The Seasonal Closet Switch-Out

Do you switch out your closet between seasons? Do you intend to but never get around to it or find it an enormous drag? If so, hopefully today’s post will help you out.

Switching out clothing for the seasons where I live is a joke. We have only two seasons: hot, and hell. And I basically wear the same things in both. So the swap is formality, not necessity. But it lets me see what I own and allows me to get rid of things in a timely fashion. Which helps me spend less money on clothes, and (hypothetically) helps me dress better. I said, hypothetically, okay?

But as Fall is officially here, I swapped out my closet this week and thought I’d share my process for anyone looking to develop their own. I’m sharing my script with you and including some ideas for getting rid of stuff and maximizing what you have in the process.

It’s like killing three stones with one bird!

Schedule the Switch-Out

Scheduling time for the switch-out will help ensure you do it when you want to. I have a recurring task in my To-Do List. You could make a note on your calendar. Just put a reminder somewhere you’ll see it when the time rolls around.

Create a Script

Cleaning out a closet is a process just begging for a script. It’s one of those things you’ve done before but execute so infrequently that it’s easy to go about it without remembering what you “learned” last time. So create a script for it and keep it somewhere you’ll be able to find it. Feel free to just copy and paste mine from below and adjust it as you see fit.

My Season Closet-Changing Script

Reminders:

• Keep an eye out for things that need to be mended, altered, or have stains removed. Pin a note to the tag with specifics so I don’t forget.
• Pay attention to what I have too many of or not enough of (colors, prints, styles, accessories), what I don’t really know how to wear, and what pieces I need to complete outfits. Take notes.

Steps:

1) Gather Materials

• Bins of stored clothes
• Pins
• Pen & paper

2) Empty closet and all drawers, including shoes, accessories, etc.

3) Pull out items that I LOVE and have worn recently. (Start with the largest stack)

4) Pull out all items i’m definitely done with.

• Items that no longer fit my style
• Items that are falling apart
• Stuff I won’t miss (these don’t need to be taking up room. Let someone else enjoy them).
• Stuff I never choose to wear, even if I like it  (note: this is how I discovered I shouldn’t buy brightly colored clothing. Bright colors look good on me, but any time I put them on I just can’t handle seeing them in the mirror and I take them off. After enough times of doing this, I realized that I needed to stop buying bright colors.

(Remember to get rid of more than you’re comfortable with in this step. Ask the following questions:

• Have I worn it in the past year?
• Do I find it beautiful and LOVE wearing it?
• Does it fit my current style?
• Will I miss it?)

Note to reader: You might think that all this purging makes me buy more clothing (to replace what I got rid of), but it doesn’t. Rather, it helps me see what I’ve wasted money on in the past, whittles my closet down to only things I really love, and I have that “nothing-to-wear” feeling much less often because I love the things I have. So I buy less and am happier with the things I own.

5) With what’s left (hopefully a rather small pile), select a few to keep, maybe special occasion pieces or ones I’m committed to figure out how to wear.

6) Give the rest away.

7) Separate my “keeps” into like piles, grouping shirts with shirts, pants with pants, etc.

8) Empty the bins that have been in storage and sort into corresponding piles. (part with anything I no longer love)

9) If any pile is particularly large, pull out favorites and donate the rest.

10) Select and put away a wardrobe for the upcoming season. As I put away and organize, ask:

• Do I know how to wear this piece?
• Do I have the necessary outfit pieces to make this work?

(take notes, search for ideas on pinterest or in catalogs)

11) Store or donate any stragglers and fully clean up

Whew!

A Few Final Thoughts

Admittedly, this script looks long. But it’s thorough and it makes it easy for me to keep moving and finish. Pare it down if that would be better for you.

If you find it hard to get rid of items, try taking the baby step of putting items in a sealed box, marking it to go to goodwill after a certain date, and, if you haven’t thought about any of the items in 3-6 months, ask someone else to remove the box from the premises for you.

No matter what technique you use, sorting through the closet periodically is more helpful then never going through what you have. I find that by doing this regularly, it’s not as big of a chore each time around. And armed with your script, you know just how to get started.

…and you?…

Do you regularly go through your closet? What have I left out?