One thing almost everybody has too much of is clothes, so cleaning out your closet is a great place to start!

To help keep you motivated without feeling overwhelmed, we’ve put together some useful tips on how to purge your closet so you can move into your new home with more ease and less clutter!

2 Ways To Make Cleaning Out Your Closet Painless

Purging isn’t a one size fits all approach, so we’re sharing two different ways to purge your closet to help you find what works best for you.

1. Take Inventory Of Everything At Once

If you want to tackle your closet head-on, this method is for you.

The first step is to pull everything out of your closet. Make a pile of all your clothes, shoes, belts etc. on the floor or bed. Don’t forget to empty out any drawers or shelves!

Next, organize your clothes into three piles: keep, throw away and donate. You can also designate additional piles for items that can be sold or repaired. Be merciless with your choices! The last thing you want is to move a bunch of clothes and shoes you don’t wear or need into your new place.

Purging Closet Rules

Some rules to follow to help decide what gets to stay vs what’s going.

• If you love it and wear it: keep it.
• If you haven’t worn it in a year, it doesn’t fit, or it’s not your style: donate or sell it.
• If you love it, but it needs to be fixed or hemmed: repair it.
• If it is ripped or stained and cannot be repaired: throw it away (keep in mind that you cannot donate stained or wrecked clothing).

If you find yourself conflicted over an item, try it on! If you don’t feel comfortable and happy wearing it then it needs to go. You’re much better off selling items you don’t wear (and pocketing some cash), or donating them to someone who will!

2. Keep What You Wear & Get Rid Of The Rest

With a little time and planning, you can also use this next novel and simple trick to really clean out your closet.

About three to six months before your move, turn every single one of your hangers backward. Whenever you take an item from your closet and wear it, hang it back in your closet with the hanger turned back around the normal way.

By the end of the designated time period, you will have a clear view of the clothes you actually wear and will want to keep. Anything left on a backward-facing hanger should be sold, donated, or thrown away.

You can also use this method for shoes or accessories by moving them all to one drawer or shelf and putting them back in a different location once you wear them. When it’s time to move, only keep the items in the new location.

Easy! The decisions about what to keep are made for you.

Note: For those experiencing all four seasons, it is better to use this method for seasonal closet purges. Otherwise, if your climate only fluctuates mildly, then three to six months is plenty of time!

How To Keep Yourself Motivated To Clean Out Your Closet

It’s one thing to say you are going to clean out your closet, it’s another thing altogether to actually do it. Here are some tips for how to stay motivated:

• Set a deadline — make sure you have enough time to go through everything, but not so much time that you will procrastinate.
• Make a playlist!
• If you know you will be donating some of your things, book a drop-off or pick-up appointment so you will HAVE to have it done by then.
• Invite a friend to help. Not only will this make the task faster and more enjoyable, but you’ll have a second (and more objective) opinion when deciding if you should keep those one-size-too-small shoes that you swear you’ll wear one day

What To Do If You Get Overwhelmed

Purging your closet and getting rid of things you don’t need can feel great — but it can also feel overwhelming! Knowing how to clean out your closet without getting overwhelmed is important in making sure you stick with it. Here are a few strategies to help:

• Set aside a longer deadline so you have time to put stuff in a maybe pile (if you choose the first option) so you have a chance to come back to it if you’re not ready to donate it yet.
• Invite friends to take any items you are conflicted about donating. Passing items you are attached to onto friends can sometimes feel easier than giving them away.
• Check to see if a community near you is doing a local clothing swap. This is a great way to get rid of all the things you don’t need in a fun and engaging way.
• Take pictures of everything you’re feeling sentimental about or nervous about donating — this way you can keep the memories without the stuff.
• Ask a friend or family member for help.
• Know when you need to step away and take a break.

Are you purging your closet in preparation for a move? If you are looking for the best movers in Texas and Florida, reach out to the team at Einstein Moving for an instant quote!