Vanessa Renae | Seasonal closet clean out tips

Hello friends!

We all know about spring cleaning, but do you ever clean out your junk before that? I like to do a clean out two times a year [at least with my clothes]. I do a clean out in the spring and another in the fall. Cleaning out your closet more than once a year is beneficial because you never realize how much new stuff you accumulate over only a few months. As you can see in my above photo, I don’t have the largest closet, so I’m going to share some tips and tricks for cleaning out your closet and maximizing the space you have.

TIP 1

Edit your closet by season

I only have clothes in my closet for specific seasons. What do I do with the not-in-season clothes? I have my bed on bed risers and store chunky sweaters, boots and coats in long, flat bins under my bed. The bed risers add that extra height I need for the bins.

Editing your closet by season makes the clean out process much easier and less overwhelming.

TIP 2

Start with the closet, and start getting rid of things

I typically go piece by piece and ask myself:

“Did I wear this over the last few months?” No? Bye.

“Can I wear this in fall and winter?” Yes? Okay it stays in the closet. No? It goes into a pile.”

Sometimes I have to try things on to make sure I still love the piece. If I feel “meh” when I put it on, I chuck it.

TIP 3

Whip out those storage bins

By now you should have a pile of unwanted clothes you’ll donate and a pile of summer clothes you’ll store.

Go through your fall/winter items and go through the same process of figuring out what you want to keep and what you want to donate.

TIP 4

Organize your newly edited fall/winter closet

Use shoe organizers.

I love me some shoes, so I definitely need more than just the floor. Shoe organizers are great because they add rows/height so you can store more shoes in a small space. I typically add the shoes I wear frequently to the shoe holder and everything else organize in a row on the floor. I tried the hanging shoe organizers but they just took up hanging space.

Fold sweaters and jeans.

Folding these items will save space. Sometimes you can buy cube like shelves to place in your closet so the sweater and jean stacks don’t fall over. I need to get some this season!

Be smart about your jackets/coats.

I like to keep my lightweight jackets and blazers in my closet. There’s no room for the bulky wool or down coats, so if you have a coat rack or coat closet in the house leverage that for the thicker outerwear.

TIP 5

Donate your unwanted pile

I only sell what I think I can make a profit off of. Everything else I like to donate. I used to only donate to Goodwill, but I’ve recently discovered another awesome way to donate. There’s a business here in Columbus called To Flourish Boutique. They accept donated clothes that they resell on their Poshmark site and donate proceeds to helping women in need.

TIP 6

Store the not-in-season pile

Store the not-in-season clothes by putting them in bins and storing where you have space.

SHOP CLOSET ORGANIZERS ⇓