
7. Duplicate Items You Don’t Actually Wear
Let’s state the obvious. Nobody needs multiple of the same thing. However. If you have a classic tank or tee or jeans or whatever it is that you wear all the time and you have multiples of the same thing, you do you.
It’s perfectly fine to have multiples of things you wear all the time and need a backup for when things are in the wash.
However, you’ll know it’s time to get rid of things when those second (or third or fourth) items never see the light of day!
8. Gifted Items
I know you can feel guilty for getting rid of items that a friend or spouse or parent so nicely gave to you but if you don’t like it or don’t wear it, do everyone a favor and get rid of it! Your guilt of not wearing a gift will go away when you get rid of the item.
Chances are, they won’t even remember the specific items and likely won’t care if you get rid of it!
9. Items That Don’t Suit Your Current Lifestyle
If you’re a working professional who spends most of your days at the office, you don’t necessarily need to fill up your closet with workout clothes, jeans and t-shirts.
If you’re a stay at home mom who lives in her jeans and tees, there’s no sense in filling your closet with pencil skirts and power suits.
Take a good look at what clothes fit the life you have now and ensure that what stays in your closet fits that life. Of course you’ll want to keep some clothes for date nights, weekends, etc., just make sure you’re holding on to clothes for the life you have now and not for the life you used to have!
10. Items That Don’t Suit Your Current Style
Maybe at some point you wore body-con dresses and bralettes and now you’re just not that gal anymore. Or maybe it’s wide leg jeans and oversized graphic tees.
Whatever it is that isn’t your style anymore, get rid of it! Always remember, if you decide years from now that you’d like to get back into a trend, you can always buy it again!
So there you have it. 10 items to get rid of from your closet today. I hope this helps!
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