How to Clear Out Your Wardrobe in Less Than an Hour

1) Mindset

If you’re going to clear out your wardrobe, you must put aside any sentimental feelings or emotional attachment to your clothing. I began by telling myself that I have to be practical and I can’t keep everything. Have a goal in mind. For example, I told myself that I wanted to put away at least 10-20% of my clothing. Having the right mindset is important so that you do not waste time in your decision making.

2) Undergarment

First, I dumped all my undergarments and socks on the floor. Then I went through each item. I asked myself these questions when going through them. Are they still in good condition (no holes, not discolored, not loose)? Do they still fit me? Are they comfortable? If the answers are no, I would either throw them in the bin (if they are in terrible shape) or put them in a bag (for my next vacation and to be discarded after use on location). Fold everything else back into the drawer. That should take no more than 10 minutes.

3) Clothes

I did not dump all my clothes onto the floor or bed since I did not want to mess them up and had to refold them again. So I went through the items that are hung on hangers first of all. I looked at them and decided on a few things. If I have not worn it in the past 6 months, I will throw them out. I also asked myself if the piece of clothing still fit me. If it doesn’t, out it goes into a box. Does the item of clothing make me feel and look good? If the answer is yes, I will keep it. I will only keep clothes that are comfortable. There is no point in keeping clothes that make you feel hot or itchy from the the fabric. If it does not have any sentimental value, I will throw them out as well. Then I went through the folded items in the same way.

I took about half an hour to 45 minutes to do this. You may take longer if you have a lot of clothes to go through. The key thing to remember is to make the decision fast! Try to decide whether to keep or discard in less than 10 seconds. Then you will find that you will get through your clothes much faster. If you have set your mind on clearing your wardrobe, you will find it easy to decide.

4) Donate

There are a few things you can do to those clothes you want to discard. You can either donate them to charity, give away to relatives (if you have any in mind who would appreciate it), or sell it in a yard sale or on eBay. Arrange them in different categories and have them cleared out as soon as possible. For items that are really in bad condition, see if it is suitable to be used as rags. These need to be absorbent. Old T-shirts are great for these.

If your children are going for summer camps, you may want to get them to spring clean their wardrobes before they go and bring along those items that they want to throw away anyway. In this way, you will not have a bag full of dirty and smelly clothes when your child comes back from the camp.

5) What next?

Once you have completed all this, you will find that you have more space in your wardrobe and may want to go shopping to reward yourself for a job well done!

The first time you spring-clean your wardrobe may be the hardest. But if you do it regularly, it will become easier and easier, since you already know the routine – what to keep and what to throw away. You also know what you have from the previous clean-up you have conducted. If I can clear my wardrobe in less than an hour, you can do it too, if you put your mind to it!