There is something uniquely attractive about open space in a closet.
When was the last time you saw a staged photo of a closet stuffed to overflowing with clothes? Rarely, if ever. Instead, clothes hang neatly and are organized tidily–with room for air and energy and open spaces. This is attractive to most of us but many of us don’t bother with learning how to get rid of clothes for a minimalist closet.
Instead, our closets are stuffed full of shirts and pants and shoes and belts and jackets. We run out of hangers or shelf space, and then we shop for storage solutions so we can store even more clothes. Our closets become cluttered all too quickly.
Still, we are drawn to the idea of a thinned-out, minimalist closet.
Of course, they offer more benefits than simple beauty. It saves time in the morning (and sometimes, the evening). It reduces stress and frustration. It saves money. There is a special pleasure reserved for those who look in their closet and love everything they see.
If you are looking for help on how to get rid of clothes and form a more minimalist closet, here are nine simple tips to get you started:
1. Start easy. Begin by removing the clothes that are stained, ripped, or faded beyond recognition. Items that are no longer in wearable condition can still be donated.
2. Remove seasonal items. Remove off-season clothing from your closet to free up some needed space. If you didn’t wear an item at all last year, get rid of it. Then, store the remaining pieces in a separate closet where they will not be in your way cluttering up your closet.
3. Get rid of clothes that don’t fit once and for all. If you’re in-between sizes, certainly keep some clothing from both. But if you haven’t cleaned out your closet for quite some time, there are likely a number of ill-fitting items that can be removed entirely—whether you changed sizes, the item shrunk or stretched, or it never did fit quite right. Those ill-fitting items are weighing you down physically, mentally, and emotionally. Pass them on to someone who can use them.
4. Reduce your need for additional accessories. If you’re holding on to something until you find the “perfect accessory,” let it go. Clothes often multiply in our closets because of the Diderot effect (one purchase leads to another, which leads to another). In the future, look for pieces that compliment your existing accessory pile. After all, if you’re constantly adding things to your closet, you’ll never get ahead (not in your closet and not in your checkbook).
5. Consider the idea of one. If one can be enough, embrace it. Rather than owning an entire assortment, try owning just your favorite black dress, belt, handbag, or jacket (just to name a few ideas). A closet filled with only things you love and use will be a closet that you love to use.
6. Reassess current trend purchases. The fashion industry gets rich on one principle: constantly changing fashion trends. You see, the fashion industry cannot survive on people buying only the clothes they need. So the industry invents false need by boldly declaring new fashion trends and colors for every changing season. But you don’t to have fall for their tricks. Find your favorite timeless fashion and start playing by your own rules.
7. Physically handle every item. If you want to make significant progress thinning out your closet, remove every item entirely from the closet. Return only the pieces you truly love. If that task seems too overwhelming, complete the process in sections (i.e. shoes today, shirts tomorrow). However you seek to accomplish this project, it is important that you physically handle each item at some point. The physical touch forces decisions.
8. If all else fails, pick a number. To start, choose 10. Thumb through the clothes in your closet and remove 10 items—any 10 you want. Put them in a bag and drop off at your nearest donation center. Likely, you will find the task was not that difficult. In fact, once you get started, you may find 15 or 20 things to remove without even breaking a sweat.
9. Experiment with less. Test your assumptions about the optimal amount of clothing with a few, simple experiments. Try placing half of your clothing in a different room for two weeks. You will be surprised how much easier is to function and get ready with fewer clothes in your closet. Most of us wear 20% of our clothing 80% of the time and would live much happier with fewer wardrobe choices than we have now. But you’ll never realize that until you test it out.
There are many reasons the capsule wardrobe movement is growing so rapidly. A thinned out minimalist wardrobe is less stressful, less time-consuming, and more convenient. You’ll love it once you experience it yourself.
And there’s no time like the present to get started.
JH says
I have to say, since getting rid of at least half of my closet, I have had way less stress! Honestly, it is so freeing to get rid of something that has been in the closet for a few years that was too small, but I was just hanging onto it ‘in case’. GOODBYE! After a year of decluttering, my family is totally on board. I will come into my bedroom and periodically there will be small stacks of clothing on my bed – meant for the second hand store. It takes a bit of training, but it’s so worth it. Now if I put on an article of clothing and I don’t like how it feels or looks, I take it off immediately and put it into the second hand store bag! Freedom!
Meyli says
I am close to having a near-capsule wardrobe for each season!!! I live somewhere with 4 distinct seasons; there is some overlap in clothes for each one, but not entirely (except Spring and Fall are roughly the same). No matter when, my daily clothing needs to be weather appropriate, since I’m outside for part of my day. So no shorts in winter, no pants in the scorching summer!
While I find it pretty easy to ‘say goodbye’ to items, I have a few problems when it comes time to replace things. 1) I can’t seem to prevent armpit stains! Shirts rarely last longer than a year, because the armpits start turning yellow or looking like they are permanently ‘wet’. And I really don’t want to only wear dark shirts! I’ve tried changing deodorants, and scrubbing the spots with vinegar and baking soda….not a big help :(
2) I can never find things that fit me well! I end up buying things online (not near many stores), but sometimes they don’t fit right. Returning is a pain…so I end up keeping it in my closet forever. Hmm.
Judy says
TMI ;)
Darlene says
Hello. Check with your Dr. they can give you something. God bless…
Carolyn B says
Hi, Good luck with preserving your clothing. I hate white and black but wear both colors constantly due to ease of laundry. I’d like to share an idea I want to implement in my wardrobe to be more colorful with less laundry issues. I want to buy a few men’s white undershirts (short- or long-sleeve) to take the sweat and deodorant stains then wear my good blouse over it. I’m very cold-natured so this type of layering is good for me.
tricia says
I completely understand!! I have the same problems! Then you find yourself shopping some more!!
J Lynn says
I have the same yellow stain problem. Nothing seems to work!
Mary says
Try rubbing arm pit stains wth a lemon slice then wash as usual. It worked when my daughter was a teen and only wore white shirts. Also works on rust spots.
Betty says
I just got back from a trip to Italy, it was a gift trip. I wanted to take as few items as possible in a small suitcase. Everything I took was black, gray or white. I mixed and matched and had one scarf with all 3 colors in it. It really showed me how I could live with less and I consider myself a minimalist. Buying one good quality item that lasts is far better than 6 cheaply made items. Fewer clothes with a longer lifespan.
Heath Melrose says
Thanks for these great reminders as I start to clean out my closet and also prepare for future clothing purchases.
Diane says
I am having trouble with my minimalist closet. One of the main trouble is cheap clothes, specially winter sweaters. I have a few good quality cashmere sweaters, one of which is having trouble with pilling.
Many sweaters i bought ( not cashmere) almost qualify as disposable! They look like rags after one wash.
I love the idea of a simple closet with only one or 2 items of each. But cloths are made so cheap now, i find myself constantly worrying about needing to replace the limited pieces.
Also i find today’s styles revolting. I want to cry thinking about beautiful ,simple, quality clothing i gave away a few years ago.
Like a perfect denim jacket with just enough stretch, the perfect length and the perfect slim cut. Now all i can find are hideous, boxy, cheap, 80’s kind of clothes…
I spend hours online trying to find some simple quality clothes i like. I know this really defeats the purpose of a minimalist closet!
Any suggestions?
Judy says
Perhaps shop boutiques rather than department stores. Much better quality and unique styles.
Mathilde says
Go for fairtrade/biological/ecological. I have good experiences with those!
Mathilde says
ps; Also carefull washing helps, and not using the dryer also helps.
Judy says
I wish I had an “extra closet” ! :)
I rarely shop for clothes. I have a sister (and her friends) who shop—and shop—and shop. They give me their hand-me-downs. I am truly grateful and blessed. My closet is full, so IF I keep something they give me…something comes out and goes to charity. Yes, it great!!! BUT, the downside is, most of the clothes I wear are not really my style. It’s nothing that I would go out and buy (they dress a bit flashy and complicated). It helps me out tremendously and I always have nice things to wear to work.
Naomi says
“Remove off-season clothing…Then, store the remaining pieces in a separate closet”
What separate closet?! Americans have so much space!
Here’s an idea for you: imagine you are coming on a trip to Europe (where we are all crammed like sardines in a can) – and only take what you could fit into a small British wardrobe ;o)
Val says
I decided not to buy any clothing items during 2016 and I’ve not missed it one bit. In fact, I have loads of extra time to do other things as I’m not browsing (anxiously) the internet for clothes I don’t need or going to the shops so much. I have enough clothes and have thinned out my wardrobe (UK for ‘closet’!). No one has noticed or commented and I still dress well. It’s been truly liberating.
Janice Lee says
I made the same decision! It feels great. the reality of it all is… NO ONE CARES!!! LOL no one truly cares what you wear!. if you wear a tank top and skiing pants on a hot June day no one will bat an eye. I PROMISE! :)
Kate says
I live in the U.K. too.
What seasonal clothes? Here in Cornwall there’s often 4 seasons in one day! We rarely have extremes of weather.
girl C says
Great advice for cleaning out closets! Mine is an absolute mess…there is just so many clothes. I hope to get my closet down to only what I will actually wear.
girl C
https://fromgirlc.wordpress.com
Lindsey says
I don’t know where I heard this, but it’s been unbelievably helpful, especially with clothing. I ask myself if I would buy the item now if I saw it in the store, or whether I wish I’d never bought it in the first place, or something along those lines. It helps to circumvent the guilt of the sunk cost of the piece of clothing, which can really cloud my judgement.
I’ve also found that I can get rid of about half of any category I sort each time I sort it, and once that slows down and I find myself only getting rid of a few items, it means I’m close to the “click point” (as Konmari would say) of having the perfect amount.
Only recently did I finally get my closet to the point that I wanted it, and it’s amazing. I would like to have clothing that works together better than my current wardrobe, but that’s something I’m thinking about for when I need to replace my current items.
Jenerra says
I am a reformed clothes hoarder. Over the past 5 years I’ve been able to rid myself of over 10 boxes/bags of clothes. Each year I purge more, I don’t buy many new items and I still seem to have too much. This past month I think I’ve finally gotten down to a reasonable amount and I’m determined to keep it that way! My method wasn’t the fastest but it was the least painful and I still got to the right place eventually.